Late shift in ED
ED or ‘Emergency Department’. The clue is in the title. Don't rock up to ED with an injury that is 4 weeks old or a cough that is viral or a chest infection you left because you couldn't be arsed to get a GP appointment. More importantly don't moan about the fact you have got to wait four hours to be treated. The reason the wait is 4 hours is because of inconsiderate idiots like you!!
Most of the time I like working in ED. it can be interesting and fulfilling but highly frustrating. The junior doctors have their first rotation and some would say baptism of fire in ED. They are fresh out of med school and wet behind the ears. They request hundreds of unnecessary X-rays in massive arse covering exercises mainly because they don't have a clue what is going on with their patients. Nurses on the other hand are old Pros..They’ve been around the block... They know what's what and how to treat it!!
Patient A comes round with request, from junior Dr for abdominal Xray. Pain in Abdo and difficulty weight bearing... We X-ray the abdo. Patient has been in department for 2 hours at this point.... 2 hours later she is back outside my room for pelvis and hip Xray, ‘Pain in hip, patient can't weight bear’ I speak to the patient who is now in a state. She is Tired hungry and thirsty, been scanned and prodded for suspected hernia, which was negative and now they have decided its her hip that is the culprit which is why she is back. She tells me that she has been told to go home after the hip X-ray and a letter will be sent out to her.
1.she has been in department for more than 4 hours=breach =fine to hospital
2.she leaves with her original issue unresolved
3.she has had unnecessary radiation because she wasn't assessed properly in the first place!
......SIGH...............
Patient B is sent round by nurse with Xray request, also for Abdo Xray. ‘?? foreign body in abdominal cavity’ harassed Nurse in charge comes to explain..”Sorry guys, He appears to have shoved a deodorant bottle up his arse as an experiment whilst his wife was in hospital having her hip done and got it stuck! he's been trying to dislodge it with vast amounts of laxatives but its still there and now he's shitting round it. I wouldn't mind but he's making up some story about accidentally falling on it whilst stepping out of the shower....ffs, Do i look like I was born yesterday?”
Yes we have seen it all before, stick what you like up your arse but be honest with yourself and us and be prepared to go to theatre to have it removed. When the bowel goes into hard spasm, you are f@@ked.....quite LITERALLY!!