Two Homeless Guys

ER was getting ready to send us yet another alcoholic homeless patient and the ER nurse mentioned that the patient was in four point restraints. Nothing unusual about that. What caught my attention was when he said that the patient was alert, oriented and cooperative. So, why was he in restraints, I asked? The nurse said that was what the doctor wanted. This led to a discussion about what the law allows regarding restraining people. I might as well have been talking to a brick wall.

As soon as the patient arrived, I took the restraints off. The restraint order did indeed say to leave the restraints on even though the patient was alert, oriented and cooperative. I figured that the patient must have done something bad to get the doctor angry enough to write an illegal order. As the evening wore on, I started to understand why the doctor wanted the SOB in restraints. Not that he even remotely needed restraints, it's just that the drug-seeking bastard was giving us such a hard time that I wanted to tie him up, spread-eagled, just for revenge. Of course, I didn't.

The doctor made it clear that he could only have the meds that were ordered and nothing more. That didn't stop him from continually begging, demanding, whining and threatening me to try and get more. I remained professional and treated him like a human being, but what I really wanted to do was physically attack him. He even tried faking DT's. The severe tremors, which he knew we would normally have to medicate heavily, stopped as soon as he fell asleep. Did he think that we were as stupid as him?

We have another alcoholic homeless patient here too, but by comparison, he's a joy to take care of. His back is covered with boils filled with MRSA bacteria, he has chronic watery diarrhea and has to have his smelly diaper changed hourly. Parasitic worms have eaten away at his brain and he spends his days thrashing around fighting his restraints. He's too brain damaged to talk.

Given a choice, the nurses will choose to take care of the latter homeless patient because as disgusting as he is, at least he's not drug-seeking.