Hyperactivity here i come.....

Well then, here we go, my first account of a day in the life of the Emergency department. Take a deep breath and read on…

Unfortunately, I don’t have a huge amount to report today, it was a fairly normal day –how boring I hear you all say. Where to start… I have been working, living and breathing in the land of small people. How cute! It is the normal time (school holidays!) for the influx and flurry of accident prone children to be presented to the department as well as those who have the potential to deteriorate in front of you, which at times can be quite scary especially if the department is snowed under as is tends to be nowadays. It has been a day of entertainment, where dancing around the wards seems to be normal. Of course, when working with the little ones, you have to be happy, happy, happy, (a concoction of sugar and caffeine seems to do the trick nicely!! ) even when your personal life throws things at you that you don’t necessarily want or need to think about, but one still does, You have to leave any baggage you have in your life at the door and concentrate on the small fragile people that walk into your working environment. Not forgetting the even more so fragile parents who accompany the little people whom also need support, reassurance and constant communication to assist in providing a positive patient experience. It has to be said sometimes this is harder than it should be, but it still has to be done.

Then there was this one incident……This is where I go on to rant about radiologists. It must be said I do at times find radiologists very pedantic and raise my irritability levels quite drastically, with regards lots of, what I would class as ‘minor issues’. In particular today we had a young mother who was pregnant, we all understand and know the underlying harm these rays can cause although when they get to the point of refusing to allow mum into the x-ray room with her other little’ in’ I think this is going to extremes and I wish at times radiologists would make an informed choice which is wholly informed…if you get my drift. Thus I had to step in to assist in x-ray and attempt to find numerous ways to engage the little’ in to lay still for a pelvis x-ray…although bubbles seemed to do the trick nicely, although I did not seem to impress the radiologists with the mess I left behind….oops!!

Today has been fairly busy, as usual… the puppet master was working in the usual ways and the usual 4 hour breach targets are still very much present and part of our day to day life. No longer do you hear or see people asking ‘how is that patient?’ but its all about turning around patients within 4 hours, it does not seem it to matter how you or others go around this as long as you do…never mind how ill an individual is or the level and standard of treatment or care which is being delivered!! One sometimes feels like their sinking at times and is left wondering did I really do everything in my power or provide the best possible care for that individual, and sometimes you leave wondering what if..? Could I have done something better? I have been pushed from pillar to post and received orders from left right and centre but generally tried to stay quite neutral to these issues. Although life goes on and you do what is asked of you in order to provide the best amount of care possible unless you like to play devils advocate, which at times can be my speciality….

This is compromised of late, as outside agencies have been invited into the working environment with an aim to raise the profile of the Emergency Department and capture us ‘saving lives in action’ well supposedly! . This is all very well and good, but having to work to the highest standard possible, without ever taking time for yourself in an 8 hour day (or longer!), is hard. It is hard enough dealing with patients and their families in the tragic situations life throws at us, without have additional interferences and questioning your own knowledge…