I have the day off on tuesday, after working five days in a row. I guess most people would look at that statement and say "so the f what?" but I REALLY need a day off. Working in the Emergency Department can go from a breeze to complete and utter havoc in 2 seconds. Yesterday I was breathing a sigh of relief after a long wave of registering patient after patient. Then somebody came in. Then another. In 5 minutes I watched 8 people walk in the front door to be treated. That might not mean much to most people. But you must consider the fact that it takes about 10 minutes to get a person registered, after which it is probably safe to say the average treatment time would be at least an hour. So in 8 minutes I was given 80 minutes of work, which didn't include the fact that more people walked in after that short period. It just went on and on, without stop. And then there are the admissions, the babies born, the pregnant women and girls who come in for tests, the various vials of urine that I have to register and send for tests, and other odd jobs. Nothing happens on any certain schedule of regularity - it just gets thrown at you in big globs - like a shit-throwing monkey. What a poor analogy.
So anyway, this was my first five-day stretch. I usually work three days on, then one off, then four on, two off, etc. I feel like I was trampled in a riotous Spanish soccer tournament. Maybe I'm just a big pussy, but that's fine with me. Wah, wah, wah. There's a reason that most of the nurses down there work 12 hour shifts - then they only work 3 days a week. Same with the doctors. So this five-day thing isn't for the birds.
I think the most irritating thing about my job is dealing with the hoardes of people who come in for treatment who do NOT need to be treated. At least, they don't have to be treated in an Emergeny Room. Sniffles, cold sores, and rashes can be dealt with by using Sudafed, caution, and hydrocortisone. But if you go to the ED to deal with them, you accrue a bill of at least $200.00. That's just insane. And the big wammer of all is the fact that a lot of these people don't pay! We live in a country where there is no universal health coverage, so people without insurance go to Emergency whenever they get damaged, diseased, or want Vicodin. Then the bill comes, and it equals four weeks worth of work, and it doesn't get paid. So there's no wonder why it costs so much for health insurance here, and for services rendered - because you are paying for yourself and all the people that didn't pay! In fact, most people WITH health insurance don't get free care in an Emergency room situation - they must first prove that the treatment was necessary and an 'emergency', and then they usually still have to pay at least a percentage of the bill. And do you think they pay it? Some maybe do.
That may sound like an argument in favor of the conservatives, but it's not. It's an argument for the fact that we should just square up to the fact that we're the only country without universal healthcare in the free, developed world, and we should just revolutionize and do the deed.
Anyway, that was my little political fanfare for the day. I'm tired and crabby and my day off has started, and I plan to spend at least 8 hours of it sleeping. But in the meantime, here's another long political rant - in the form of a movie. It's full length, but you might want to check out at least some of it before you go buy your next pair of 2 dollar slippers.
So anyway, this was my first five-day stretch. I usually work three days on, then one off, then four on, two off, etc. I feel like I was trampled in a riotous Spanish soccer tournament. Maybe I'm just a big pussy, but that's fine with me. Wah, wah, wah. There's a reason that most of the nurses down there work 12 hour shifts - then they only work 3 days a week. Same with the doctors. So this five-day thing isn't for the birds.
I think the most irritating thing about my job is dealing with the hoardes of people who come in for treatment who do NOT need to be treated. At least, they don't have to be treated in an Emergeny Room. Sniffles, cold sores, and rashes can be dealt with by using Sudafed, caution, and hydrocortisone. But if you go to the ED to deal with them, you accrue a bill of at least $200.00. That's just insane. And the big wammer of all is the fact that a lot of these people don't pay! We live in a country where there is no universal health coverage, so people without insurance go to Emergency whenever they get damaged, diseased, or want Vicodin. Then the bill comes, and it equals four weeks worth of work, and it doesn't get paid. So there's no wonder why it costs so much for health insurance here, and for services rendered - because you are paying for yourself and all the people that didn't pay! In fact, most people WITH health insurance don't get free care in an Emergency room situation - they must first prove that the treatment was necessary and an 'emergency', and then they usually still have to pay at least a percentage of the bill. And do you think they pay it? Some maybe do.
That may sound like an argument in favor of the conservatives, but it's not. It's an argument for the fact that we should just square up to the fact that we're the only country without universal healthcare in the free, developed world, and we should just revolutionize and do the deed.
Anyway, that was my little political fanfare for the day. I'm tired and crabby and my day off has started, and I plan to spend at least 8 hours of it sleeping. But in the meantime, here's another long political rant - in the form of a movie. It's full length, but you might want to check out at least some of it before you go buy your next pair of 2 dollar slippers.
No comments:
Post a Comment