The other day, my assignment was to be the resident on arrests for the day. What this means is that I carry the "arrest pager," and anything there's anyone that needs to be intubated anywhere in the hospital, I'm there, like Johnny on the spot. Overnight, the anesthesia team captain carries the arrest pager until 7:00am, at which point the daytime resident takes over. I got to work a little early, so it was a bit before 7:00am, but since I wasn't doing anything else and I know there's nothing quite as liberating as getting rid of the dead weight of that arrest pager post-call, I decided to pick it up early.
The post-call resident was happy to see me. Handing me the pager, he intoned, "The arrest bag is all stocked. This thing hasn't gone off all night." The instant, and I mean the instant that I touch the pager, it starts beeping for a stat intubation in the CCU.
It probably would not have been a good day to play in the World Championships of Poker either.
Pagers are really a common thing in hospitals. Its prompt capability to send signals is very appropriate for the hectic atmosphere in there. Everything is just a beep away. On the other hand, I suppose medical practitioners like you get weary sometimes hearing the pager beeps, heh? ;)
ReplyDeleteCora Bullock
You should be thankful to have that pager, Michelle. Imagine if the hospital is using phones to call you out, when you're needed in a particular room. It's much stressful, isn't it? Pagers certainly are a big help for hospitals in general or in any fast-paced working industry.
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