ER

I have recently started my house job. We have to complete at least 6 months in Surgery and Allied departments and another 6 months in Medicine and allied. I have been given Surgery and Allied first. The department I have to rotate in first is the much dreaded “Accidents and Emergency” or in other words “Shauba e hadsaat aur hangami imdad”  

I am working the nights these days where I have to report and 9 pm and leave at 8 am the next day. There is a fixed time to reach the hospital but no fixed time to leave as you cant leave till the morning shift arrives. Then you explain to them the the conditions and requirements of the different  patients admitted, their labs, xrays, meds etc and “handover” the patients.

Working at nights can be tiring but its an exciting experience. You cant sit much, let alone sleep, and you have to be on your toes the whole time. Its a different world altogether. With the continuous monitor beeps, and chasing lab reports all night on phone, its hard to imagine that the world outside is fast asleep. You meet lots of different people with a range of different issues: falls, poisoning, attempted suicide, road traffic accidents, MIs are few of the most common cases that we see very often and which keep us on our toes all day. And then an odd case of mania or bipolar disorder where the patient believes the world is out to get him can lighten the mood a little bit.

It took a little getting used to for me to keep up with the pace that the department required. Eventually it became a habit to such an extent that I am in that fast hyperactive mode even after few hours of coming back home where i eat sleep bath do everything so quickly like there will be an emergency in the next minute or so.

Looking at dead bodies, people dying in front of us in our hands and then breaking the news to the families and has become all so common for me. You eventually desensitize. You have to. There is no time for emotions as there is a patient fighting for his life on the next bed who really needs your attention and can still be saved.

I will be posted in the ER for one  month. For me the people working in the ER and taking this field as life long careers are the true super heroes. This is as close to Superman,Batman and Wondergirl as you can get in real life.