They Were Only Human, After All

I jumped right in – feet first into the organized chaos of the Emergency Dept. Every day is different, but there is a pattern to this chaos – registration, triage, registration, room, nurse, doctors, and discharge. Some patients come in sicker than others; some days, the waiting periods can vary from a few minutes to as long as two, three hours. The day after an Orioles or Ravens’ game is usually terribly busy. I was learning fairly quickly from my observations and was assimilating quite well within a month’s time into my typical 9-5 shifts. To broaden my experience and to benefit the night nurses who have never been exposed to a volunteer, my supervisor asked me how I would feel working a later shift once a week: a 1pm-9pm shift. I was quite excited! I wanted to be used and at full disposal to the needs of the ER and was thrilled to see something different. She warned me though that the later shift operates differently than the day shift, but I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to make the most out of my experience. Besides, I like a challenge and this was supposed to be an adventure! Whatever the outcome would be, she assured me that if I didn’t want to work the later shift, then it would be fine, but we mutually agreed it would be beneficial for me to try it once. I started the following Monday.

Mondays are usually crazy, so the afternoon was nothing different from what I expected. As the day progressed into the twilight of dusk, I began to see how so very different the later shift operated. I found out I had to initiate to do things my earlier charge nurses would ask me to do. The staff were hyperactive and on their feet and ready. The waiting period for patients was progressing to about four hours. There were so many people in the waiting room! More homeless people were being pulled into the hallways for drug and alcohol intoxications. I was being pulled left to right, being asked when the doctor was going to see them, why some patients were not being called in chronological order. I could see that these patients were in a lot of pain and were getting pretty cranky. Some were rude and I had to keep my temper in check a few times! It was a lot crazier than I had imagined! It was so easy to tell my site supervisor the following morning that I didn’t want to deal with any of it… but I didn’t. On my drive back home, I thought about how this experience was changing my views to the clear, happy bubble I had built for myself. It was difficult, yes. It was trying, yes. Did I want to do it again? That’s a good question. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that just because I didn’t enjoy it the first time does not mean that I shouldn’t try it the second time around. I told my site supervisor that I would like to try it out again. She was a bit surprised, quite frankly.

When next Monday came in, I was ready. My expectations had adapted, and I was learning my way around. Sure, the patients were cranky as usual, but a part of me held some respect and appreciation of the diversity of the late night staff and environment. I like the fast pace, (I also enjoy sleeping in on Mondays!), and I had been developing a thicker skin in lieu to the acrimonious. Beneath the external vituperative shell of these patients lies the sincerity of an affliction that needed to be alleviated. They were only human, after all. In the spirit of Mercy, I need to connect with an open mind… nay, an open heart. =)

Marjorie Daria - Mercy Medical Center - Baltimore, MD