Over the weekend, I was "on call" at the hospital. When you're "on call," you're given a pager, and you can be called in to work at any time. You can be called to work at 12:30 in the morning, or 3am, or any other time. If the volume of patients gets heavy, or someone called out sick, the "on call" person is the one who has to come in. You're only "on call" one weekend out of the year, but there's about 90% chance you'll be called in, and it's usually working in the E.R., since that is the department that always needs the most help.
Last year was particularly brutal. I was called in three times. An 8 hour shift Friday. A 12 hour, "graveyard shift" on Saturday, and then another 4 hour shift on Sunday. I wrote a little about it last year on my blog: http://taiwantotexas.blogspot.com/2008/12/graveyard-shift.html
This time, I was only called in twice, and each time was only 4 hours. But it was four hours in the E.R., and it was during the late night, early morning hours. I normally don't work in the E.R. I work in "Labor and Delivery." In Labor and Delivery, the only patients I work with are pregnant women, who are normally in a nice mood and very easy to deal with. The E.R., however, is a very different story.
One of my co-workers, Lucas (who has since quit his job), once told me that working in the E.R. on the weekends at night is "having to deal with the scum of the earth."
The scum of the earth? That seemed a bit harsh to me. Surely it can't be that bad, can it?
Well, it wasn't actually that bad. I did have to deal with a couple of scumbags, though. But these scumbags weren't patients. They were the boyfriends of patients.
One drunken boyfriend, missing his front teeth, cheered with excitement when he was told his girlfriend would have to be admitted overnight. He then asked me if the hospital would be serving them sirloin steak.
Another patient was being seen because her drunken boyfriend had beaten the crap out of her. The guy was later arrested and taken to jail.
I give a lot of credit to my co-workers who work in the E.R. full time. There's a very high turnover in that department, and those who stick around often have to take a lot of verbal (and sometimes even physical) abuse. You're also being exposed to very sick people, often bleeding or vomiting on you. It's tough, and I'm glad I only have to do it one weekend out of the year.
Last year was particularly brutal. I was called in three times. An 8 hour shift Friday. A 12 hour, "graveyard shift" on Saturday, and then another 4 hour shift on Sunday. I wrote a little about it last year on my blog: http://taiwantotexas.blogspot.com/2008/12/graveyard-shift.html
This time, I was only called in twice, and each time was only 4 hours. But it was four hours in the E.R., and it was during the late night, early morning hours. I normally don't work in the E.R. I work in "Labor and Delivery." In Labor and Delivery, the only patients I work with are pregnant women, who are normally in a nice mood and very easy to deal with. The E.R., however, is a very different story.
One of my co-workers, Lucas (who has since quit his job), once told me that working in the E.R. on the weekends at night is "having to deal with the scum of the earth."
The scum of the earth? That seemed a bit harsh to me. Surely it can't be that bad, can it?
Well, it wasn't actually that bad. I did have to deal with a couple of scumbags, though. But these scumbags weren't patients. They were the boyfriends of patients.
One drunken boyfriend, missing his front teeth, cheered with excitement when he was told his girlfriend would have to be admitted overnight. He then asked me if the hospital would be serving them sirloin steak.
Another patient was being seen because her drunken boyfriend had beaten the crap out of her. The guy was later arrested and taken to jail.
I give a lot of credit to my co-workers who work in the E.R. full time. There's a very high turnover in that department, and those who stick around often have to take a lot of verbal (and sometimes even physical) abuse. You're also being exposed to very sick people, often bleeding or vomiting on you. It's tough, and I'm glad I only have to do it one weekend out of the year.
Ball & Chain says the ER is her favorite department. But they do not get gunshot wounds. Most of their patients are from scooter accidents and people with minor colds.
ReplyDelete