Back on IIU

The pager says a stab wound to the chest and an elevated blood ETOH level. ... I must be back on IIU. I love my new job but nothing this "exciting" happens. (Exciting is tongue in cheek: I don't like stab wounds because nice people don't generally get stabbed and I don't like drunks because, well, they are drunk. I know there are "nice drunks" sometimes that won't curse me out when I try to provide care but they generally try to grope me and I'm more of a DON'T TOUCH ME kind of person. ) Anyway, I'm only on IIU once a week now and that is OK. Oddly enough we haven't had a drunk yet out at Southwest. (Pretty sure we never are either.) I'm getting the hang of it out there. The pace is generally pretty quick as I've discovered I'm working the busiest shifts. We can easily see more than 20 patients in the evening. One doctor and two nurses. Let me do the math for you... that is a lot of things to do in an hour. But I like being busy and seeing a little bit of everything. I'm slowly getting better with the kids stuff... though yesterday I was reassured that I still have no idea what I'm doing. I triaged a 3 year old who was holding her wrist and crying. Pretty sure I couldn't mess it up, I ordered the wrist x-ray and waited for the doc to go in to see her. Well evidently in that age elbow injuries look like wrist injuries and they don't even need films. You just put the elbow back in place and watch the kid for 20 minutes or so. If they start to use it again you discharge them home... I'm learning. (BTW: It is called Nursemaid's Elbow and shouldn't happen after age 5. )