Twenty Nine

I'm a little behind in somethings, ok a lot of things this is a video that was shared during my recert. I thought it was funky and pretty cool:

One of these days when I ain't busy with school, work and life stuff, I'll post about my first code/cor-0 which was not in an ER but back when I was a baby EMT working on an ambulance on a dark and snowy night. We were doing chest compressions to mariachi music though, that's a whole other story for another time

Twenty eight

Been busy these last several weeks with things outside the realm of the ER.

Last shift was a doozy and another rare "first" for me. We had so many heroin overdoses that we ran out of narcan and had to call to the main pharmacy and get more.

For laypeople narcan is simply the reversal agent for opiods (narcotics) :

you give narcan/naloxone and USUALLY the OD pt comes out of their self induced near dirt nap. I've done this for a while and was quite frankly amazed that we had this many in a single shift. One or two sure it's expected in the urban environment but several in a span of a couple of hours?

Whoa take it down a notch...'kay?

On a separate note Crusty has once again recerted. Here is to another few years of serving the public. At least I did not have to work St. Patty's day.

Twenty Seven

Way busy with school just wanted to comment on why when you're a new employee in an ER that hardly anyone will talk to you. I had this discussion with a friend and we determined that:

The unwritten rule is that a new person isn’t worth as much because they have not put their time in yet and it is said if you are gonna quit or get fired in the ER it’s better to get it in the first few weeks, the logic being you don’t suffer that much, I can believe that.

A small nod to "Platoon" for the inspiration.

It's callous and real unforgiving, it's my reality.

Twenty Six

The crusty one is busy with school shit so he won't have to be an ER tech until he drops over dead. In the interim I decided to give you an eyeful:

Why did they not have ambulances like this...ever?

Twenty Five

Random hilarity.

I was having a conversation with a relative about of all things gladiator movies. Now not the Russell Crowe one but the real cheezy Italian ones from the 70's. It was a discussion about how a certain in law has truly awful tastes in movies. If this relative likes the movie then it's guaranteed loser.

This conversation got me to thinking about this great PA I used to work with. This dude was at the top of his game constantly and was often better than some of the docs who had to sign off on his orders actually a  majority of the docs in the group he belonged to trusted him so much they consulted him on really strange cases. This PA was an old special forces medic who was the epitome of being a true professional.

He has a wicked sense of humor and could be VERY random. I witnessed him time and time again walk into a drunk patients room and ask them "So, what's this fascination you have with gladiator movies?" He'd never repeat the question but it always cracked me up. The dk pt would always say "Wha?" and he'd just say "Oh never mind" he did this shit for the entire time I was at west of the Mississippi po-dunk level 3. One of the few bright spots there.

I finally asked him what the hell this line was all about and he reminded me of the line from Airplane:

Plus he said it was a way of really loosening the staff up. I could not think of any tech or nurse there who would not bend over backwards or take a punch for SF Medic/PA. He had a great insight about people in fact he was one of the few people who I could say who is a true leader of staff. SF Medic/PA was one of the reasons I sat on the fence for so long about deciding between PA & Nursing school because he said and I quote "PA school? PFFFTTTT I had a blast I'd do it again in a heartbeat." If I thought I could be a 1/10th of the PA this guy is I'd give PA school a shot.

You also have to consider that PA school to him was probably a cake walk compared to all the other schools and training he had to do over his military career.

Anyways, that was years ago. I have no doubt that he's still working in an ER someplace out west asking every drunk patient he signs up for "So...what's this fascination you have for gladiator movies?"

Hilarious.

Twenty Four

Or how the NFL does it:


XXIV

It's stuporbowl sunday or stupid bowl sunday as we called it when I had to work on this day in the past (Today I am studying) It's one of the rookie nights of the year as well. And although I have an attachment to one team over the other I won't be watching the game, I honestly need to hit the books. 

I have not forgotten what day it is though. So if you can stay home drink yer beers and have a blast watching the game. Because I have not posted one since the holidays here is some superbowl sunday sweetness for us guys out there:

 In case you're wondering her name is Sarah Frechette. Stay tuned more hair greying stories to come from the CERT.

Twenty Three

Twice in one career is enough.

I mentioned back in entry twenty one what I thought was a once in a lifetime/career occurrence. Female pt openly urinating in the middle of the hall in front of anyone who cared to see or not see. I honestly thought I would never see this type of thing ever again.

As in many things in my life I was wrong about that too. Lightening can strike in the same place twice.

Female mental health pt waiting for transport to the psych unit needs to urinate. I happily escort her to bathroom. Unfortunately in urban ER this bathroom is out of order. So we walk to the next bathroom about 20 feet away. This being an urban ER it too is out of order. So I say "Hey, there is another bathroom around the corner about 30 feet away, I think we can make it." By now this pt has gotten irritated over this inconvenience and screams "I AIN'T GONNA WALK NO WHERE ELSE I AM GONNA PISS RIGHT HERE!"

And she did.

This got a "Awww.... you gotta be kidding me." from the the ol' CERT (Crusty ER Tech) and then the comment "So do you need toilet paper to wipe with, you know you should wash your hands." 

Folks were mortified. Instead of face palming I chose to bridge pinch.

I just walked her ass back on the stretcher and made the appropriate note with the above details in her chart. At least after she pissed in the middle of the hallway in front of everyone she was in a better mood.

So goes another shift for the Crusty ER Tech.