What brings you in today?

Last night I worked a night shift.  I sometime find these harrowing as you are the only doc on.  So you have to see all the patients, as opposed to sharing the workload with some one else.  I shouldn’t complain, last night wasn’t too bad as far as being busy.  But I had a code (cardiac arrest) come in and she didn’t make it.  That was my last patient of the day as she came in very early in the morning.  I always feel like there should have been something more I could have done differently to make a difference…sigh.

 But on a better note, I put a dislocated elbow back together.  This guy fell off a fence after massive quantities of alcohol and dislocated his left elbow.  I had never put an elbow back but like I said, when you are the doc on call…you see it all.  So I looked at the x-ray and decided how it needed to go back, gave him some pain meds and sedation, and WHAM …back you go elbow!  It was cool. 

 Now back for another night tonight.  I hope it goes well.  Then off for 3 days!!

 Oh, also I finally annouced at work that I would be leaving around Sept to move south.  At least I told my boss.  His words to me?   You suck.  (we are very short staffed there)