ojoern

I get to: ....pull someone's butt out of the fire.... ....tie people down....heh, heh...... ....be with people when they learn how bizarre people can be from the patient on the other side of the curtain.... ....enjoy excellent short term relationships with a wide variety of people. Joe

Here are a few I'd like to write: The wall (or other hard surface) always wins. Tell all your friends. (for the boxer's fx crowd) Hamburger that "smells funny" will not be rendered safe by lots of ketchup. "Drinking two beers" combined with "minding your own business" have been scientifically proven to result in physical violence every time. Try to avoid this common mistake. Sexual intercourse without protection in the form of condom can, and frequently does, result in: pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases. Tell all your friends. And use a condom, for all our sakes. Soap and water are your friends. Meet with them daily in an unhurried and intimate manner. Always remember: Lack of foresight and planning on your part do not constitute an emergency on our part. Hope you enjoy, Joe

Well, I can see this discussion has become quite heated since yesterday. It is fraught with emotions for many. I look at it this way: I do what I can for the homeless folks I see. Sometimes it's not much. Sometimes it is. Through all of it I keep two things in mind: 1. What I do can have a small or large impact on this person's life. 2. Something an uncle once told me, "Always remember that the entire purpose of someone's life may be to serve as an example." It's a crap shoot folks. Trust your instincts....if you have them. Joe

I have a lot of mixed feelings about homeless people. You have all sorts of reasons for people to be homeless: loss of job/income, mental illness/substance abuse, plain bad luck, and personal choice. Homeless people are a strain on E.D.'s that are often under-resourced and overburdened as it is. Often their needs are few, though some can really suck up your time being needy and/or demanding. Personally, I have no problem letting someone get warm or feeding someone who's hungry as long as it doesn't become habitual, because that's not what the E.D. is for. I have a problem with positive reinforcement and enabling of repeated bad behavior and poor decision making. This happens a lot and is one of the reasons we have this mess. Some people are just doing what they have to in order to survive and I understand that quite well. Some people just want to continue in their dysfunctions and expect us to help them do it. I think you have to take it on a case by case basis. Thanks, Joe

Some of my favorites: A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, ~Lao Tzu You don't own anything that you can't carry on your back at a dead run. ~Unknown Anywhere is within walking distance if you have the time. ~me Hope you enjoy, Joe

Amber, I'm sure you find all of this very disconcerting. I would have also, when I was a student. After several years of nursing, I find it hilarious. There is no way to give you the perspective that only experience can. Allow me to assure you that the same nurses that laugh at things you find horrid are the same ones that save people's lives every day through the skills, knowledge and intuition that have developed along with the cynicism and nearly lethal sarcasm. Let's face it, when you go from caring for a child that has just died to caring for a drug addict who has been cut open by the same crazy girlfriend for the thirteenth time (this actually happened, btw) you tend to view the junkie in a less than favorable light. When confronted by the extremes of human behavior that tend to manifest in the E.D., your sense of humor tends to go to extremes. Gallows humor is endemic to the E.D. Remember, sometimes it's better to laugh than cry. Joe