Life was pretty tough for a junior nurse back in the day*: Military hospital, France 1945: the flatus nurse does her rounds. At precisely 7 AM each morning the flatus nurse would commence her round.Patients would assume the Schlemberg’s position (recumbant with legs held high in the air) and one by one, amidst much grunting, straining and proclaiming, produce their best gaseous emission.The junior nurse … Continue reading The Flatus Nurse
One of the responsibilities of the Emergency Department where I used to work was to attend medical emergencies (or ‘codes’) elsewhere in the hospital. We would dispatch a medical emergency team (known as a MET team), comprising a senior doctor and nurse. When their pager goes off they respond by pushing this rather big trolley known as a crash-cart (for reasons that will soon become … Continue reading Why medical teams WALK to an emergency.
He was a big man. In the midst of a big code. And he was in big trouble. We needed to move this man from the MRI table back onto his bed in a real quick hurry. To do this we would use a large rectangular plastic spatula known as a PatSlide. Described as a “thick semi flexible thermoplastic material with 12 longitudinal ridges on … Continue reading The PAT slide.
Here are 3 remarkable true stories about the very same bed space in the emergency department where I worked: Resuscitation Bed 1.
The first story I wrote after an incident with a colleague at work.
The second two were written by others as responses to that story……
Some time ago we had a 98 yo lady (whom I will call Betty), transferred to our emergency department from a local nursing home. Betty was having palliative care at the nursing home and was well aware that she was soon going to die.
Betty had completed an advance care directive (ACD) stating her wishes not to be resuscitated and that she did not wish to die in a hospital, but in her current environment.
