Snoozing the night

Nightriding can be super scary - the potential for badness is just so huge. What if someone comes in really really trying to die? But the reality is usually much more boring. Hours and hours of sitting, waiting for patients. And then when they come, they just don't need ER care. Our ER population usually needs a regular pediatrician much much MUCH more than an ER doc.

After all, healthcare dollars are really well spent on diagnosing a cold at 3am! Snot should not equal ER care. Snot should go to a clinic, during the day, with a doctor that can follow said cold and make sure it isn't allergic rhnitis, sinusitis, etc. And what kind of cracked-out mother takes her child to the ER for a stinking diaper rash? Oh yeah, our kind of cracked-out mother. (I suppose I should be thankful that I am able to use 'cracked-out' as a figurative term. For whatever reason, we don't see a lot of drug abusing mothers on a regular basis. Either that or we just flat-out miss them.)

The hospital also does its maintenance work at night - which is scary in its own way. At 3am, when just two petite female doctors are running the ER with two petite female nurses, hordes of huge burly repairmen come bustling through being burly and scary. I always think to myself that those men could take us all out and no one would be the wiser for several hours.

Of course, this doesn't stop me from trying to grab a nap whenever I can. Personal safety is way less important than sleep. (Ask any resident, they'll agree!)