The worst call on a night of call

It's 3 AM and I'm trying to fight sleep and finish my orders on a new admission. I can't seem to stay awake. My upper level is telling me what orders to write (I have no clue because this kid has a crazy genetic disorder that I would have NO idea how to manage if it was not for Genetics's input) and I'm basically trying to copy what he's saying word for word. But I just CAN'T. I have to recopy multiple meds because my eyelids are so heavy.

Later I get a call from both pharmacy and the floor nurses asking about my orders. I clarify my orders. Next I get a call from the charge nurse who wants me to come up to the floor to rewrite the orders because they're illegible. I refuse, saying that I've already clarified the orders multiple times to pharmacy and to the nurse covering the patient.

At 6 am, my upper level calls me. "Hey, whippersnapper. The nurses can't read your orders."

"I'll go rewrite them."

I go up to the floor and rewrite the orders. I glance at what I wrote before and realize how illegible they are. Not only that but it looks like I was smoking crack and writing the orders. On the admission orders, I clearly wrote and crossed off: "Follow up with primary care physician in 3-4 days," something that you usually write on discharge orders. Oops.

It's the second grade and we've just finished the first of what will be many penmanship contests. I don't expect to win, but I know that my handwriting is very neat and needless to say, very legible. It's a skill that I've inherited from my mother who has flawless handwriting.

A week later, the winner is announced. It's me! I'm excited as Mrs. Johnson tells me to receive my prize. I walk to the front of the room where Mrs. Johnson smiles at me from underneath her oversized reading glasses. She hands me a roll of glossy paper tied iwith red ribbon. I take my prize and I can feel the paper squeak underneathmy fingers. I unroll the paper and reveal to the rest of the class a poster of a puppy.

A fake puppy?! That's what I win for having the most amazing handwriting in the 2nd grade? Two months later, Micheal Leony wins a set of paints. I'm quite jealous.

Since I've started residency, I've gotten multiple compliments on how legible my writing is from both clerks and upper level residents. See what sleep deprivation does to you?!!