One Day

I'm still working nights, it's a long month. My wife has 10 days off at her place of work and has taken the family to visit home.  At first I was thrilled with the prospect of being a bachelor again...that lasted less than a day.  It's good to be reminded of how lonely I was and how happy I am now, that it all isn't a daily grind, and to have it put back in my head what it's all about.  To remember that it isn't the family that stresses me, that it's the family that helps me keep it together.  To come back to the understanding that the job is the stress, the job is where the pain resides if that pain is even real at all.

Newbie Doc

Sleeper Hold

I'm working nights this month.  I was contrasting my service which was relatively quiet over the night to another peer's relatively more active service, he'd said, "my service is full of whiners".  I joked that my service is quiet because by 3 in the morning I've found cause to drug every single one of them.  "I'll Haldol a nurse if I get a chance." I dryly remark.  While I'm overplaying it, this doctor trait is true about me, I solve problems while on service, not always perminantely, but when I set out to deal with a problematic patient, I set out to put an end to whatever wrong is going on perminantely or at least for the night...that being said, if you don't really have something wrong with you, if you are being a "whiner"...I might find cause to give you some IV benadryl or maybe even Ativan.  It sounds harsh, but many a 17 year old something likes the lime light of hospital life, the attention they so despirately seek in non-hospital life is finally given to them and they can't get enough of "Call the doctor, I have a hang nail" type problems.  Much to the anger and embarrassment of a nurse, I've made a "green" one have an experienced "buddy" nurse so she'd quit bothering me with stupid questions.  I have this image in my head of a nurse in my gentle sleeper hold for calling me for a vasaline order at 3 in the morning, me laying her gently down under a corner desk where she won't be noticed till day shift.  This while comical is not far from the truth, when I'm on nights I can be a bit cold and ruthless, so if you are part of the problem, I might deal with you strictly in finding the solution.  Say what you want about my methods it's a quiet and efficient service I run and one that everyone actually benefits from, even if every now and again there is a nurse found sleeping on the job.

"Vasaline order you say?  Oh my gawd! What's that behind you!?!?"

Newbie Doc