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Had a wonderful day at work today. 
Frankly, I blame everything that happened on my coworker that took my van and forced me to wait 45 minutes/1 hr to start my hospital shift. I really don't like being late because during every shift I have at least one crew member that needs to catch a bus/Dial-a-Ride at the end of their shift. If we're late I have to drive them home myself, which I don't mind doing, but then that means I'll be late getting out because I have to get back to the office, do paperwork, lock up and all that crap.
Is it the end of the world? No, but I really don't like having to work from 7am to 6pm just because one of my coworkers screwed up and made me late.
But I digress . . .
The first hospital went okay. It was only when we were leaving that I got a little upset. You see, when we arrive we have to take badges from the public safety desk to get access to certain areas and get the bins. When we leave we give it back to the officers on duty. Sometimes they're not there and they've said that I can leave them with the charge nurse in the ER or one of the other ER staff.
However, the charge nurse wasn't at the desk and the other nurses were treating patients at the time. So no officers, no available nurses and I can't leave until I can give the badges to someone. So I wait for about two minutes - still no charge nurse at the desk or officer and the other nurses are still busy. At this point I used the phone by the office to call one of the security guards and explain the situation.
Normally they are quite nice, but apparently when I stated that I was trying to leave and had no one to give the badges to, I had accidentally told him to go fuck himself in a tongue I wasn't aware existed, let alone was fluent in.
"[sigh] Just leave them at the desk! We're in the middle of something!"
It wasn't what he said as much as his tone, which I felt was far more curt than necessary. Well sir, I'm sorry to have upset you, but seeing as these badges allow direct access to the ICU, the OR and Nursery (among other locations) I thought I was only to leave them with an actual human being and not just leave them unattended at the charge nurse's desk. But okay, fine. Since I'm obviously crapping in your cornflakes here, I'll do as you say.
I don't know. Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive but I don't like being yelled at for just trying to do my job correctly.
Moving on to the next hospital. We get there and my crew member (who I'll refer to as GREEN) tells me she needs to use the restroom. No problem there. So I go to the security check in when my other female crew member (YELLOW) states she needs to use the restroom as well.
So after getting the badges I wait with my remaining crew member (RED) when YELLOW comes out and tells me the GREEN is crying in the restroom. When I ask why she states that GREEN said her head and stomach hurt really bad. The restroom - like most public restrooms - has stalls so I go in to see if she's okay. I hear her sobbing and ask her what's going on. She says her stomach hurts and when I gave her a scale of 1 to 10 she says the pain is close to 10. I tell her to let me know when she's finished using the restroom and leave to give her privacy.
I called my supervisor to explain the situation and she says that if she's hurting that much to have her call her mom to pick her up. When she's finished she calls her mom, but she's at work and it will take her over and hour to get there if she leaves right at that moment. The Dial-a-Ride will be there to pick her up sooner GREEN's mother said she's okay with having her take that instead. I call my supervisor with the update and she tells me to wait for the ride with her so that she's not ending up doubled over with no staff around.
I give instructions to YELLOW and RED to start the first floor on their own and tell them which bins to do. Despite their disabilities, my crew is pretty independent and intelligent so I'm confident in leaving them to their job. I'm really there mostly to coordinate (make sure all the bins get done) and provide transportation as well as monitor how well they work so there's no issue in leaving them alone to work.
So they set out while I go outside to sit with GREEN for her ride. About 15 minutes later I hear, "Is there a Crescent Cat out here?"
I look over and see a volunteer and a CNA walking out of the doors. I go over to see what's going on and they tell me that they had to call a Code Blue on YELLOW.
What the fuck!? Code Blue!? She's gone into cardiac arrest!?
"Oh no! She just fell."
Eh . . . ooookay . . . is she conscious?
"Oh yeah! She's talking and everything!"
So . . . she's not in cardiac arrest, she's conscious, she's talking . . . and you called in a Code Blue?
"It's hospital protocol since no one actually saw her fall."
*facepalm* Whatever you say . . .
I have GREEN follow me since I can't leave her by herself and I see RED there talking to one of the nurses while a clinical response team is talking with YELLOW. I ask RED what happened and he said that he didn't see what happened since he was working in another room but that when he came back he saw YELLOW on the floor near the cart. I asked YELLOW what happened and she seemed rather confused, like she wasn't quite sure what happened either, and told me something about falling on her side while trying to get a bin.
Another call to my supervisor and she says that she'll contact YELLOW's sister and she'll be on her way. I still need to stay with GREEN but she says she's feeling well enough to tough it out (whatta trooper).
So needless to say we didn't finish that hospital out. I had RED collect the carts and run the recycling down while I waited for my supervisor with YELLOW. When she got there I took GREEN back outside to catch her ride. I told her to call her mom to let her know she was on her way home once she was on the bus, but she was at least able to get home.
My supervisor said I could take RED home once he finished since she would stay with YELLOW until her sister came to the hospital. I knew I wasn't going to make it to the freeway before rush hour so on the way back to RED's house I told him I'd probably stop to get some video games. He and I are both gamers so I like to talk about gaming with him and I needed a change of subject from all the chaos that went down.
So anyway - as you can clearly see this is all my coworker's fault. And quite honestly, Code Blue? Really? Okay, it may be protocol but when talking to someone who is not a hospital staff could you please use a different term so that I don't have a panic attack thinking that one of my crew members is dying?
