I have been an attending for 10 years and I just learned addict CPR. If your boyfriend has had an extra large dose of heroin and has been lying on the floor, unmoving, cyanotic and cold for 3 hours, he can be revived by taking his pants off and kicking him in the junk a few times. Call 911 later, after the stash has run out.
That made me spit tea on to my keyboard..
Anyhoo, I have spent a while reading this thread and come to the conclusion that as I dont take any kind of recreational drugs, excercise regularly, dont eat junk food, and dont drink, if I am ever standing on a street corner minding my own business and "some guy" flicks a cig butt at me I will be dead in seconds...
I would just like to comment that you poor folk are right up against the sharp end a lot of the time, and as has been said many times you cant cure stupid, well you can but its illegal to euthanise folk for having the dumb.
I am a Union Rep in a very large mail centre in the UK, some of my people have some pretty tough daily challenges, some love their illness to the point that they wouldnt know what to do without them, which really bugs me, however the fixed grin and remembering its not a personality issue helps, I have lost it once or twice though, ie "I dont care if you had a bloody hernia op 10 weeks ago, if its giving you trouble you shouldnt be working overtime, and you should have got the occupational health involved" only to be told that occupational health is for c***'s as is re-hab plans, and I am not a doctor, and doctors are also for c***'s I got him banned from overtime for a month due to suspect health issues, dont call your rep names..
I also have to deal with nervous breakdowns, long term sick, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics who are sick of brown rice, the aggressive deaf who get very very upset if they dont know whats going on, sweethearts with a very low mental age but very strong bodies and no social skills, pregnant women who for some reason never want anyone to know they are pregnant but want sit down jobs, ( I am going to have to tell management when they ask why) industrial accidents that amazingly get better once the payout is done, and dont even get me started on cultural difficulties between workers, and I do this why? because I like to bully men in suits....
Great thread people, I have only had a couple of ER experiences, the usual "kid falls over and faceplants the playground" and "elderly mother breaks hip" and yes she did die within 18 months as they usually do, mainly due to the fact the silly woman wouldnt move about enough, and we all know where that leads.
Props to all you hardworking and endlessly patient folk, I share with you the "mouth open in disbelief" stance once in a while, not judging by this thread not as often!