fearNOT(:: January 2009

Just because I'm not as loud or pushy does not make me any less competent at what I do.

Yesterday's night take was the quietest ever, but also the most tiring. Quiet mainly because we had a grand total of 7 patients for the 12 hours. Tiring mainly because I had a full day of teaching in the day time and had a dinner break then started take. So really, it felt more like a 24 hour shift. The two doctors we were on take with were laughing at my partner and I mainly because they only start their shift 1.5 hours after we started ours, in addition they had the whole day to rest prior to take. Oh, and they also get paid to do it. They were really nice though, forcing us to go up to the doctor's mess with them to watch tv when there were no patients to see.

In true archway style, the moment I arrived at 8pm, I was sent straight to clerk a lady who had overdosed on paracetamol. I think mainly because of the social demographics of dodgy Archway, all the OD patients appear at A&E during the night and I always get sent to clerk them. However, unlike all the incoherent, mascara running, violent, aggressive, drunk, injuries covered patients I've clerked previously, this lady was quiet, polite and very coherent. After carefully exploring her reasons for OD-ing, it became clear that beneath her quiet, polite exterior lay depressive behaviour and probably a bit of paranoid schizophrenia too. She then became a lot less coherent rambling on about military police and the infirmary.

Speaking to od patients always tugs on a weird heart string of mine and leaves me with a strange aftertaste of helplessness.

ps: the next patient I was sent to clerk was this 27 year old dude who was chomping down KFC. Man, my stomach was sent rumbling in all directions after that. I shall spare you the medic geek details and cut to the chase by saying he had all the typical signs of a heart attack but the argument was that he was very young and very fit and therefore highly unlikely. But seriously, he was eating KFC at 12 midnight, HOW UNCLOGGED CAN HIS CORONARY ARTERIES BE? anyone up for some kfc pls call me.