Frankly, I blame everything that happened on my coworker that took my van and forced me to wait 45 minutes/1 hr to start my hospital shift. I really don't like being late because during every shift I have at least one crew member that needs to catch a bus/Dial-a-Ride at the end of their shift. If we're late I have to drive them home myself, which I don't mind doing, but then that means I'll be late getting out because I have to get back to the office, do paperwork, lock up and all that crap.
Is it the end of the world? No, but I really don't like having to work from 7am to 6pm just because one of my coworkers screwed up and made me late.
But I digress . . .
The first hospital went okay. It was only when we were leaving that I got a little upset. You see, when we arrive we have to take badges from the public safety desk to get access to certain areas and get the bins. When we leave we give it back to the officers on duty. Sometimes they're not there and they've said that I can leave them with the charge nurse in the ER or one of the other ER staff.
However, the charge nurse wasn't at the desk and the other nurses were treating patients at the time. So no officers, no available nurses and I can't leave until I can give the badges to someone. So I wait for about two minutes - still no charge nurse at the desk or officer and the other nurses are still busy. At this point I used the phone by the office to call one of the security guards and explain the situation.
Normally they are quite nice, but apparently when I stated that I was trying to leave and had no one to give the badges to, I had accidentally told him to go fuck himself in a tongue I wasn't aware existed, let alone was fluent in.
"[sigh] Just leave them at the desk! We're in the middle of something!"
It wasn't what he said as much as his tone, which I felt was far more curt than necessary. Well sir, I'm sorry to have upset you, but seeing as these badges allow direct access to the ICU, the OR and Nursery (among other locations) I thought I was only to leave them with an actual human being and not just leave them unattended at the charge nurse's desk. But okay, fine. Since I'm obviously crapping in your cornflakes here, I'll do as you say.
I don't know. Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive but I don't like being yelled at for just trying to do my job correctly.
Moving on to the next hospital. We get there and my crew member (who I'll refer to as GREEN) tells me she needs to use the restroom. No problem there. So I go to the security check in when my other female crew member (YELLOW) states she needs to use the restroom as well.
So after getting the badges I wait with my remaining crew member (RED) when YELLOW comes out and tells me the GREEN is crying in the restroom. When I ask why she states that GREEN said her head and stomach hurt really bad. The restroom - like most public restrooms - has stalls so I go in to see if she's okay. I hear her sobbing and ask her what's going on. She says her stomach hurts and when I gave her a scale of 1 to 10 she says the pain is close to 10. I tell her to let me know when she's finished using the restroom and leave to give her privacy.
I called my supervisor to explain the situation and she says that if she's hurting that much to have her call her mom to pick her up. When she's finished she calls her mom, but she's at work and it will take her over and hour to get there if she leaves right at that moment. The Dial-a-Ride will be there to pick her up sooner GREEN's mother said she's okay with having her take that instead. I call my supervisor with the update and she tells me to wait for the ride with her so that she's not ending up doubled over with no staff around.
I give instructions to YELLOW and RED to start the first floor on their own and tell them which bins to do. Despite their disabilities, my crew is pretty independent and intelligent so I'm confident in leaving them to their job. I'm really there mostly to coordinate (make sure all the bins get done) and provide transportation as well as monitor how well they work so there's no issue in leaving them alone to work.
So they set out while I go outside to sit with GREEN for her ride. About 15 minutes later I hear, "Is there a Crescent Cat out here?"
I look over and see a volunteer and a CNA walking out of the doors. I go over to see what's going on and they tell me that they had to call a Code Blue on YELLOW.
What the fuck!? Code Blue!? She's gone into cardiac arrest!?
"Oh no! She just fell."
Eh . . . ooookay . . . is she conscious?
"Oh yeah! She's talking and everything!"
So . . . she's not in cardiac arrest, she's conscious, she's talking . . . and you called in a Code Blue?
"It's hospital protocol since no one actually saw her fall."
*facepalm* Whatever you say . . .
I have GREEN follow me since I can't leave her by herself and I see RED there talking to one of the nurses while a clinical response team is talking with YELLOW. I ask RED what happened and he said that he didn't see what happened since he was working in another room but that when he came back he saw YELLOW on the floor near the cart. I asked YELLOW what happened and she seemed rather confused, like she wasn't quite sure what happened either, and told me something about falling on her side while trying to get a bin.
Another call to my supervisor and she says that she'll contact YELLOW's sister and she'll be on her way. I still need to stay with GREEN but she says she's feeling well enough to tough it out (whatta trooper).
So needless to say we didn't finish that hospital out. I had RED collect the carts and run the recycling down while I waited for my supervisor with YELLOW. When she got there I took GREEN back outside to catch her ride. I told her to call her mom to let her know she was on her way home once she was on the bus, but she was at least able to get home.
My supervisor said I could take RED home once he finished since she would stay with YELLOW until her sister came to the hospital. I knew I wasn't going to make it to the freeway before rush hour so on the way back to RED's house I told him I'd probably stop to get some video games. He and I are both gamers so I like to talk about gaming with him and I needed a change of subject from all the chaos that went down.
So anyway - as you can clearly see this is all my coworker's fault. And quite honestly, Code Blue? Really? Okay, it may be protocol but when talking to someone who is not a hospital staff could you please use a different term so that I don't have a panic attack thinking that one of my crew members is dying?
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