Sunday, January 25, 2009

Why I Work in the ER

Recently we had a staff meeting where the guest speaker asked each of us to introduce ourselves and say why we like working in the ER.  Since then I've been meaning to put up a post about why I like working in the ER but laziness has had a firm grip on the better of me.

Until today.

The 2008 elections taught me many things, one of which is that girlvet and I run just about completely opposite on every political issue.  That said, here is her reasons for why she likes the ER:

TOP TEN REASONS WHY I WORK IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM
by Madness (AKA girlvet)

1) The HOURS - I work 12 hour shifts during the day. I work 5 shifts in 2 weeks. So I am off 8 days in 2 weeks. I work 10 days out of the month. I don't have to rotate. We have self scheduling. It works out good with my family.
2) My CO-WORKERS. People in ER are a fun, interesting group. They have interesting lives. They are not your everyday average Joe. Even the doctors are fun (!!)
3) Immediate GRATIFICATION. We really do help people. We relieve pain, help people breathe better, help them be less anxious, feel safe. That feels good.
4) The CHALLENGE. It is forever changing around treatments, technology, new programs within the hospital. Every once in a while something really interesting happens.
5) The VARIETY. Every day is different because every day we have different patients and they have different problems. We see people from all walks of life, in every variety humans come in.
7) SHORT TERM care. Most of the time we see people for 2-3 hours at a time and then they are gone. If they are annoying, or their family is annoying, they are gone in a short time. If they are having diarrhea or pushing on the light every 5 minutes they are gone in a short time. Only dealing with people a short time is a beautiful thing.
8) The HUMOR. Humanity always surprises. What people do to themselves. What they tell us. It keeps us amused.
9)The EXCITEMENT. After a few years in the ER when you feel confident in your abilities, critical situations are fun and challenging. It feels good that you can handle them.
10) The ACCEPTANCE. People who work in ERs can be quirky, different. We are an accepting sort. You can be a big of an oddball and its all good.

I have nothing to add to this list.  The only difference is in my schedule - I work a variable schedule, which means that I pick from the unfilled shifts after everybody has been assigned their normal rotations.  This generally works out well for me and I get to work mainly day shifts.  Otherwise, we are in complete agreement on why we love the ER.

Now if we can just get the ER to run for President.

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