physician, heal thyself

even doctors get sick, but there is often a difference. i was rotating through orthopaedics and was on call that night. they tended to relegate us mere general surgeons to casualties during the calls so i was quite excited to get some theater time that afternoon, even if it was for a simple wound inspection and secondary closure and even if it meant there would be a backlog of patients in casualties for me to see afterwards. once i had finished operating i rushed through the change rooms to get back to casualties. while i was changing i heard the unmistakable sounds of someone throwing up in the toilet cubicle. quite soon the door opened and out came the orthopaedic registrar who was on call that night with me. he did not look good. he glanced at me but didn't seem to see me. his face was pale, verging on grey and there were fine droplets of sweat on his brow. he was staggering slightly as he made his way to the basin to throw water over his face. i greeted him but the only reply he gave was a sort of grunt. much later that night i had to take some x-rays to theater for the senior to see. to my surprise the registrar was still there. he hadn't swapped his call out. i assume no one wanted to help so he had no choice, he had to work. however, he had come up with a practical solution. he was scrubbed up busy operating, but i noticed two drips hanging from the drip stand next to the anaesthetist. the one drip went to the patient, but the other went under the orthopod's gown and...
Source: other things amanzi - Category: Surgeons Authors: Source Type: blogs