Ergo Chronicles third event.

I worked for a rehab hospital in Arlington. hospital being the operative word here. This was a huge leap for me but I felt that it would be better than nursing homes, I might actually work with individuals under the age of 50. I liked/hated working here. There was team work. there was mentor ship and there were asshole doctors and dependable dumb asses.

Let me explain the concept of a dependable dumb ass. These people undoubtedly exist in all realms of employment and social organization as we know it. These are the people that Never miss a day of work, that are never sick, that never say no to a project, never admit to being ignorant of a subject, never admit their shortcomings. They are also the people that always receive accolades for time and attendance, always speak with managers regarding progress others have made, always seek positions of respect, always want to be idolized, always assume that they are strong leaders, always deny that something should be done differently, always fail to look into themselves in order to identify personal motivations. These people are plentiful despised and coveted. Middle management LOVES a dependable dumb ass. The Double D is capable of taking on unrelenting amounts of duties that the Double M delegates and therefore when on particular project or assignment fails the Double M can place the failure with the Double D and use their perogitive as management to preserve the Double D's employment.

One day while working at this hospital there was a code blue. I think that even the lay person knows enough to understand that a code blue is a life or death situation requiring immediate emergency medical intervention. The Double D on duty pointed to me and assigned me the duty of recorder. I did not know what the hell that meant. I did not know what paper work to use. I was not certified to do the job. This Double D must have assumed that I was also a dumb ass and let me attempt to do this on my own. I asked for help and one of the non interventionist nurses (I'll describe this tribe in a moment) completed the function of Recorder on her own and then left me to fill in the paper work. This meant that during the event the safety guidelines were followed, but the paperwork made little sense.
the Non-Interventionists Nurse is one that sees his/her duty to cause no harm and to function as an individual separate from any one and anything else in the hospital. they are usually good nurses by necessity. They have and want to only rely on themselves and thus they develop a skill set that allows them to be as self sufficient as possible. They disagree with management decisions but only complain about it. There is no desire to join a comity that can change the grievance. There is no extra effort to educate new recruits. The short comings of others are problems of and for others. There is no guiding hand from these people. There is no trust from these people. they wish only to get their crap done and get out of the building. They usually give off an attitude that says " I am way to good to be here" These people Will often times have multiple jobs or unsurprisingly a side business, Mary Kay for some Avon for others Insert trendy commission based program here for still others.

In a separate event I was working with a patient with a low sodium level. a situation that is easily resolved with IV fluids ( I learned that info later) If low sodium is not corrected the person can become confused at first and deathly ill down the line. This was my first hospital to work at. My charge nurse, the legendary Double D from before, instructed me to call and receive orders for s specific pt. it went a bit like this.
DD: "Jason I have the labs for Mr. Doe can you call Dr. ASSHOLE and explain to him that the NA is 100.
Me: Yeah I guess so...
(I make the call and receive a return cal from doctor Asshole.
Dr. Asshole: What are the vitals?
Me: (reads of vitals)
Dr. asshole: Ok 50cc's saline *click*
I relay this info to DD, she explains that doesn't make sense then she further explains that she told me the wrong lab values and that I had actually reported for Mr. Smith and Not Mr. Doe. She then says:
DD: Call him back and explain that you made a mistake.
Me: I really rather you talk to him.
DD: ok make the page.
(Dr. asshole returns the page two hours later as he assumes that the page was a repeat and that he had dealt with the issue already)
(DD is at lunch and of the floor)
Me: Dr. the lab results I read for you were on the wrong patient I was giv...
Dr. Asshole: Jesus Fucking Christ you mean to tell me you started IV fluids on the wrong fucking patient? Are you trying to kill my fucking patients what the fuck is wrong with you? Get me some one that knows what the fuck they are doing.
Me; (deep breath walks to another room and cries as quietly as possible while also being red-faced with rage to be placed in such a position.)

I still had issues with time and attendance related to my fear of beginning a shift. I spoke with management regarding the events at the code. and True to the cyclical form Of Covering ones ass the manager made light of the situation and no reprimands were given. I spoke with the Director of nursing at this time and we discussed my frequent absences. This was when I first suspected that I was suffering from something that I could not control. I broke into tears and told this woman that I was uncertain as to how or why, but that I thought I had an anxiety disorder. I apologized for causing headaches and resigned.