Monday, May 20, 2013

Stages of reading an ECG while on call

Stages of reading an ECG while on call:

1) Walk all the way across the length of the hospital to read ECG on patient so that I could rule out MI and let him finally eat

2) Arrive on ward only to be told by the clerk that the ECG never happened... she thought I wanted it for the morning.

3) Write a NOW order for ECG and walk all the way back across the hospital to admitting

4) Arrive at admitting and immediately get paged by patient's nurse, saying that there was a mistake and the ECG had been done

5) Go back across hospital to read normal EKG

6) Go back to admitting, collapse into a chair, and drank about a bottle of water.

5 comments:

  1. It's a job with a built-in exercise program.

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  2. Um, are you entirely sure the nurse's actions were due to being scatterbrained as opposed to passive-aggressive? Because there have been a couple of residents throughout my career that I "helped to get exercise". Always 100% justified, though, I promise.

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    Replies
    1. May have been justified, but now you just come off looking like a b%#$@

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    2. I doubt it. I don't think I'd even met the nurse before. Unless she just hated all interns.

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  3. All too true....
    ~Jasmine

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