A Short Story

After his lunch break, Tom didn’t have long to wait before the paramedics burst in through the swinging double-doors of the ambulance bay wheeling in a young man on a gurney. Edward, a veteran EMT, recited the vital signs to Tom and Dr. Greene as they helped push the gurney into the trauma room,

It was almost midnight when I got the call from Dr. Seagraves. She told me to meet her in the physicians lounge at 7 am: we had a case. The next morning began like any other in the operating room. We met with the patient, I received permission to observe and then got suited up for case. The patient was an elderly African American woman, she called me handsome and smiled comfortably. When we made it into the OR I was asked to help lift the patient from bed to table, with a subtle warning of “watch out, it’s gooey.” Dr. Seagraves parted the patient’s gown, exposing a mass of raw tissue that somewhat resembled a leg. The patient had suffered a week’s worth of necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as flesh eating bacteria. The wound had a certain odor, a putrid smell you do not forget. Our hearts sank in unison as we realized what we were up against. We had to act fast. Dr. Seagraves began scrubbing the wounded tissue as the Anaestesiologist monitored the patient’s progress. I had observed Dr. Seagraves on multiple occasions and never did she express concern for the outcome. For the first time in our relationship I heard her mutter, “This is not good. This is not good at all.”

The surgeons lift things away. He tries not to look, but he can’t help it... The fear surrounds him, threatening to take him under. He tries to replace it with anger, but the fear is too strong... He does not deserve this.

Upon arrival, I spoke with visitor Robin Sharpe who slipped and fell while taking her grandson Caleb Barnette out of patient Brandan Barnette's room, 211. Ms. Sharpe stated that while visiting Mr. Barnette, Caleb began to become restless and she began to take him out to her car, resulting in Ms. Sharpe to slip and fall into the right hall corner of the nurse's station, landing on Caleb. Upon hearing Ms. Sharpe falling,Mr. Barnette came out of his room to assist her up. Mr. Barnette along with his assigned nurse, Tiffany Stamps, assisted both Ms. Sharpe and Caleb up from the floor in which they

“Hey there” John looked over his shoulder at the smiling face of his new coworker. John greeted him as hallway smiled back not wanting to talk since he had woken up at 5:00am that morning. He quickly dashed over to his office and switched on his computer. He thought about the nine years of intensive study that he had to go through. The loud ringing of his pager interrupted his thoughts. He answered a few nurses difficult questions about what medicines to prescribe what to do with a few difficult patients. He placed his phone down a little nervous wondering if he had just killed someone by prescribing the wrong medicine. He grabbed his clipboard, jacket and stethoscope and went to go meet his first patient. “Mrs. Anderson, how are

He reached into his breast pocket again, this time retrieving a knife, which he then handed to me. I sliced a diagonal cut across the palm of my hand. Blood began to seep out, like sap from a tree. I smeared it on the bottom of the paper. Then, nothing. I felt nothing. Wendell tossed a box of band aids onto the desk. He noticed me blankly staring at my hand. He walked around the table and put his arm around me. Pulling me in nice and close, he began.

Kristien was struggling to sleep. It was night, she knew, because Israel had told her good night. Her wrist hurt really badly, but what could she do, she was a prisoner. It wouldn’t hurt as much if the cuff wasn’t pressing on it, but the cuff was, and she couldn’t move the cuff, it was secure. She knew what had happened. Chandrogana had accidentally hurt her wrist, but she didn’t know if it was just twisted, sprained or broken. By the time the doctor came to see her, her eyes were watering, it hurt so badly. The doctor came in, and didn’t say a word to Kristien. Just went to the panel in the wall. He scanned his handprint, and then typed in instructions. The one cuff on her hurting wrist, the left one, uncuffed, and Kristien felt a little bit of relief. But it was still very, very painful.

Brown. He was in the waiting room with a woman, who looked to be in her late thirties, crying on his shoulder. He never really liked being extremely close to other people. I could see the awkward look on his face. I waited for him to be done to talk to him. “Dr. Brown,” I said. “Not now, Dr. Walker. I’m kind of busy.” he said as he was walking away. I followed him. “I think one of my patients could have a brain tumor,” I said while following Dr Brown. “Well, take her to get a brain scan and If she does then let me know.”

During this time, Chris had called his mom and informed her about the situation. She drove to my house as quickly as possible. Chris, my brother, and I got into her car and she drove us to the urgent care. Chris dad, Dr. Nelson is the head of the urgent care, so Mrs. Nelson called him on the way there and explained to him what happened and how bad the cut was. She raced down the roads and got me to the urgent care hastily. My brother had notified both my parents about the scene, so my mom was waiting for us at the urgent care. They carried me inside and wheeled me into a room.

It had been twelve days since the accident, and with every minute that had passes Jordan thinks he’s getting closer to losing his mind. His chest had constricted when he had seen her limp, doll-like form stretched out on the operating table, the beep of the machine the only thing giving any sign of her still living. The doctors’ faces had been grim, telling him that she had a chance, but it was a slim

In order to provide this patient with the best care possible, his nurse tries to contact the physician. It is the weekend and the nurse is only able to page the on-call doctor. She anxiously awaits a return phone call, while explaining this situation to his distressed family. The pain appears to be increasing. Twenty minutes later the physician

While waiting, I yearned for answers; I wanted to know structure of the hospital, the reason for the constant beeping sound, the number of surgeries scheduled, patients that were being treated nearby, and the quickest way to them. Being sly, I would sneak off and try to get a glimpse of an actual chart. After his surgery, my grandfather was quickly escorted to ICU; “ICU, ICU, what could this mean?”

It was a typical Thursday on CVCU. The day was steady, but nonetheless, busy. The charge nurse aid I would be receiving a patient, post cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) in room nine. I wasn’t long after, indeed I saw the cath lab team approaching with the patient. I met them in the room and I early introduced myself to Mr. E.H. I noticed, immediately, that he seemed indifferent. Meanwhile, we collectively settled him, by placing him on the monitors and assessing his procedure site.

His wounds were cleaned up, but blood still found a way through his abraded skin. She observed her own hands, touching her forehead. Her own injuries were the same as that of his. Puzzled, she asked the nearest nurse a simple question concerning them, who was a tall woman with long, blonde hair fixed into a

The doctor and his patient portray a troubled encounter that is subject to discussion. This short story reflects real or plausible issues comparable in real life. One example of such an event in Brooklyn when a construction worker filed a lawsuit against a hospital for subjecting him to a rectal exam against his wishes. According to his lawyer, the man begged,”please don’t do that’’ as he was held down, and he punched one of the doctors before being sedated and examined without consent. As a result the man allegedly developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the experience.(Tsai,1) Given to the poor man’s circumstance and how the medical professionals treated him, you can now see how unfit doctors can be to their own patients.