2nd trip to the ED
this weekend i found myself in the emergency dept for the second time in recent memory.
caught some kind of bug (i'm blaming the sweet tea at everybody's pizza in emory village, but really, it could have been anything). by friday night, just as mrs. wintermute and i are finishing the first part of my birthday weekend star wars marathon (episodes III - VI in order), it starts to hit me.
the next morning is worse.
manage to pull it together for the birthday bbq, and actually feel good all afternoon.
by 5:00, though, misery descends. by 7:00 my fever starts jumping and hits 103.5 by 7:45. phone call with some docs in the family confirms that it's time to seek some treatment.
can't find an open urgent care clinic, so we head to emory.
much better experience this time, despite it being saturday night. i think we got there early enough to avoid the parade of drunk freshmen.
on the way to emory, i scribble a chronology of my symptoms. i remember that variation is the enemy of good care. it takes five minutes. when i hand it to the registration clerk, she looks at me like i just gave her a mapping of the human genome. the triage nurse agrees that it's helpful, although she didn't look at it initially. the first responders who hook up my IV bag and take my blood tests can't figure out why i did it. the physician is also a bit surprised. he asks me what i do for a living.
hmm, big surprise that so many mistakes happen in hospitals. i get asked by four different people what my symptoms are. chances are, i leave 1-2 things out each time. i mean, i'm sick, i feel crappy, and i'm dehydrated. very easy to forget whether i took 4 does of tylenol or 2 or any at all. was my fever 103.5 or 102.5? writing it down helps reduce that variation. it helps ensure that everyone is treating me for the same set of symptoms. the staff seemed content to work off a paper-based system that does little to reduce errors or ensure consistency.
happy birthday.
caught some kind of bug (i'm blaming the sweet tea at everybody's pizza in emory village, but really, it could have been anything). by friday night, just as mrs. wintermute and i are finishing the first part of my birthday weekend star wars marathon (episodes III - VI in order), it starts to hit me.
the next morning is worse.
manage to pull it together for the birthday bbq, and actually feel good all afternoon.
by 5:00, though, misery descends. by 7:00 my fever starts jumping and hits 103.5 by 7:45. phone call with some docs in the family confirms that it's time to seek some treatment.
can't find an open urgent care clinic, so we head to emory.
much better experience this time, despite it being saturday night. i think we got there early enough to avoid the parade of drunk freshmen.
on the way to emory, i scribble a chronology of my symptoms. i remember that variation is the enemy of good care. it takes five minutes. when i hand it to the registration clerk, she looks at me like i just gave her a mapping of the human genome. the triage nurse agrees that it's helpful, although she didn't look at it initially. the first responders who hook up my IV bag and take my blood tests can't figure out why i did it. the physician is also a bit surprised. he asks me what i do for a living.
hmm, big surprise that so many mistakes happen in hospitals. i get asked by four different people what my symptoms are. chances are, i leave 1-2 things out each time. i mean, i'm sick, i feel crappy, and i'm dehydrated. very easy to forget whether i took 4 does of tylenol or 2 or any at all. was my fever 103.5 or 102.5? writing it down helps reduce that variation. it helps ensure that everyone is treating me for the same set of symptoms. the staff seemed content to work off a paper-based system that does little to reduce errors or ensure consistency.
happy birthday.
posted by Wintermute at 1:25 PM
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