Spent my first four hours the other night working in the purgatory that is Fast Track. I go out to the waiting room to bring back a patient whose cc is "throat pain since the AM." Great, throat swab, drink some fluids, get some rest, thanks for playing. Simple dispo, right? Unfortunately, this train wreck devolved into, "Oh, I also have this rash" and "I get headaches sometimes." Also, intense ankle pain (despite walking back to Fast Track and no signs of trauma). To top it all off, the next patient I brought back had the same last name. Turned out it was Mom, who also had some sniffles. And who stole the Kleenex box when she left.
Thankfully, I was able to move out to trauma for the rest of the night. Instead of the common cold, we got a mugging gone bad, where the unfortunate victim had struggled for the gun with his assailant and ended up being shot in the neck. It could have been much worse - the bullet only grazed him - but he was also apparently pistol whipped several times in the head and had a small stab wound to the arm. After dealing with people who game the system, it's nice to be able to actually help a patient who truly needs emergency care.
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