Tonight started off like any other ER filled night, with my Trauma cloud looming. I knew things weren't going to go right when we started the shift with a blunt force trauma MVC that resulted in a cracked chest in the trauma bay. Now, I'm never one to really shut up, back down, or be told what to do. Tonight, along with every other co-worker in the bay...we were quite. Was in the fact that we had a person's chest wide open on the table? Nope..it was the fact that the Trauma surgeon and chief resident were having words, many many words. Not nice words at that. I give the Resident a pat on the back though, he didn't back down, he stood his ground for what he believed was right...did it change the result? Nope-but that Trauma surgeon will never be that aggressive with them again.
When should we sit back and not say anything? When its too late? When we think "man I should have just said that!" I'm not saying spit everything that comes out of your mouth, because some sort of filter must be in play in order to keep some people from going to jail.
Most people don't want to hear the truth, they don't want to hear what they need to hear, and most importantly they don't want to hear they are wrong. Was this Resident wrong tonight? No, he actually followed protocol to a "T" Should he have stood his ground? Hell yes. Was the surgeon right in questioning him? Most say yes...this is in fact a teaching facility. I say, unless he's doing something wrong, let him be and save the arguing for later.
I encourage everyone to say what they think, why should you hold back? If more people said what was on their mind instead of sugar coating the instance, maybe...just maybe things would get solved a whole lot quicker. In the words of my favorite TV MD "everybody lies."
This is for all you Residents out there that over the past 8 years, I've yelled at, said what I thought, told you I wasn't going to do what you ordered, did what I wanted, told you what to do, showed you what to do and helped you learn and grow. Stand your ground, say what you think and admit when you are wrong...and when you are right, tell everyone else to shut the hell up. :)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
When is it just too much?
So, I constantly say I don't want kids someday. I'm 28 and just don't feel like its in the cards. I'm always giving friends reasons when they ask, which usually goes along the lines of, "reason number 10,365 to never have kids." (it's always something new when I start using the big numbers.)
Well, tonight is no exception and I used number 17,267. A 105 year old patient rolled into my ER on a stretcher from a nursing home (where no doubt the kids placed them), sick as all get out, and as we suspected they were a full code. The patient has 6 kids. That is six people that are now affecting your life at the age of 105 in a fashion at which might not be quite as ideal.
So, after the patient was stable, we stepped out of the room, I looked at the resident and said, "This is reason number 17,267 that I will never have kids, they will toss you in a home and not make good decisions about your life."
In the time I've worked in large hospitals its really sad what I've seen families do to their loved ones, just because they couldn't quite let go. I understand that it is hard, and that you love you mother-father-aunt-uncle etc, but you have to sit back and think, "if that was me, would I want that?"
A friend of mine recently started a blog. I've always considered it, but never really took the time to do it. I always thought that writing about the antics of work would be a great thing for some people to read about. I've been employed by 3 top notch trauma centers in the US, and the stories that have built in 8 years are astounding. Not to mention the new ones from the trauma bay on a daily basis.
So basically, this is going to be a way for me to let loose. I will not break any laws, mention any names and unless absolutely necessary won't even mention of the patient is male or female. I just want to talk about the things that go on, because I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, its not Grey's Anatomy. Most days, I wish it were, because there would be a lot more hot doctors. The downside to that is, I think the mortality rate would be a lot higher.
More to come in the future, for now, its back to saving lives.
Well, tonight is no exception and I used number 17,267. A 105 year old patient rolled into my ER on a stretcher from a nursing home (where no doubt the kids placed them), sick as all get out, and as we suspected they were a full code. The patient has 6 kids. That is six people that are now affecting your life at the age of 105 in a fashion at which might not be quite as ideal.
So, after the patient was stable, we stepped out of the room, I looked at the resident and said, "This is reason number 17,267 that I will never have kids, they will toss you in a home and not make good decisions about your life."
In the time I've worked in large hospitals its really sad what I've seen families do to their loved ones, just because they couldn't quite let go. I understand that it is hard, and that you love you mother-father-aunt-uncle etc, but you have to sit back and think, "if that was me, would I want that?"
A friend of mine recently started a blog. I've always considered it, but never really took the time to do it. I always thought that writing about the antics of work would be a great thing for some people to read about. I've been employed by 3 top notch trauma centers in the US, and the stories that have built in 8 years are astounding. Not to mention the new ones from the trauma bay on a daily basis.
So basically, this is going to be a way for me to let loose. I will not break any laws, mention any names and unless absolutely necessary won't even mention of the patient is male or female. I just want to talk about the things that go on, because I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, its not Grey's Anatomy. Most days, I wish it were, because there would be a lot more hot doctors. The downside to that is, I think the mortality rate would be a lot higher.
More to come in the future, for now, its back to saving lives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)