Emergency Department News

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I work in a large Emergency Department on the west coast in the United States. We have been rated the the second busiest next to LA County Hospital. I have worked in the ER for over 12 years. I have seen so much and experienced more then I can remember. I've seen many deaths, a lot of blood, gun shot wounds, domestic assults, and countless other things. I've seen patients tazzered by police and I've been attacked by patients. I've cleaned bugs off people and put dressings on amputated hands. (good stuff!) I could go on and on. I am an Emergency Department Technician. I draw blood, splint broken bones, wound care, CPR and a number of other responsibilities. I started this discussion to talk about my experiences and share insight on what we do and who we are. Our ER has over 68 actual beds. Thats not including the hall beds that we use often. We are mostly full all the time. But heck, that makes the day go by fast. I think one of the obstacles I work with is dealing with other co-workers. Our ER, like other companies, have the hard working staff, the lazy staff, the "I dont care about anybody but me" staff, and the "I'll do what I want" staff. Now just to clarify all of the staff in these catagories do a good job of taking care of patients. But outside of that, some of them need a few lessons in making responsible descisions. I don't think our ER is as drama filled as the TV version. However we have had doctors having affiars with nurses, paramedics kissing in the bathroom (which they forgot to lock!) and your occasional patient throwing punches and choking staff. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Okay wait, maybe thats where the TV show writers got their ideas.:/