Spring Conference (1)

Thus, I started my day shift in a thoroughly exhausted state.

Hm, another peaceful day.

As of 10:14 a.m., four nuisances had already passed through the ER during my day shift.

Pretty good.

The first problem case came in right at 7 on the dot.

A middle-aged man had been complaining of a scratchy throat since last night, and after looking it up online, he insisted it was exactly the same as the early symptoms of laryngeal cancer, then threw a half-hour tantrum demanding an immediate special consultation with the ENT professor and a neck CT.

The second problem case came in at 8:30.

He said he thought he'd sprained his ankle, so we took an X-ray, and the bones were perfectly fine.

When I explained that it seemed like a stretched ligament, the old woman went berserk, foaming at the mouth and yelling that some kid who looked way too young had no right to diagnose her ankle, demanding that the orthopedic chief be called right away.

9:10...