"Education" on the slow track...

I admit it...I don't get out much :)

So, thanks to AD, Babs, and others in the medical profession who are blog writers, I was able to put a name to a patient I had today.

Frequent Flyer.

Granted, he probably is not one of those who routinely show up in the ER with symptoms that can only be relieved by the patient's choice of drug, but I suspect this guy is somewhere in the ballpark of being a cardholder.

Routine orders for blood draw: CBC with diff, lytes, and for good measure, a coag. I step into the room, introduce myself, ID the patient and glance at his arm - great antecubital and hand veins both, and absolutely no sign of bruising, which led me to believe that he is an easy stick overall.

He grabs for his pain button as soon as he realizes that I'm going to have to stick him with a needle and that we really *can't* use the IV lines to pull blood from him.

The button gave the little 'beep' that lets the patient know that the button was pushed properly.

That wasn't enough. He leaned on the button again, making its noises sound like a utility truck in reverse. Then leaned on it once again so the beeeeeeeeeeepppppp was long and constant.

Then he began cursing the docs and the medical staff and demanding the name of his nurse because he doesn't like the s**t they're giving him at this godforsaken place and why the f**k can't they just give him the dilaudid he takes at home?

Or, why can't he just be a big boy and accept the idea that the little tiny poke he's going to get with his blood draw is not something that needs narcotics?

I never had been able to figure out why in so many cases it seemed as though the docs were just messing around with the patient by taking them off what seemed to be routine and prescribed drugs for them at home. Now, I have a vague sort of clue that there may be a reason for it. Again, I could be way off the track, too!

But, do I get any CE credits for getting some kind of a clue?