01.12.2008

Some days I love my job. Other days, not so much.

The Emergency Room is some place where nobody really wants to be.

I've worked in the ER for about 6 months. I've seen some crazy stuff. Sick, sick people, drug seekers looking for a "fix", suicidal patients, funny little accidents (kids putting things up their noses, accidentally putting nail glue in your eye thinking it was eyedrops, etc) I can usually leave work with a funny story and extremely tired after my 12 hour shift (7pm-7am). I'm very fortunate that I am not directly involved in patient care. I'm a secretary. I sit beside the doctors and I order the tests they request for their patients. CT Scans, XRays, labs, EKG's. I arrange for patients to be admitted. I call other facilities and arrange patient transfers. I call the on-call doctors at 2am and get yelled at for waking them up (um, hello! You're on-call). But, I love my job.

Last night was beyond anything I have experienced. My shift started at 7 and I got to work around 6:30. Ambulance #1 comes rolling in around 7:20, Ambulance #2 comes in around 7:40. The only information we were given was the patient is a 17 year old female, auto vs. pedestrian. Oh no. This can not be good. 7:47 the patient arrives, is taken in to the trauma room right across from my desk. Massive, major trauma. She coded at the scene but our fantastic paramedics were able to get her back. CT scan showed massive internal bleeding. The police said she flew 126 feet from where she was hit. The oders start flying. Call the chaplain. Do we have a phone number of family? Do we want to notify family or can the police do it? The ER is a very busy and usually a very loud place. However, in the hour that this patient was with us, you could have heard a pin drop. Every nurse, tech and physician was in that room, trying to save.this.girl. More orders. Transfer forms. Call the paramedics for transport. Receiving facility. Hurry. Hurry. Rush. Rush. STAT. Moments later, she's gone, out the door to a hospital in the city where they handle massive traumas. The paramedics called 3 times on the way to the hospital in the city with updates. Finally we got news that she died.

More ambulances. GI bleeds, hip fractures, anxiety attacks, chest pain, shortness of breath, ETOH.

2:00 rolls around. Another ambulance. Rumor has it that the patient was asystole. 2:20, patient arrives with an entourage of paramedics, fire fighters, performing CPR, chest compressions, the whole nine yards. 25 year old male. I saw his blue lifeless face when they whisked him past me on the way to the trauma room. More orders. Call the chaplain. Get the Code Blue kit. 40 minutes of non stop working on him, and nothing, they call it and doctors and nurses slowly emerge from the room. You hear the snapping of about 20 pairs of latex gloves coming off and hitting the floor, trash cans, etc. Phone rings from the lobby. The family is here. Take them to the family room. Let me just say this, seeing a family literally break.down. when they see their 25 year old son breaks your heart. You hear sobs, tears, uncontrollable crying, shrieking. Then it hits you, this is one of the lowest points for this family. Right now, at this very moment, nothing else matters.

The rest of the night was a blur. All in all, we had 22 ambulances. I know I will never forget this night though.

Working in the ER changes you. It truly does. Am I a bit more callous? Yes. I find that I have little patience for people who claim their pain "is a 10 out of 10, but who are playing tetris on their cell phone in the room while they're waiting for the doctor". But I also have a new appreciation for life each and every time I leave that hospital.