Weekend Edition

We were off for the weekend as far as ER work goes, but did work on some side projects (stocking an airway cart, updating the pharmacy formulary list, etc) and celebrated a second Thanksgiving on Saturday with a real American turkey.  For the past two weeks, we have been making mental notes of all of the ways working in Soddo is similar to and very different from working in a county hospital.  So, here is our top 10 list!

Top 10 Ways Soddo is County
1) Throngs of people waiting, everywhere...in the hallway, waiting room, outside, on the lawn, etc
2) We talk to patients in a chair, then examine them in a bed
3) Everyone has at least one non-specific complaint that is potentially a sign of bad pathology
4) Some patients just want to be radiated, even when it is not clinically indicated
5) In theory, we can use ketamine
6) Translators are a precious resource
7) We prescribe medications based on whether our patients can afford it
8) The nurses know what to do in emergencies, and they act immediately
9) The to-be-seen list is never zero
10) It is fun, rewarding, and exhausting

Top 10 Ways Soddo IS NOT County
1) Everyone takes a lunch break, including patients
2) People rarely complain of pain, and ibuprofen works
3) Hypoxic patients walk to x-ray, not to a booth
4) Fractures are treated immediately
5) GCS < 8 does not mean intubate
6) Anything that ends in -itis might be tuberculosis
7) People pay for their medical care (and stay in the hospital until they can pay, instead of being discharged)
8) Hand sanitizer and PPE are precious resources
9) Long ER dwell times, but patients wait at home and return for results the next morning
10) Clinics can actually see patients on the same day they are referred

Weekend relaxation below...