One of the closest people we doctors work with are the nurses. Its really difficult to describe the kind of relationship we have with them. It is at best ambivalent, a sort of love-hate relationship..... While we might all work in the same place, sometimes it seems like doctors and nurses are in different planes of existence.
There are some perculiar cultures to the nursing profession that a doctor can never understand or partake. Unlike doctors, nurses work in shifts. During each change of shift, nurses have sort of a meeting where they hand over the cases to the next shift. They call it "PASS REPORT". For nurses, passing report is SACRED. Yes it is S-A-C-R-E-D in capital letter. Nothing is more important than them sitting around the table and slowly going through their very detailed notes for the day with one another. Everything comes to a standstill when passing report.
Doc: Staff nurse, the drip, backflow already, can you please change it?
Staff Nurse: Cannot, I need to pass report.
Doc: Can you get ready the lumbar puncture set?
SN(am shift): I am off shift, I will pass to the pm nurses.
Well, this passing report thing works in mysterious ways. Nurses never invites docs to pass along with them and when we walk pass them, their voices soften and they look at us suspiciously......
Whatever the case, really don't know what report they pass.
Doc: So is the lumbar puncture set ready?
SN(pm shift): What lumbar puncture set?
Doc frustrated liao: The one I told the am nurses, already waited for an hour for you'll to finish passing report!
SN: Dunno, the morning nurse never pass.
Yes! The favourite answer, never pass. Wonder what they were talking about in that hour then..... Maybe all they pass is their complaints about us, haha.
Another perculiar practice for nurses are their breaks. While doctors do not have regular lunch hours or breaks (we eat when we can find the time), nurses are rather particular about their breaks and schedule them in military style routine.
SN1: Ok today I in charge, so later who go for first break?
SN2: You first, I second?
If you manage to eavesdrop on the passing report, this is prolly first on the agenda.
Doc shouts to the nurses passing report for the evening shift: So HAS someone got ready my lumbar puncture set yet!!!
SN: The staff nurse in charge went for BREAK!
are u a real doctor? coz i need access to hospitals to take photos for my photography project and can't seem to get permission..... wondering if you could help.... if possible pls email me at mellifluous@melicacy.com thanks.
ReplyDeleteLol... i think my doctors in our ward are treated much more better. We help them to take blog. Juniors can assist doctors etc.
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ReplyDeleteWalau. I guess alot of civil servants are like that. :X
ReplyDeletethis post is sooooo funny but true!
ReplyDeletecan't ever forget the scowl some nurses give me when i have the audacity to try to get the treatment and diet/parameters charts from them in the morning for ward round when they are still passing report....
good ones and bad ones everywhere lah but i gotta hand it to those super lao jiao SRNs, quite a few of them bailed me out of many sticky situations. not too mention many of them taking a lot of unjustified flak during the SARS debacle in 2003.
ReplyDeletehey..but sometimes the nurses are so gawddamn busy passin reports..and passed the work to those poor student nurses..
ReplyDeleteand plus..its those snobish HOs tat makes the work difficult to do!