Thirty Nine

E.R. Tech week

Well it gets remembered once every couple of years that's ER tech week. This is the poor cousin to EMS week and Nurses week. This is when ER techs are suppose to be thanked for all the hard work they do in their prospective ERs. For the cynical Crusty ER tech it's more about the free food (usually pizza) that everyone else gets to scarf down leaving me with 2 cold slices of black olive and jalapeno. (who eats that shit anyways?)

The clincher was this said at the beginning of shift by the charge nurse:

"There are gifts for you ER techs, no I don't know what they are, they will be unavailable until next week and in limited supply all of you probably won't get one."

On the other hand there was a surplus of really nice bags during nurses week:

"It looks like we have too many bags for nurses week. NURSES if you want a second bag just come by and see the me (the charge nurse)"

I never did find out what the ER techs got for ER Tech week. I took some time off the following week and never got my gift. The gifts for other "Tech weeks" over the years are of note:

1) A zippy badge holder with hospital's name on it that broke halfway in shift.

2) A leaky snow globe of the hospital I was working at.

3) A pen that quit writing after 2 shifts. It was not only me every other techs pen too.

4) A ten dollar gift certificate to the grocery store down the block.

5) A handful of old stale chocolate candy that was under the unit secretary's desk. Seriously that's all we got one year.

That's the shit I could remember. I think somethings were left over from nurses week's of years prior and got found in some store room or in a back office cabinet. Gifts that would be appreciated would be:

1)  Pens that work

2) Coffee shop gift cards of 10 dollars.

3) Trauma shears

4) Cool nalgene or aluminum bottles.

5) A raffle for the techs only for an electronic device of some sort like a small tablet of some sort loaded with medical apps.

That friends would take foresight, imagination and a budget. Most places I work have none of those things. Usually tech week is usually an afterthought and coincides with Nursing assistant week. I have been told in the past "Well you guys are paramedics and EMT's so you're included in on EMS week." Thing is that EMS week is for the ambulance crews. I know when I was on the ambulance I would have killed someone from the hospital for stepping into my "week"

That's how another "ER tech week" went. So it goes.

Thirty eight.

Been awhile since Ive written, Here is a little bit of advice, When you pull out your trauma shears to cut clothes off a pt watch what the fuck you're doing, Cause goddmanit you are gonna cut the pressor that is keeping the patient alive. Fucking heads up. The damn pt coded does not need to be a nutso situation. Pt coded and coded again up in the ICU,

Go figure.

Don't get so fucking so scissor happy. Chill the fuck out for christ sakes.