Everyone grumbles about having to work Christmas. Having never done it I wasnt sure if it would be fun, with everyone in a good mood wearing tinsel and flashing objects and other festive items of clothing, or depressing because in reality we're all trapped in a hospital away from our families. I was on twilight shifts this weekend which at least meant I could make a proper turkey lunch with my housemate before work.
A highlight of the Christmas Eve shift was when a collection of carol singers came round the elderly care wards. They really lifted the atmosphere, and it was lovely to see their number increased by a handful of pink nightdress-clad zimmer frame-wielding little old ladies whose faces lit up as they tottered out of their rooms to join in the singing. One particularly enthusiastic lady knew all the words but couldnt really carry a tune and screeched her way through 'Silent Night' drowning out most of the others. When the song finished one of the other ladies muttered "It's never a bloody silent night with her around!" The singers moved on, and I joined the nurses in fielding our little old ladies back to their rooms.
I was called to see a patient who had dropped their oxygen saturations to 83% (sit patient upright, controlled oxygen as he had COPD, ABG, CXR as chest sounded full of crackles, IV access and bloods). I diagnosed a pneumonia as his inflammatory markers were raised and his chest x-ray wasnt typical of pulmonary oedema and had evidence of bilateral consolidation, so started him on IV antibiotics. Sad thing was he had been due to go home that day, and this would be his last Christmas because he had terminal stomach cancer. It was quite hard to tell him he wouldnt be going home after all.
On Christmas Day I started off wishing my patients a Merry Christmas whenever I went to see them, which usually drew a Merry Christmas in return, but I did reflect that actually, even if it were mid August and I swept into their room with a smile and a Merry Christmas, most of them would probably think it must be Christmas.
Having taken blood from one lady who had just finished her Christmas lunch I offered to pull a cracker with her as she had one on her food tray. She was quite excited at this thought so we pulled the cracker which made a rather loud bang and a nurse come running to find a grinning little old lady and me saying "look, you've won!" The patient insisted I wear her party hat.
The shift remained relatively calm, and my SHO and I managed to sit down for a tea and mince pie break. Every ward had a LOT of food to keep us going. Finished work at 10pm and got back to hospital accommodation in time to spend the last bit of Christmas day unwinding with some mulled wine. All in all not a bad weekend
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