Its a bad sign when...

[ERMudPhud]

You come in to the hospital to start your shift and hear a STAT overhead page to send any available stretchers, beds, or wheelchairs in the hospital to the ED

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Midwest Medic]

I think it would be even worse if you hear that, and you are the intern on-call for admits that night....as I was last night.

 

[fuegorama]

You come in to the hospital to start your shift and hear a STAT overhead page to send any available stretchers, beds, or wheelchairs in the hospital to the ED

OK
So were they just counting the furniture, or did you get hammered?

 

[Febrifuge]

It's a bad sign when there are no fewer than three seperate and distinct sets of footprints tracking in and out of a patient room...

...in blood.

 

[Seaglass]

The patient with CC of "abdominal pain" has a 14 cm open surgical wound.

 

[docB]

It's a bad sign when your ambulance bay looks like Big Joe's Used Ambulance Lot.

 

[NinerNiner999]

"Trauma Alert, Priority one, three patients by air, 5 minutes ETA." Good morning and welcome to Maryland Shock Trauma...

 

[DrQuinn]

Its a bad sign when you show up for the 5PM EM resident shift and Medicine has capped already for their admissions. (now the MICU resident has to come down and do the admissions....)

 

[Sessamoid]

I thought it was a just a bad joke when my charge nurse informed me on my arrival in the morning that the St. Pete Bicycle Club had just been hit head on by a car. Turns out that it wasn't a joke. I used to ride with that club. Freaking elderly incompetent drivers.

 

[docB]

It's a bad sign when:

There are more police cars than ambuances in your ambi bay.

The nurses are picketing.

You're driving to work and the traffic report says there's a multi car, injury accident right next to your hospital.

You walk in and all of the nurses are crying (usually means pedi code).

 

[Chris_Topher]

Bad Sign when you arrive for your shift and your patient from last night is still waiting for a bed on the floor. Gee, hope none of my patients TONIGHT need a bed.

 

[pman95]

Bad Sign when you arrive for your shift and your patient from last night is still waiting for a bed on the floor. Gee, hope none of my patients TONIGHT need a bed.

...or a patient from 2 nights ago, is still on the ventilator, still waiting for an ICU bed to open up

 

[FoughtFyr]

... When your shift ended three hours ago, your wife is just returning from out of town and you are still stuck at the ED with multiple critical patients.

- H

 

[Seaglass]

When your shift ended three hours ago, your wife is just returning from out of town and you are still stuck at the ED with multiple critical patients.

Dude, that's what signout is for!

 

[jpgreer13]

Your most frequent flyer lists your program director in the ED as his primary care physician when asked.

 

[Homunculus]

you're at a peds ED and The Short Bus crashes . .

--your friendly neighborhood peds ED considering caveman

 

[deleted6669]

your next 5 pts are in" hallway 1-5 "because every er bed is full and you are starting central lines in the hallway......and you can't go on divert because the whole system is on divert....ahhhhh the joys of working at a regional trauma ctr.....

 

[FoughtFyr]

Dude, that's what signout is for!

Actually, I couldn't, this was the "perfect storm". Multiple helicoptors from several MVCs had the trauma bays full, and the badness hit right around shift change at a time when the staffing would be reduced (i.e., I had no one coming in to relieve me). Plus, recent turnover of off-service rotators, so all of the ED type folks held over to help out.

Got out three hours late. Not so bad except I'm back on now (7 hours off).

I suppose my "you know it's a bad sign when..." should've read - "... the helicoptors are circling in a "holding pattern" waiting their turn to land 20 minutes before shift change."

- H

 

[docB]

You walk into the ER and there are 10 corrections officers watching 5 prisoners who are all shackled together in the hallway being triaged.

It's worse if as you walk by you hear a guard say, "They've all got the same thing. Drop your pants and show the nurse."

 

[docB]

It's a bad sign when you pull up to the ER and there's a naked guy leaning up against the wall having a smoke. It's an even worse sign that I'm so burnt out that I just walked right past him and didn't say a word.

It's a bad sign when you pull up to the ER and a helo is hovering waiting for the previous helo to clear the pad.

It's a bad sign when you see two guys from engineering coming out of the staff bathroom soaked and dripping from head to foot yelling at each other.

 

[Sessamoid]

Actually, I couldn't, this was the "perfect storm". Multiple helicoptors from several MVCs had the trauma bays full, and the badness hit right around shift change at a time when the staffing would be reduced (i.e., I had no one coming in to relieve me). Plus, recent turnover of off-service rotators, so all of the ED type folks held over to help out.

Got out three hours late. Not so bad except I'm back on now (7 hours off).

I suppose my "you know it's a bad sign when..." should've read - "... the helicoptors are circling in a "holding pattern" waiting their turn to land 20 minutes before shift change."

- H

There are times when I'm glad I no longer work in a trauma center. This is one of them.

 

[Doczilla]

It's a bad sign when a patient comes walking past the nursing station with a 5 inch knife...

...and 4-point leathers are still attached to his wrists and ankles.


'zilla

 

[Paws]

It's a bad sign when you pull up to the ER and there's a naked guy leaning up against the wall having a smoke. It's an even worse sign that I'm so burnt out that I just walked right past him and didn't say a word.

It's a bad sign when you pull up to the ER and a helo is hovering waiting for the previous helo to clear the pad.

It's a bad sign when you see two guys from engineering coming out of the staff bathroom soaked and dripping from head to foot yelling at each other.

man! I just love the ER ... !

 

[The White Coat Investor]

It's a bad sign when the border patrol has chased yet another pick-up speeding through the desert at high speed with 18 Mexican migrants in the bed until it rolled and then when the helicopter medics say...."yeah, when we left there were still 3 choppers waiting to land on the scene."

 

[ekydrd]

You know it's a bad sign when it's December graduation night and the weatherman is calling for 1/2" of ice then 6-8" of snow... all those young people partying and driving... raises the hairs on the back of my neck to think how close we came a few years ago to a major catastrophe.

 

[Oats]

It's a bad sign when a patient comes walking past the nursing station with a 5 inch knife...

...and 4-point leathers are still attached to his wrists and ankles.


'zilla

Whoa