Someone mentioned a veteran ED Tech catching something on an EKG or something, and got me to thinking of some I've worked with over the years.
One was useless. I really don't know how he got hired, but he literally did nothing. Never saw him get vitals, do an EKG, or anything. He was however important in one way. He went and got food for the staff every shift. We even sent him 45 minutes away to get some Taco Villa burritos one night. I suppose that was his role.
Another one is a retired teacher, has to be in her early 70's. Her role is HOURLY vital signs. That's what she picked up from her training I guess, and it is her lot in life when she's in the ED. You can bet your life on having up to date vital signs on the patients. She doesn't necessarily place them into CERNER, but she has her little clipboard with paper that she shows you.
The last one I'll talk about is an absolute Superstar. His splinting is better than all the ortho techs, and some of the ortho guys probably. He's constantly getting called to the clinic to splint for the FM guys. It's amazing watching him herd the BSN & MSN trained nurses. He triage's better than them. He'll secretly move the sprained ankle out of the resus bay into a basic exam room and then it'll take the nurses 15 minutes to find their patients (some of our nurses are really, really good though). He actually looks at the labs and xrays and tries to learn. When he has downtime, he's looking things up on Up To Date. Actually made a good catch yesterday. He was reading a xray prelim that said "fullness at the aortic arch". The primary nurse was busy looking at her phone. He however notified her, CT was done, dissection, patient flown out and doing well today.
I frequently tell the ED nurse manager that he is a better "nurse" than 90% of her staff. She doesn't like it but I know deep down she agrees.
This dude is a short, maybe 5 foot 2, tattooed up, sleeved, long bushy bearded guy that just seems to connect with every patient. The ole farmer and ranchers, the "hood" people (I mean no offense), the MHMR/drug abusers, man this guy can just touch everyone of the patients.
He has been a tech for about 17 years. And he is content with that. Spends EVERYONE of his off days grilling and listening to music all day long. It's been a pleasure to have him across the gurney all these years.
One was useless. I really don't know how he got hired, but he literally did nothing. Never saw him get vitals, do an EKG, or anything. He was however important in one way. He went and got food for the staff every shift. We even sent him 45 minutes away to get some Taco Villa burritos one night. I suppose that was his role.
Another one is a retired teacher, has to be in her early 70's. Her role is HOURLY vital signs. That's what she picked up from her training I guess, and it is her lot in life when she's in the ED. You can bet your life on having up to date vital signs on the patients. She doesn't necessarily place them into CERNER, but she has her little clipboard with paper that she shows you.
The last one I'll talk about is an absolute Superstar. His splinting is better than all the ortho techs, and some of the ortho guys probably. He's constantly getting called to the clinic to splint for the FM guys. It's amazing watching him herd the BSN & MSN trained nurses. He triage's better than them. He'll secretly move the sprained ankle out of the resus bay into a basic exam room and then it'll take the nurses 15 minutes to find their patients (some of our nurses are really, really good though). He actually looks at the labs and xrays and tries to learn. When he has downtime, he's looking things up on Up To Date. Actually made a good catch yesterday. He was reading a xray prelim that said "fullness at the aortic arch". The primary nurse was busy looking at her phone. He however notified her, CT was done, dissection, patient flown out and doing well today.
I frequently tell the ED nurse manager that he is a better "nurse" than 90% of her staff. She doesn't like it but I know deep down she agrees.
This dude is a short, maybe 5 foot 2, tattooed up, sleeved, long bushy bearded guy that just seems to connect with every patient. The ole farmer and ranchers, the "hood" people (I mean no offense), the MHMR/drug abusers, man this guy can just touch everyone of the patients.
He has been a tech for about 17 years. And he is content with that. Spends EVERYONE of his off days grilling and listening to music all day long. It's been a pleasure to have him across the gurney all these years.
