08:30am – I arrive at work, review mail and messages.
09:00am – I have my first patient appointment. I quickly review the patient’s sleep study and discuss the results with them to make treatment recommendations. After that, I see a couple of new patients. The new resident on service joins me for the patient appointments and, afterwards, we discuss the cases. Since the resident is new I do the interviewing and the resident observes me. I hope that I practice what I preach!
12:00pm – Staff meeting – the main item on the agenda is space allocation. There are several residents who would like to do rotations with our clinic but not enough clinic rooms to accommodate them. We also talk about the administrative changes introduced in the past year, what’s working and what’s not. I appreciate how well our team works together. It is a privilege to work with a group of people who not only have high standards, but also are fun. We laugh a lot!
1:00pm – Afternoon clinic starts; I see on the schedule a new patient and a couple of return visits. In between patients, I respond to emails and paper correspondence. Letters need to be written on patients’ behalf to insurance companies and to Motor Vehicle Administration. I review and write reports on sleep studies. New referrals are reviewed and triaged. Unfortunately, this is the only full service Sleep Clinic in the province, which means the waiting list is long. I review each referral and decide how quickly a patient needs to be seen. Sleepy drivers are my priority, as are others who fall asleep in situations where they can cause injury to themselves and others. I don’t think I will finish all the paperwork today because of the next point on my schedule.
4:30pm – Meeting of residency program directors with the Associate Dean of Postgraduate Medical Education. This is another part of my job: I look after the education of future psychiatrists in Nova Scotia. Today we will discuss the upcoming accreditation visit from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
6:00pm – The meeting ends and I rush off to parent-teacher meetings in my daughter’s school.
Topic: Sleep Disorders
