Okay. The holiday is over. Most of mine was spent, you guessed it, in the ER taking care of every nebulous, insignificant, and ridiculous complaint that this community could throw our way.
*** A sore throat that you've had for two and a half weeks is an emergency on Christmas Day, why?
*** A 9-month old's diaper rash is an emergency at 2 a.m. Christmas Eve morning, why?
Why?
Because in this community, we were the only health care available on the Eve and Christmas Day. Doc's offices aren't open; student health isn't open; the urgent care clinics aren't open. We were it.
To be fair, some patients did have legitimate complaints. I started my stretch by being called in to work on the weekend when two head-on accidents with passenger ejections occurred at the same time. The lone ER nurse (who was that because of double sick calls) was desperate for help. I thought I'd give her an hour or so of my time; I ended up giving her 4 hours.
Her patient ate a cement embankment after being thrown from the passenger window of a pick-up (wasn't wearing a seat belt!) and was found by EMTs face down in a pool of congealed blood. Broke nearly every bone in her face except her jaw, had a transverse skull fracture, dislocated her elbow, and fractured her tibia. We stablizied her and then had to admit her because the inclimate weather didn't allow for either air or ground transport to a higher level trauma center. Last I heard, she was still alive at Harborview in Seattle. Lucky her, maybe.
My patient was a 13 year old who was thrown from the middle seat of a minivan despite the fact that he was wearing a seat belt. The sliding door had been ripped off, which allowed for his ejection. A fractured nose and fractured iliac crest of the pelvis and he had gotten off easy.
And that was it for trauma. The next three days, including Christmas Eve and Day, I heard as many clinic complaints of soar throats, tendonitis, urinary tact infections, etc., as I care to. Good thing we were here for them!
Sure happy I don't work for the New Years and its Eve. Happy, Healthy Holidays to all!
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3 comments:
Happy you don't have to work New Year's Eve? Isn't that what you said before last weekend?
;)
A high school friend considers New Year's Eve "amateur night" because it is the one night of the year when even people who usually don't drink, do. I'm glad I don't work that night not because I fear all the nebulous and idiotic complaints I had to deal with on Christmas Eve and Day, but because of the consequences of so many amateurs drinking: drunks and drunk driving accidents. I think I'll stay home.
Makes sense. Bigger or smaller armatures than "mardi gras" in your town?
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