Fear is the best motivator

Not much time to write tonight ..... I will be on call for pediatrics tomorrow, and I just found out that there is a very unstable 8-year old girl in the ICU. She has second- and third-degree burns to approximately 40% of her skin plus a myriad of other problems. The Air Force pediatrician assigned to the hospital will take care of her overnight, which will require hourly blood draws and virtually constant "tweaking" of her medications and ventilator. In the morning, I will take over for him for 12-24 hours so that he can get some sleep. I haven't cared for any PICU patients in nearly a year, and I've never cared for a burn patient before, so I must admit that I'm a little scared. This is why I say that I can't expound too much on my day or my thoughts about this patient .... I have a lot of studying to do before morning!!