You know you're at Emanuel when...

I've been working a lot recently. For those who don't know, I work at Emanuel Hospital. It's the "ghetto" hospital of Portland. There are occasional shootings (yes with guns) in the park across the street. Frequently our Emergency room gets "locked down" because of violence. I don't work with trauma patients. I work with the medical ones. I love my job. As one of our supervisors say... "you can't make this stuff up"

So, here's a few "you know you're at Emanuel when..."

• instead of a driver's license, your patient has a prison ID card
• your patient signs out AMA (against medical advice) at 0100, so she can still make it to her 0200 drug deal.
• you find money in body orifices.
• someone can be talking with you with a blood alcohol level of .3 (any of us would be PASSED OUT bordering on needing a breathing machine).
• your patient, who has no lower legs, signs out AMA and crawls out the front door.
• you can have urine, blood, poop and vomit on the floor of a patient's room, and not even flinch.

If nothing else, I always get good stories with being a nurse at Emanuel!