Okay so this is just sort of a vent and probably a little irrational pet peeve of mine.
But I always can't help but wonder what exactly someone actually does when they say ... "I work in the medical field".
So either they do something that the general public doesn't know too much about ... like for example a perfusionist... While highly educated and trained ... The public doesn't know what a perfusionist is for the most part.
So if speaking to non-med people maybe it's easier for said perfusionist to say "medical field".
Another scenario that comes to mind is when someone works at a clinic or hospital but has a 100% non clinical job yet wants to give the impression they are some kind of clinician.
So when people tell me "I work in the medical field", I always wonder --"what exactly do you do"?
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Years ago, I worked with a cardiac surgery fellow who was married to a nurse from the CCU. I knew them both, and my husband, who worked with the wife, knew them even better than I did. The husband, whom I shall call Michael (because I like that name) finished his fellowship and signed on to become an attending. The wife became a stay at home mom.
The wife's father, whom I shall call Bill (for no special reason; I cannot even remember the guy's name) required cardiac surgery, and Michael asked a colleague to do the surgery. When Bill landed in the ICU, I was the most senior nurse present and was asked to care for him. He arrived late in the day, and in those days we didn't extubated until early the next morning. Things were fine. I got along well with both Michael and his wife, and they trusted me.
The next day, Bill was awake. Michael was in the OR and his wife was home with sick kids. Bill didn't want to get into the chair, but we managed it. And then came time to go for a walk. He adamantly refused. He said he didn't have to do that kind of "nonsense" because he knew a "VIP." "You know my son in law is a very important surgeon here," he said. "So I don't have to do that." Bill stayed in the chair and talked to his daughter on the phone. I could hear him insisting over her protests that he didn't need to walk and no one could make him walk since he knew a VIP.
In between cases, Michael came to check on his father-in-law. When he asked me, in front of Bill, how things were going, I briefly ran through normal vital signs, chest tube output, etc. and then added "But he's refusing to ambulate."
"We'll see about that," said Michael. "Come on Dad. You and I are going to walk right now." And they did. As they made their way around the unit, I could hear Michael lecturing his father-in-law. "I want you to do exactly what Ruby says. Ruby and any other nurse. If you don't, she's going to call me immediately, and I'll have to come back here and straighten you out. Don't make me have to leave the OR and come here to straighten you out. You don't get a special pass because I love you. That just means I get to pick out the best nurse, and if you don't follow her instructions, you're an idiot."
In that moment, Michael became my most favorite visitor and one of my favorite surgeons. Ever.
I did have a friend who's job was a highly specialized position in the OR during certain types of spinal surgery monitoring the patient for a certain thing. I can't even remember what the position is called. As you can see, saying he worked in the medical field was much easier than trying to explain exactly what he did.
And shutting off an alarm is never, ever OK. Unless you are a nurse employed by that facility in that unit and are on shift.
If family silences an alarm, they get asked VERY sternly to never do it again. If they do it again, they are removed from the ICU until we deem it safe to have them again.
We edit the alarm values per the physicians okay so that patient A's HR of 50 isn't tripping the brady alarm, and that 89% SpO2 on patient B (a COPD'er) isn't doing the same. If its alarming, its because its supposed to be.
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
Years ago, I worked with a cardiac surgery fellow who was married to a nurse from the CCU. I knew them both, and my husband, who worked with the wife, knew them even better than I did. The husband, whom I shall call Michael (because I like that name) finished his fellowship and signed on to become an attending. The wife became a stay at home mom.
The wife's father, whom I shall call Bill (for no special reason; I cannot even remember the guy's name) required cardiac surgery, and Michael asked a colleague to do the surgery. When Bill landed in the ICU, I was the most senior nurse present and was asked to care for him. He arrived late in the day, and in those days we didn't extubated until early the next morning. Things were fine. I got along well with both Michael and his wife, and they trusted me.
The next day, Bill was awake. Michael was in the OR and his wife was home with sick kids. Bill didn't want to get into the chair, but we managed it. And then came time to go for a walk. He adamantly refused. He said he didn't have to do that kind of "nonsense" because he knew a "VIP." "You know my son in law is a very important surgeon here," he said. "So I don't have to do that." Bill stayed in the chair and talked to his daughter on the phone. I could hear him insisting over her protests that he didn't need to walk and no one could make him walk since he knew a VIP.
In between cases, Michael came to check on his father-in-law. When he asked me, in front of Bill, how things were going, I briefly ran through normal vital signs, chest tube output, etc. and then added "But he's refusing to ambulate."
"We'll see about that," said Michael. "Come on Dad. You and I are going to walk right now." And they did. As they made their way around the unit, I could hear Michael lecturing his father-in-law. "I want you to do exactly what Ruby says. Ruby and any other nurse. If you don't, she's going to call me immediately, and I'll have to come back here and straighten you out. Don't make me have to leave the OR and come here to straighten you out. You don't get a special pass because I love you. That just means I get to pick out the best nurse, and if you don't follow her instructions, you're an idiot."
In that moment, Michael became my most favorite visitor and one of my favorite surgeons. Ever.