May 10, 2005

To Forgive, Divine...

It appears that after all my venting about the ED over the weekend (to anyone and literally everyone who would listen), I don't hate it so bad! Maybe it was an abscess in my mind that I needed to drain... The attendings that are on for the night make a BIG difference. Big. Huge. (I have to go shopping...)

Tonight, in one shift, I tripled the number of rectal exams I've done, managed to not laugh hysterically when one of those patients started yelling "Mama! That lady had her hand in my BUTT!" (this was a full grown woman, not a child), saw the coolest dislocated ankle fracture EVER (the attending whipped out his camera for it) AND I got to do a central line!!!

It was like the heavens opened up and smiled down upon me. Perhaps my cosmic reward for crossing the rectal exam hurdle (it would appear I'm fixating on the rectal exam... Freud would have a field day)

Many a time have I watched a resident place a central line, after which they say some variation of "You should do the next one." Of course, I am never with the same resident twice, so all year, I just kept waiting and waiting. I know the landmarks. I know the technique. I know how to flush the ports, and that we need to get the fancy blue caps. And today I got to do it! So excited was I. AND I got the vein (an IJ) on my first stick. Like butter baby. Awe. Some.

Still not going to go into Emergency Medicine as a field, but at least I'm not getting hives before each shift any more...

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