Oxygen Thieves
Sometimes you can't help but feel that the whole world is made up of oxygen thieves. People who's stupidity interferes enough with your own interests that you start to wish they weren't using your oxygen. When you're sleep deprived and working hard through the night without really taking a break, a lot more people can start to seem like they fit into this category.
Take for instance a small issue I had with getting an xray on a pt that I really wanted one on reasonably quickly. There is a box in the ED that you put all your xrays and bloods in, and the ward support collect them all and take them to where they ought to go. I put my xray slip in there. Later on I tried to check the xray on the computer, but it wasn't there, so I went to the box and everything had been taken but my form. I thought it was odd and when someone put some other things in there, I put my xray on top so that they could see it. When I came back, everything was gone but my xray form. This made me pretty agro, but I decided the only thing to do was to walk the form to xray myself. So I did. When I got to xray I asked the man there where I should put the xray slip. He said there's a box in emergency for them, you should put it there. This seemed rather absurd to me (on a previous occasion when I was paeds the xray man had made me walk an xray slip back to the ED because he wouldn't take it from me) because all that would happen is ward support would have to walk the xray slip to the xray department and give it to the same man. I was not going to take the slip back round to the ED, that was STUPID STUPID STUPID. It makes no difference if I hand him the slip, or if ward support does! So I said "I'm aware of the box, the slip has been there for an hour, everything else keeps getting taken, but my xray slip gets left behind, I just need this xray done". And he said "okay, why don't you ask ward support to get the pt round, I can do the xray now". So it's not like he was busy, he just didn't want the form *GRRR*
Then I had to go get the ward support to take the pt round to them. It was very tempting to ask ward support if there was something wrong with my xray slip that they felt they couldn't take it round to xray, but I resisted. Getting oxygen thieves talking only increases their rate of oxygen thieving and really doesn't tend to help with whatever you needed. So then ward support pushed a wheelie chair around for a bit and then went and got my pt and took them to Xray. Not sure what was so fascinating about the chair, but it was.
Another offputting event is when you walk into a room and are greeted with an angry "are you the doctor?" and when you say yes, they go into a tirade about how they've been here for 6 hours. Honestly people what did you think? That I've been sitting around watching TV and having tea and biscuits and generally enjoying myself? That's unlikely. I've been working hard, seeing patients at the fastest rate I can (unless it's 7.30am when I'm trying not to get caught up in seeing new patients right before home time as that will make me later getting home, so I'm just tying up loose ends from all the patients I've seen over night). And I've been doing all that at a time that was supposed to be for sleeping - night! So get over it. If you want to be seen fast, go to a GP, call in one of those overnight locum service doctor people that will help you in the middle of the night - PAY FOR IT.
Grumpy Bec. I shouldn't blog after night shift before I go to bed, I'm too tired.
Take for instance a small issue I had with getting an xray on a pt that I really wanted one on reasonably quickly. There is a box in the ED that you put all your xrays and bloods in, and the ward support collect them all and take them to where they ought to go. I put my xray slip in there. Later on I tried to check the xray on the computer, but it wasn't there, so I went to the box and everything had been taken but my form. I thought it was odd and when someone put some other things in there, I put my xray on top so that they could see it. When I came back, everything was gone but my xray form. This made me pretty agro, but I decided the only thing to do was to walk the form to xray myself. So I did. When I got to xray I asked the man there where I should put the xray slip. He said there's a box in emergency for them, you should put it there. This seemed rather absurd to me (on a previous occasion when I was paeds the xray man had made me walk an xray slip back to the ED because he wouldn't take it from me) because all that would happen is ward support would have to walk the xray slip to the xray department and give it to the same man. I was not going to take the slip back round to the ED, that was STUPID STUPID STUPID. It makes no difference if I hand him the slip, or if ward support does! So I said "I'm aware of the box, the slip has been there for an hour, everything else keeps getting taken, but my xray slip gets left behind, I just need this xray done". And he said "okay, why don't you ask ward support to get the pt round, I can do the xray now". So it's not like he was busy, he just didn't want the form *GRRR*
Then I had to go get the ward support to take the pt round to them. It was very tempting to ask ward support if there was something wrong with my xray slip that they felt they couldn't take it round to xray, but I resisted. Getting oxygen thieves talking only increases their rate of oxygen thieving and really doesn't tend to help with whatever you needed. So then ward support pushed a wheelie chair around for a bit and then went and got my pt and took them to Xray. Not sure what was so fascinating about the chair, but it was.
Another offputting event is when you walk into a room and are greeted with an angry "are you the doctor?" and when you say yes, they go into a tirade about how they've been here for 6 hours. Honestly people what did you think? That I've been sitting around watching TV and having tea and biscuits and generally enjoying myself? That's unlikely. I've been working hard, seeing patients at the fastest rate I can (unless it's 7.30am when I'm trying not to get caught up in seeing new patients right before home time as that will make me later getting home, so I'm just tying up loose ends from all the patients I've seen over night). And I've been doing all that at a time that was supposed to be for sleeping - night! So get over it. If you want to be seen fast, go to a GP, call in one of those overnight locum service doctor people that will help you in the middle of the night - PAY FOR IT.
Grumpy Bec. I shouldn't blog after night shift before I go to bed, I'm too tired.
posted by earthkissed | 8:59 am
7 Comments:
Tea and biscuits? That's the best time waster you guys can find over there? Doctors over here have this thing they call "golf". It uses up huge amounts of time and it takes them out of the office so they never have to see the people they're neglecting. And they get a tan. :-)
Not only are those people using up your oxygen, they're breathing all the other stuff back out so you can have a shot at inhaling it. I'm glad stupidity isn't contagious. :-)
Yes, well once you're in the private sector and have time for it, golf is also popular here. I'm not quite sure I'm masochistic enough to enjoy golf. However I was looking for things I might be able to conceivably do whilst in the emergency department. I'll admit you could try to play golf in the emergency department, and in fact the game could become more about reducing the number of oxygen thieves, but I'm not sure how it would play out with security. Perhaps it was just that ever elusive dream of being able to take a break *sigh*
I thought Bec would have pointed out that golf at night really isn't the greatest game (unless you're blind in which case it's nice and quiet on the green...)
Hrm... I once heard of ED nurses racing with the wheelie chairs (or wheelchairs, i just pictured them on the office chairs we sit on in our 2 min writeup time).
Pt wise, i usually found the ones who complained were the ones who had the least wring with them... like "i've had diarrhoea for 3 months, and it's getting better, but i thought i should come in and get it checked out"... (despite it being 3am, tho they did point out they thought it would be a quiet time of day)
I hope your nights get better. :( Are you on a lot of nights (again) or is it a week, and the rest is general ED shift work?
I'm on a week of nights, than general emerg shifts. However I woke up after my sleep today and started vomiting, so I've decided not to go tonight. I rang in sick, and it turns out so has someone else. I think it will be hellish in emerg tonight.
Poor bec :(
Gee as if doing night shift isn't bad enough without all those hassles. I don't know how anyone can be under the illusion that a doctor in a public hospital is doing anything but working their arse off.
Hope you feel better soon!
Ah yes, oxygen thieves. At least in the private sector, unless they are your clients, you can just turn around and walk away, come back and try again. If they still haven't got the message, open their mouths and spurt out crap, repeat step one..It's fascinating. And highly entertaining.
Post a Comment
<< Home