My apologies for not having the energy or concentration necessary to string a story together just now. The SICU has been, as ICUs can be, quite busy over the past week or so. So just a few quick anecdotes I found amusing lately.
One of the nurses I work with has forever twisted the way I will hear ventilator alarms. The particular vent we use in this ICU alarms with a little tune: CEGcG, starting one octave above middle C. Yesterday, while we were sitting at adjacent computers writing notes, she started singing along, in actually rather a pretty voice, with the words "Oh sh&t come help me." It fit so well, now that's all I can hear when the alarm goes off.
And secondly, it's a good bet your presentation as a med student is boring your attending when he picks up a magazine from the nurse's station in the middle of it and starts reading. Just a thought. Glad it wasn't me.
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I had to smile at the little quip you heard the nurse repeating.
I heard something something similar from either a nurse or respiratory therapists about how to know when a vent alarm is really needing attention. I can't recall what type of vents our hospital uses but the first alarm is just a minor warning to check something out. It sounds like, "UH-Oh. UH-Oh." The alarm that lets you know something is really wrong was explained to me as mimicking, "Shut the %@&# UP!" It escalated up the scale in the sequence B-E-G-E. Thankfully, I am not around vents too much unless I transfer a patient to the ICU. The phones ringing incessantly and the call lights going off are enough irritating noises for me. ;)
Glad you weren't the one speaking when the magazine was seen as a more stimulating alternative for the Attending's attention. :)
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