Run cc3

Ever since I was a kid, I can remember being told not to run. Don't run on the pool deck. Don't run in the library. Don't run when the building is on fire. In a society where running is forbidden even when your surroundings have exploded into flame, it becomes a pretty special occasion when you're supposed to run in a hospital.

So when there was a code on the psych floor and nobody was around to take care of the patient except for emerg, I ran faster than Forrest Gump on EPO. In a way, I was getting back at all the lifeguards, librarians, and old ladies with walkers I'd bowled over while escaping a burning building who have admonished me throughout my life for running.

I beat the crash cart to the elevator. I beat the gurney to the elevator. I even beat the trio of beefy/fatty security guards who were supposed to be there first to get the elevator down to the first floor. I don't think anybody else knew it was a race, but that didn't stop me from trying to beat them all.

The beating hearts were almost audible in the elevator. I could tell everybody was mentally going over what they were going to do when they got to the scene. Mouths moving silently, ticking lists off fingers, eyes towards the ceiling. Psh. That's such a loser mentality. I was stretching my quads and taking my mark for the next heat.

I lost in the final to the nurse with the teddy bears on her nametag. To her credit, she ran a good race, elbows askew to prevent any potential drafters from taking poll position on the inside lane. Maybe next time.

When I got there, and I'd had my fun, I felt a little out of place. There was a guy lying on the ground and everybody had crowded around him and the crash cart, leaving me out of the picture. I was now presented with a dilemma I'd run into a number of times thus far as a clerk; do I stand back and learn little, or do I squeeze in, try to get involved, learn more but possibly compromise patient care?

The phrase teaching hospital had always confused me, as everybody spoke of teaching hospitals as if they were excellent places to recieve care. But if I had the choice, I think I'd rather be treated in a community hospital. Not a tiny hospital, but definitely a place that isn't crawling with clerks eager to learn at my expense. On the other side of the fence, I need to learn how to deal with these kinds of situations.

So I propose the following. If you don't wish to have your care compromised by me trying to learn, send me an email with your name, social insurance number, and bank PIN and I promise I'll leave you alone. Otherwise...