Sunday, November 30, 2014

Thanksgiving in the Hospital

I've always wanted to know how holidays compare to a regular day in the hospital. In the intensive care unit, I don't know that there's a huge difference. Although we have no scheduled surgeries requiring post-operative ICU care, we do see an uptick in the wayward patient who overindulges. For example, when I was on my 24-hour Thanksgiving shift, I saw a couple patients who had a little too much salt. Although one avoided the ICU, the other had to come up for dialysis to take off that extra turkey brine and wine. I have a suspicion that the days after a major holiday might see an uptick in admissions with all those who were sick on Thanksgiving but didn't want to come in owing to the holiday. When I get back to work tomorrow, I'll find out. I hope your Thanksgiving was healthy, happy, and away from the hospital.

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