those steadily depressing low down mind messing working at the ER blues

Sometimes I just get tired of taking care of the down and out, the homeless, the meth heads, heroin users, criminals, etc.  The people who are on the losing end of our society for one reason or the other. I wish their life could be better, but I still get tired of it. As a nurse, I almost feel guilty saying that, but its the truth.

There are days when I feel like I can't take another disheveled, mumbling, smelly person  coming up to the triage window.  You just grow weary of hearing everybodys tales of woe.

These are the people that all of you move to the suburbs to avoid.  I deal with them everyday, all day.  I know that I signed up for this, but it doesn't mean that I don't grown tired sometimes.

and thats the way it is/ode to Walter Cronkite.

Some things I learned yesterday at work.:

It is COOOOOOLLLLLLDDDD where I live.  It is killer cold.  You could die in this shit type cold.

Lest you think that cold would keep the fruit loops away from the ER, you would be mistaken my dear. They will still make their way there with their ridiculous colds, tummy aches, etc.  Even though it is frickin' -50 wind chill.  

Sorry, I refuse to do a rectal temp on a middle aged walking  and talking woman, doctor. You want the rectal temp, you do it.  Bizarre order.

When anything (procedure, policy, any way of doing things) is working, it can't last.  Some one will throw a monkey wrench into that and come up with a way that is so complicated that no one will be able to understand it.

Depending on which doc/NP/PA you get when you come in with the flu, you can get anything from nothing to Dilaudid.  Its a roll of the dice.

You don't have to work IN the sewer to work IN a sewer. One day our ER literally smelled LIKE A SEWER for 2-3 hours due to some kind of problem with one of the pipes.

And thats the way it is, January 6, 2014.

man candy saturday

the boomerang from hell

You present to the triage window carrying on.  Weeping and wailing and claiming you can't breathe, you need to see a doctor: "RIGHT NOW"!!!!!  Here's a clue: If you are able to weep and wail, you can breathe just fine.  Sorry we're full and you have to take your place in the lobby like everyone else...

Of course you are stunned, shocked as it were. My GOD, HAVE WE NO SHAME!!  You go protesting, to the lobby where you get on the phone and proceed to loudly trash our ER and hospital, throwing in a couple of "Motherf---kers" into the mix.  Eventually you leave. Yeah!!

Oh but you aren't done.  Of course you aren't.  Here you come 30 minutes later in an ambulance.  Back you come to triage.  You are once again stunned, shocked as it were.  You are once again triaged sent back out to the lobby for a repeat performance.  Only this time the natives are not so accomodating, they give you the evil eye, daring you to get on your phone again...

You eventually leave..again..maybe this time you'll call the ambulance to take you to another hospital.

Buzz Lightyear like you've never seen him before

I saw this on the the internet.  It is actually from 3 years ago.  A man came into an ER
with yes, you guessed it, a Buzz Lightyear up his butt.  Buzz has wings and apparently
they were "deployed".  Ouch.  I remember my son had one of these figures growing up.
If I remember correctly it had flashing lights and may have talked....hmmmm...I wonder if it was
still doing that on arrival to the ER.

                   HAPPY NEW YEAR from your local ER!