The Times They Are a-Changin' (in the E.D.)

For the last few weeks, I have been out of the loop, so to speak, with respect to the E.D., and so I have not been posting.  However, in my absence, much has changed, and yet much has remained as perplexing as it was at the beginning.  I continue to find the logic and management of hospitals to be a labyrinthian quest wrapped in an enigma, which spins, seemingly, without direction through space and time.  Although I am certain someone, at some point established the parameters in which we work for a reason, that reason, and the function of those parameters, acts more to hinder than to help - at least from my vantage.  In short, my hands are tied, so I'll roll with the punches until I can find a way out of the maze.

On a brighter note, yesterday I consented my first patient to a research study.  Only two more to go. The process was rather entertaining, for when I was asking questions of the patient, the patient's family jokingly made remarks and answered.  I found the interaction uplifting, for even in the midst of being in the E.D. for an accident, they kept their spirits up.  During the course of the interview, the patient told me about the events leading up to their entrance into the E.D., and what they were thankful for now that they were being treated.  Sometimes I forget that most of the people I speak with in the E.D. never come into the hospital, and for them the entire experience is new, and enlightening, and even life-changing.  In any case, the experience illustrated that I not only knew what I was doing, but also that I have good 'bed-side' composure, or whatever.  It is just talking to people, I don see why people get nervous.

In the coming weeks, as we gain greater independence, I imaging the flexibility of the shifts will allow me to resolve the perplexities of the labyrinth, but for now I'll take my consent from yesterday as a small victory in an on-going battle.

I'm done rambling for now.   Until next time.

JDS