paramedichopeful
Forum Lieutenant
- 166
- 0
- 0
I really don't know where to post this so I figured here would be as good as any place: today was my first experience in the ER (as staff, not pt. I have been there many times on the business end of the place). So anyway, just a little background information: my aunt is an ER nurse. More specifically, she directs the triage department and sometimes starts IV, gives meds, etc. Anyway back to the main topic. I went to work with my aunt today to learn the ropes of how to care for the sick and injured (well, somewhat). We got there at 7:30 this morning and started as soon as we walked in. My first thing to do was get my paperwork in order (disclaimer, waiver, rules and regs, that kind of stuff) then I had to sign off saying that I would keep my mouth shut about people's conditions, names, etc. should I ever hear anything of the such. Then we went down to the ER and scrubbed up (2 whole minutes of handwashing, I counted the time) then put on our "dr.'s coats" and got some gloves on. I started up front at the main entrance to the ER waiting room. I was at the front desk with the receptionist and a hospital security detail. Our first activity was for someone with head trauma. Long story short, elderly female fell from bed and hit night table. It was a walk-in, not an ambulance call. I was watching the little TV monitor that the security cams are hooked to and thought, "Whoa! Is this woman even alive?" Despite the crappy video quality you could still see the good trauma detail as the driver got her out of the car and wheeled her in on a wheelchair. I felt so bad for her; she was obviously in pain and was in very bad shape. There is a security door to go into the actual ER itself, so we buzzed the ward clerk and advised him of the situation at the front desk. Seconds later the doors busted open and here came nurses and doctors with a gurney. They got her on there then rushed her into the trauma center and the door closed. We had to call the janitors up there to clean up the biohazard in the wheelchair and the floor (blood everywhere, worse than a shooting if you ask me) but then everything calmed down for a bit. I was about to fall asleep when I just happened to glance at the monitor and see a cop car squal up and half-*** parallel park in front of the door. Two detectives ran in and went straight for the door to the ER. We of course hollered at them and stopped them. They claimed to be investigating a suicide attempt (apparently someone came in by ambulance and they were wanting info from them. We decided their story was legit, so once again we had the ward clerk come get them and take them back there. This all happened at around 11:30 in the morning so it was about lunch time. My aunt came walking out of the main ER room and came over to the desk. She goes, "Well that's only part of it. You ain't seen nothin' yet." She makes talk with security and then motions for me to follow her back there. I said "Don't they need to open the door from the inside?" Not exactly; there was a small keypad there in the corner that I failed to notice. 4 buttons and we were in. I like ER and all (as a TV drama; I know that's all fake though) but this was awesome. I got to go around and introduce myself to some of the people my aunt was taking care of. The woman with the head injury was hooked up to IV, o2, etc. and was propped up partially by pillows. I followed my aunt in and pulled the curtain. All of a sudden she's talkin' 90 mile an hour to the patient and getting an update on how she feels and all. Then i got to hold aunt Gina's clipboard and write stuff down as she took vitals. I made sure to double and triple check everything and was extra careful about how I recorded it. Then we went to 2 other people before breaking for lunch. We washed up and used the alcohol foam stuff and headed for the director's office. We had SubWay (it is built into the cafeteria, which is cool with me!) while e-mails, memos, and phone calls were shuffled, made, and forwarded. After lunch we had to go up to one of the general floors (regular patients, not trauma cases) and work there because a couple people didn't show up. I got the royal tour of the place and met some interesting people. Unfortunately, what goes in must also come out, and this time it was in the form of projectile vomiting. I had this guy's chart and was reading it to my aunt while she palpated his ankles and leg muscles (this was a ortho patient); the guy was sitting part-way up in bed when he says, "Nurse I don't feel that good". And of course, instead of looking him in the eye my multi-task aunt continued to do a checkup while asking him questions about why he didn't feel good. I thought he looked to be in pre-vomital stage (if that's even a medical term) but kept it to myself. Long story short aunt Gina ends up eating a second lunch (of ham salad, I think; it was a little chunky). We asked for another LPN to come in and finish up while we made ourselves sanitary again. When we went upstairs I went from a white lab-type coat to a white impervious gown (which I hated) but the LPN knows best; it's probably a good thing I changed because I got some of the overspray. We put our gowns in the red-bag container by the nurses station then went to wash up. We threw our paper towels into the can and she sealed the bag. I said, "Where does this go?" She grabbed her card-key and the bag and went across the hall from the nurses station and opened this door marked "Biohazard". I hate to sound weird but I always wondered what you did with that stuff. Inside were two chutes, one marked "Waste" and the other marked "Laundry". The red bag went into the waste and her soiled lab coat went into laundry. "Now where dos this go?" I asked. She said, "Well let me call maintenance and see if you can be shown around the mechanical guts of the place." My dad is a mechanic (he works on semi trucks, cars, etc) so I am always interested in the inner workings of things. At the end of the day I got to go downstairs. 2 guys from maintenance came up and talked to my aunt and then came over and introduced themselves. One said, "Not too many 16 year old guys wanna see what a mechanical room loks like. Are you sure you wanna know?" Of course I said yes, so we jumped in the elevator and went down as far as it would go. Then one of them stuck a key in the button panel on the elevator and pressed the "basement" button. We ended up in a huge underground room. There was piping going everywhere and all kinds of interesting looking stuff in there. First I saw another "Biohazard" door. I thought, where does that crap go?! I thought it would be like the one upstairs but it wasn't. So, in one of them goes and comes out with a big red tub full of something. I realized it was the red bags from upstairs. He walks over to this big drum looking thing (it's as big as a freakin' whale) and opens this round door in the side of it. In goes the bags and he shuts the door. Then he goes over to this computer looking thing and touches stuff on the screen. Here comes this whoosing noise and this roar starts. I had no clue what was going on but they took me up to the loading ramp to unload a shipment of medical supplies. Long story short that drum deal was an incinerator that they use for torching bloody crap. By the time I got out of that hospital it was 8 at night. And, of course, I couldn't leave without making a quick stop at the ambulance entrance and talking to the medics. So, I definitely want to do something in healthcare. It is interesting and you get to help people.
P.S. sorry it took 300 pages but I'm a very good writer and absolutely have to include every detail.
P.S. sorry it took 300 pages but I'm a very good writer and absolutely have to include every detail.
