Eating in clerkship

[Egg_McMuffin]

Sorry if this seems silly I'm a soon-to-be MS3 doing some wellness-planning on how to prioritize my health during clinical rotations if possible.

Do med students generally get to eat lunch during while on clinical duties? I know it depends on what rotation and where, and how busy you are that day. But, say, during your usual core rotations, can you expect to be given 15 min to go heat up your food and finish a meal? Or would that be seen as pretty extra in medicine's workaholic and self-sacrificing culture? Did you ever feel pressured to not rest of eat when you could've, because your attending or resident were super busy?

I'm thinking about investing in a deep freezer and batch-cook once or twice a month. Or should I just invest my time and money on meal replacement bars?

Any other tips on maintaining wellness during clerkship is welcome too

 

[ACHQ]

4 minutes ago, Egg_McMuffin said:

Sorry if this seems silly I'm a soon-to-be MS3 doing some wellness-planning on how to prioritize my health during clinical rotations if possible.

Do med students generally get to eat lunch during while on clinical duties? I know it depends on what rotation and where, and how busy you are that day. But, say, during your usual core rotations, can you expect to be given 15 min to go heat up your food and finish a meal? Or would that be seen as pretty extra in medicine's workaholic and self-sacrificing culture? Did you ever feel pressured to not rest of eat when you could've, because your attending or resident were super busy?

I'm thinking about investing in a deep freezer and batch-cook once or twice a month. Or should I just invest my time and money on meal replacement bars?

Any other tips on maintaining wellness during clerkship is welcome too

 

Your staff, fellow or senior residents will let you take time to grab lunch (time of day and amount of time will vary)

Please take time to eat. If your residents and staff are too busy to notice the time, just speak up and say "I'll do that once I just grab a quick bite to eat". If anyone says no, they are the biggest tool on earth.

[JohnGrisham]

12 minutes ago, ACHQ said:

Your staff, fellow or senior residents will let you take time to grab lunch (time of day and amount of time will vary)

Please take time to eat. If your residents and staff are too busy to notice the time, just speak up and say "I'll do that once I just grab a quick bite to eat". If anyone says no, they are the biggest tool on earth.

100% this. Just because staff are choosing not to eat, doesn't mean you can't eat / they don't want you to eat. They are also not your babysitter, so make sure you advocate for yourself and say "hey, after i finish this dictation, i'll just grab a bite to eat".   There is rarely a reason that you can't not eat. I've met some med students who have made exclaims, and its usually because staff doesn't pay attention and just assumed you already went, and the student was too timid to go and eat due to odd misconceptions. 

Always eat.  Definitely try and pack a lunch though, if your hospital's cafeteria is unreliable.  

[samy]

All students, residents, fellows and attendings should deserve at least 15 minutes to take some time off and/or eat something every 4 to 6 hours.

Even on ICU or a busy consultation service or surgical service, there is no excuse. 

[frenchpress]

I don’t personally eat lunch most days, but I do usually find some time to take a break and walk around the hospital, or get a coffee, etc. Usually easiest to just fit it in around what’s going on. Like if an attending/resident says they will be another 20 min before they can review, rather than sitting around I just let them know I am going to use that opportunity to take a break and to text me when they’re ready. Or if I do want to eat, I often do it after I’ve reviewed a case and just before/while I dictate, or while I read around the chart for my next case (only works if you have dictations rooms/computers in the lounge or areas where you can have food of course). More than half the time though I just disappear and do it between tasks without saying anything, and no one cares or notices that I took an extra 20-30 min.

Edited August 26, 2020 by frenchpress

[MD2015:)]

Yeah they should give you time to eat lunch. If it seems like they forgot then you could ask if/when it is a good time to grab lunch. It helps to pack your lunch or snacks especially on busier rotations so that it is easier to make sure you get to eat. Often there are rounds (lectures) at lunch time in certain specialties like IM or peds and you can eat then. On surgery you can often eat between OR cases. In ER or OB the staff may not take a break so pack your lunch and ask for a quick break if you are not released by them. In med school and residency I was able to eat lunch about 95% of the time and packing your food helps

[Arztin]

Take your time to eat a full meal every single day. It's very important.

It might happen sometimes that it's very busy, and you eat much later, but still, do eat.

If your attending forgot about it, just ask. 

[canada747]

idk I always have time for lunch. Hospital caf sells food at cost for a reason. Kind of stingy with the portions, and the food is bland (but healthy) but also cheap.

My biggest issue is finding time to get the morning caffeine fix in, and being able to drink it mask-free