I worked an extra shift tonight and did it in the pediatric ER, both for the first time. Sundays are slower than the rest of the week, but not by much. The pedi ER is mostly kids with fevers, abdominal pain, and the like. It's a lot of out-of-sorts children prone to crying when the nurses and doctors touch them. Of course, they get super-peeved when their blood is drawn.
I managed to stumble my way through registering a couple kids whose parents only spoke Spanish. They seemed relieved, possibly because I was making an effort, but more likely because it meant that soon the pestering white boy would leave the room. With time and practice I should improve. Then I can travel to Spanish-speaking countries and ask people for their Social Security numbers and whether they have Medicaid.
That's another thing. Most of the kids I saw tonight had Medicaid, which is great, but I think the reason they're in the ER for primary care is that there aren't enough pediatricians who take it. The lack of government-sponsored healthcare for everyone in the US is a massive issue for me. I could go on and on about this, but suffice to say that the haves not being able to be picky about their doctor so that the havenots can actually get medical care is an acceptable trade-off. Oh, and Canada rocks.
Moving on, I know I never want to work in labor & delivery, but working with kids in the ER might be cool. Sure they cry, but it's better than say a drunk guy with a gash on his head bellowing racial slurs.
Slow clap
11 years ago
The doctor I know loses money each time he sees a Medicare patient. I know it goes along with being hippy liberal scum, but I'm 100% into socialized health care.
ReplyDelete-Colleen
Healthcare is pretty screwed up in general. When was living in Shreveport, Scot and I bought our own health insurance policies. We never needed to use it until one week when I was having bouts of abdomenal cramping, dizziness and nausea. I was insured and I couldn't find a doctor to take me. Either they didn't accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield or they weren't accepting new patients or they were accepting new patients but they required a "new patient" visit first and the only appointments were a month out. I almost ended up at the emergency room (which would have been almost completely out-of-pocket). Instead, the fifteenth-or-so doctor I called agreed to see me. (He was an ass and a shitty doctor, too.) It's not like there was a dearth of medical care facilities in the city either -- Shreveport has four major hospitals (all with more than one campus) plus several smaller clinics.
ReplyDeleteSorry about babbling in your comments. :)
Babble away Jen, glad I could remind you of such a happy time.
ReplyDeleteMost people know there's a shortage of nurses, but there's also a shortage of general practicioner doctors. Partly this is because the real money is in being a specialist. With the decline in high school science education here in the US, things aren't looking good for the future.