IVs, elevators, pelvics, and psych meds.
What a bizarre evening I had yesterday. My last ER shift was anything but forgettable. Let’s see. The highlight of the day could be one of many things:
a. I was successful on all of my IV attempts. This was uber exciting considering my ER record. I hate sticking people twice. Needless to say there was plenty of happy dancing and pleased patients.
b. On my last shift there was a guy in one of the psych rooms who had already been there for a while. He needed a place in a mental hospital and had run out of is schizophrenia meds. Imagine my surprise when he was still there last night. He was not transferred until I left, making his ER stay an extreme 96 hours! A classmate of mine also saw him over the weekend. At that time he was using the butter from his lunch as lotion. Note to self: don’t run out of psych meds.
c. I missed cafeteria dinner, so I went to an alternative food place in the hospital for dinner. My supper of champions consisted of a muffin. Nutritious and delicious! I decided to use the public elevator to get back to the ER. The doors shut and then I realized not only had I not gone anywhere, but the doors weren’t opening. Well, I thought, maybe it’ll go up, so I pressed 3. Nothing. Maybe it’ll go down to a different floor, so I pressed 1 Nothing. Maybe it’ll go down to a different floor, so I pressed 2. Nothing. I pressed every damn button in the thing, avoiding the one with the bell pictured on it. Finally, I decide to press that one. It turned out to be like a buzzer. I pressed a few times….then a few more….and a couple more (all while trying not to think about the fact that I’m alone, stuck in a 4x6 room suspended two stories up by a wire cable). Then I heard a knock. The security guard had heard my annoying little buzzer and tried to open the doors. He got a maintenance guy to help and after about 10 minutes I saw him pulling the doors apart like the incredible Hulk. Yay! “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I had come up with ridiculous scenarios of being in between floors and having to be pulled out, etc. The security officer was happy to see that I hadn’t freaked out, he seemed pretty surprised about that. I said: “Well, freaking out isn’t very pretty…where are the stairs?”
d. The little things: A kid mixing music with a crayon box like he was scratching a record, cute! A nurse who insisted on putting her name on and pushing around one of the big IV carts wherever she went, wacky! Assisting with two pelvic exams, gross! The fun never ends!
e. all of the above
I’m going to go with choice ‘e’ but it’s up to you, there is no wrong answer! I’ve enjoyed my ER shifts, but they are mercifully over (at least for this semester). My last city shift is on Friday, then it’s on to home to enjoy the calm before the storm. May brings on gorgeous weather, papers, colorful flowers, finals, and NREMT-I exams.
a. I was successful on all of my IV attempts. This was uber exciting considering my ER record. I hate sticking people twice. Needless to say there was plenty of happy dancing and pleased patients.
b. On my last shift there was a guy in one of the psych rooms who had already been there for a while. He needed a place in a mental hospital and had run out of is schizophrenia meds. Imagine my surprise when he was still there last night. He was not transferred until I left, making his ER stay an extreme 96 hours! A classmate of mine also saw him over the weekend. At that time he was using the butter from his lunch as lotion. Note to self: don’t run out of psych meds.
c. I missed cafeteria dinner, so I went to an alternative food place in the hospital for dinner. My supper of champions consisted of a muffin. Nutritious and delicious! I decided to use the public elevator to get back to the ER. The doors shut and then I realized not only had I not gone anywhere, but the doors weren’t opening. Well, I thought, maybe it’ll go up, so I pressed 3. Nothing. Maybe it’ll go down to a different floor, so I pressed 1 Nothing. Maybe it’ll go down to a different floor, so I pressed 2. Nothing. I pressed every damn button in the thing, avoiding the one with the bell pictured on it. Finally, I decide to press that one. It turned out to be like a buzzer. I pressed a few times….then a few more….and a couple more (all while trying not to think about the fact that I’m alone, stuck in a 4x6 room suspended two stories up by a wire cable). Then I heard a knock. The security guard had heard my annoying little buzzer and tried to open the doors. He got a maintenance guy to help and after about 10 minutes I saw him pulling the doors apart like the incredible Hulk. Yay! “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I had come up with ridiculous scenarios of being in between floors and having to be pulled out, etc. The security officer was happy to see that I hadn’t freaked out, he seemed pretty surprised about that. I said: “Well, freaking out isn’t very pretty…where are the stairs?”
d. The little things: A kid mixing music with a crayon box like he was scratching a record, cute! A nurse who insisted on putting her name on and pushing around one of the big IV carts wherever she went, wacky! Assisting with two pelvic exams, gross! The fun never ends!
e. all of the above
I’m going to go with choice ‘e’ but it’s up to you, there is no wrong answer! I’ve enjoyed my ER shifts, but they are mercifully over (at least for this semester). My last city shift is on Friday, then it’s on to home to enjoy the calm before the storm. May brings on gorgeous weather, papers, colorful flowers, finals, and NREMT-I exams.
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