Nurses

So I've been on vacation for the last week and a half. It has been excellent, but I don't have any specific stories to write about pertaining to the ED so I'll write a little quip about nurses...

One of the top factors that determines whether or not I'm going to have a good shift is, usually, not the quality of the patients that come through the door but the quality of the nurses that happen to be working. Nurses can make or break a shift. There are a couple of nurses that I absolutely loath working with, and I cringe when I see them come in to work. I don't know what happened in their life to make them perpetually bitchy and lazy, but they always seem to take it out on everyone around them. The real problem is they actually have worked in the ED for quite some time and have a lot of experience on me, and with that experience, if I order a lab that requires a extra work and they don't think it is absolutely necessary they will confirm its necessity with the attending before doing it. For example, if I order a lactic acid on someone (it has to be placed on ice before sending it to the lab) they bitch, if I order an in/out cath urinalysis, they bitch, or God for bid I order orthostatics. I bet a nurse is still complaining now for the orthstatics order I placed two weeks ago.

Most of our nurses are great and I absolutely love working with them. A good relationship between any doctor and the nurse goes a long way in providing excellent care. Having said that, I can't help but love when I get to order multiple enemas on a patient that is being care for by a nurse that I don't get along with. :)

More ED stories to come soon as I start back nights on Tuesday...