It is a sunny day. Usually the sun can bring us good luck and happy mood, but it turned out to be a really busy shift. I arrived at the ER at 08:20 so I could join the morning round at 08:30. Although I don’t think I could get lots of useful medical information from that, it is really a precious channel to know sth happened in this hospital. As a routine, the docs from each department reviewed the pts seen yesterday. Another two thyroid nodule pts received surgical removal in the surgical department, “wow, so many thyroid nodules pts! Any relationship to the water of this region?” Dr. Monton said, he always wants to share his opinions with all of us. “Who knows? We should start an epidemiological survey to confirm it.” Said Dr. Saied, the chief medical officer. Then a shigella pt of Pediatric department. Two C-section of OB-GYN. Also, as a routine, I kept silent from the start to the end of the morning round.
My shift started. I was not as excited as the first time when I could sit in this office. But the truth always let me feel I am fighting that I could never figure out what kind of patient will come here in the coming second. Before I could log on the Internet, the phone rang. I picked it up, “Dr. Dong, a three-year-old girl with severe SOB!” I rush out to the exam room, only saw an anxious mom and a lovely kid with obvious difficulties in breathing and mild cyanosis. “My daughter had an asthma attack yesterday, I brought her here and doc gave her Ventolin (albuterol) and Atrovent (ipratropium). She was fine after the nebulization, but now you can see that...” “Put her on the bed,” I told the nurse, “I need to listen to her lungs”. Feeling pressing and no time to wash my hands, I put my stethoscope on the kid’s chest. (One of my colleagues received a complain report from a pediatric pt’s mother because he forgot to wash his hands before examining the kid) diffuse wheezes, very typical for asthma. “I am going to give your daughter pednisolone—one of the steroids to relieve the asthma attack.” I told the mother. “Are you sure about this medication and the dosage is ok for my kid?” the mom was very agitated,”I am a lawyer who is specialized at medical malpractice cases. You should know that, if …” I interrupted her, “Look! Madam, here is a book of the latest guidelines for management of pediatric diseases, you can check it up by yourself. ” I don’t want to discuss too much about this issue and left the exam room to my office.
The racial discrimination exists everywhere in this hospital. All the docs are classified according to where they came from and where they got their medical education. This is the first time in my life that I realized the English is more important than your medical knowledge and clinical skills.
-To be continued
