An interesting day.

Two interesting experiences today:

The first, which was not so pleasant:
There is a special breed of person we see in the hospital not infrequently - the kind that actually enjoys being in the hospital. They think it's like this great place to come and relax for a few days. Even if there's not much wrong with them, they think they should be allowed to stay in the hospital as long as they want. I went to discharge a patient today (who honestly I could have sent home yesterday) and he suddenly got very mad and yelled at me that this hospital sucked and that he was going to go tell someone what he thought of this place and that he'd never come here again. I have been yelled at before when trying to send home people who do not want to leave, so I tried to reason with him about it, but he was not in a reasonable mood. Whatever. I got his paperwork done and moved on. Then, maybe 20 minutes later, I get a phone call from the nurse. Apparently the patient then started making threatening statements about me, saying that he hated me and "was going to get me." She called security. I then left a message for risk management. I certainly am not scared - I think he was just blowing off steam. But it is disconcerting to hear, especially from a fairly large man. I'm not sure what the resolution of this will be - another attending said that the hospital takes this very seriously. Supposedly, he wants to come to the montgomery center in the morning to tell someone what he thinks about the situation. Security will be standing by.

The second:
I had a nearly cliche, something that only happens to doctors in the movies kind of experience today as well. I almost delivered a baby in the parking lot to the ER. I had just gotten to the ER to do an admission when I heard the ER nurses sort of freaking out and talking about needing a "precip kit." "Precip" meaning precipitous delivery, as in, a rapid delivery that happens somewhere like the ER parking lot. I followed them out to a van I had just passed on the way in. On the way in I thought I heard the spanish-speaking lady who got out of the van mention something about a baby, but I didn't see anyone else in the car so I didn't worry about it. The ER doctors and nurses, while totally competent and good at what they do, are just not as comfortable in the situation of trying to deliver a baby. So I go with them and pull on some sterile gloves. Our patient is lying on a trash bag in the back seat of a green van, clearly trying to breathe through her contraction. I check her cervix, find her to be not-quite-fully dilated, and tell everyone to take a big breath and get us a stretcher. At this point there are 4 or 5 doctors and at least that many nurses. I check her again after her contraction is over just to make sure I got it right. (I did.) We move her over to the stretcher and rush her inside. The nurses whisk her away to the labor floor, where she arrives just in time to deliver her healthy baby. Which I do think was better for all involved. But it would have been an even better story if I'd gotten to deliver the baby in the back seat of the green van.

So that was my day - how was yours?

Comments

Christy said…
I am one of those weird people that loves hospitals. Nathan thinks I'm such a loser but I don't care. I love them. I love the nurses. I love the food. I love it all. But I wouldn't threaten you if you tried to discharge. Just maybe ask for a plate of macaroni and cheese to go.
Austin said…
I guess all those years of watching ER paid off!

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