New Job

Well, now I get to talk about all the exciting ED stuff...I am so glad to be back in the ED. From day one, I felt like I was stepping in familiar shoes that fit and are very comfortable, worn in just the right places, molded to my foot. It was such a relief.
Wesley Long is busy, usually not overwhelmingly so, but busy enough that I am working most of the night...and that makes time fly.
My first weekend, we had a patient us his arm as a deadly weapon, one that we staff stayed away from until we were properly covered with protective clothing from head to toe. This man had put his arm through a window and cut an artery so when he was waving it around, blood just flew. There was blood on the walls, floor, ceiling and on us. After putting on face shields, liquid proof gowns, shoe covers and gloves, about six of us went in, pinned him down and gave him a shot which took about 15 minutes to calm him down. He was high on crack...we see that and alcohol alot...so begins my ED life...
One of the things I enjoy the most is even though I am not a doctor, I have enough experience that when someone comes in, I can usually figure out what is wrong...for example, we had a young lady come in complaining of nausea and vomiting. I further questioned her and she complained of a sore throat...I asked the doctor if I could run a strep throat with all of her other labs and I WAS RIGHT...she had strep throat...The doc came up to me before going to the patient and said "Good job, you called it right!" Made my night.
The thing about the ED is immediate gratification for most of the work we do...for example, I had a patient come in who was vomiting, had been for 24 hours, felt awful. I put in an IV and drew the labs in one stick (nothing like the flash of blood in the IV when you hit the vein on the first stick), hung a liter of IV fluids and give some medications for nausea...I get immediate gratification because the IV went in, I got the labs, and as soon as the medication is in, the patient is no longer feeling awful. I finish the liter of fluids and the patient feels much better! Unfortunately this is not always the case, but it happens enough to keep going and be excited about the job...
We see broken bones that sometimes we set, sometimes not, but we give medications to ease the pain...
We sober up a lot of drunks...some wanting help, some wanting a warm bed and a meal...
We see a lot of nausea and vomiting or abdominal pain...
We see STD's, UTI's and Detox.
The group of nurses I work with are great...mostly we work as a team, no one acting better than others.
The biggest complaint I have is getting the doctors to work faster, to see patients and discharge faster...I am surprised at how long a patient has to wait on a stretcher to be seen. I am used to the wait in the waiting room, not back in the ED. The labs are usually quick as are the radiology reports. Usually what the patient waits for is for the physician to see the patient. Oh well, can't have everything yet...