the underwear drawer

beyond

I was trying to restart an IV on an ex 23-week preemie just now. (To give you an idea, a full-term baby is born at 38-40 weeks gestation.) Of course, I couldn't get it. The fellow came, looked, and told me (not unkindly), "This is beyond your skill." She said I could have taken one look and known that there was no way. I guess that's a pretty safe bet when the bore of the catheter you're working with looks thicker than the circumference of the vein you're attempting to cannulate. The nurse first attempted twice before calling me, who attempted three times, and even the fellow gave it the old college go once. No dice. Why does it make you feel better once someone senior to you fails at the same task that you failed? Somehow it makes your failure justified, I guess, like it wasn't just you being a wuss, the task was just really hard.

Have you ever seen a baby so small that his whole hand is the size of the pad of your pointer finger? Me neither, until now.

Currently reading: Lab results.

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