If I wanted the work to be done half-assed I would have asked ________ (insert name of your least favorite co-worker here).
I'm not saying we all need to be perfectionists and stars at what we do. But we do have to be competent. I don't think "competent" is too much to ask for when a 61 y/o male tells you he has back pain, hurts all over, sharp chest pain, and you note wheezing, I don't think it's too much to ask for to order a chest pain protocol and at least 1 DuoNeb. No, telling me that "he's not in distress" isn't good enough. No, telling me that you've ordered a chest XRay because of the wheezing isn't good enough; last time I checked, radiation doesn't fix wheezing. But a DuoNeb just might. And I'm sure that in the 90 minutes that patient has sat in the ED core you could have figured that one out. This isn't rocket science. But obviously this was not happening inside your skull:
No, no, it's alright. I'll totally work-up the 61 y/o with hx of angina for his chest pain & back pain. And yes I'll totally admit him for groundglass infiltrates PNA. And I'll even draw the blood cultures prior to his ABX even though the doc forgot to order them.
So, please, today, when the doctor that I wouldn't trust with my dead goldfish is working, please, take your fucking head out of the goddamn bubblegum factory and for once in your fucking life THINK like an ER NURSE. Which sometimes means, yes, you have to think like a DOCTOR. It doesn't really matter to me what you call it, I just call it CRITICAL THINKING. And in a busy ED, it is CRITICAL. Otherwise please expect a thorough ass chewing from me. I hope you taste good with Nutella.
No comments:
Post a Comment