Pub. 2 2018 Issue 1

kind of convenient when they come in during the day when I’m already at the hospital! Calls were made, exams were done, charting was complete and the patient was glad that her hus- band had arrived safely after a night shift of work outside of town. Howev- er, while wheeling her back to surgery a call came in from EMS about mul- tiple trauma patients from a motor vehicle accident coming to our facil- ity in 20 minutes. A quick discussion with the ER doc (a family physician as well) and a decision was made to hold off on the c-section as mom and baby were stable and we may need the OR for the trauma. Also, my help was needed in the ER as there would be 8 patients coming in to our small facility. The anxiety of everybody in the hospital was thick and there was a bit of confusion about how many were coming in, what was the extent of injuries, who can we call in for ex- tra help, and how can we get more details on a chaotic situation. Okay... deep breath. Went and met with nurs- ing and other providers now waiting for patients and preparing mentally and physically. Ambulances started pulling up, one by one dropping off 1-2 patients each. Shortly our emer- gency department was a whirling hur- ricane of EMS personnel, patients on gurneys, patients in arms, caregivers of all kinds trying to find their place. The eye of the storm found 3 family doctors, a surgeon, and a couple fan- tastic rural nurses huddled together assigning responsibilities and doing quick triage. I assigned myself two pediatric patients, one critical and the other less so. After assuring stability and recognizing limited resources, we made the decision to send my critical patient by air to a higher acuity facility. Other family members that were pa- tients were informed and a few were able to give a “see you later” squeeze to my patient before she was lifted off. I did my best to explain the situ- ation and give comfort to the parents who were patients in other rooms. I was later able to find out that this pa- tient did well at the outside hospital and was able to reunite with family quickly. Whew! My other patient was cleared and waited for other family members to get cleared before leav- ing for home, still a little shocked with the flurry of activity all around. I thought the nurse was super sweet as she entertained the patient with all she could think of and really put an extra effort into decreasing the non- physical trauma for this patient. Once it was determined that the surgery crew would not be needed for any trauma patients and finishing with help in the ER, I was able to finally get to my waiting pregnant patient. Let’s get that baby here! Thankfully she was able to safely wait for the trauma to get cleared up. Thinking back, it was a surprisingly short wait for her, all things considered. The surgery went well and it was fun to see the nurse place the patient on an anxious mother’s chest while we were still put- ting the finishing touches on the case. Those first moments of parents with newborn are some of my favorites. There is a grand sense of relief, won- der, love, curiosity, worry, gratitude, pieces of the whole human experience wrapped in a moment. Baby did great and it was fun to be greeted by await- ing family members outside the oper- ating suite, thirsty for any news. “Con- grats! Baby is super cute. Everybody is doing great and will be out in a min- ute.” Relief. My quick weekend rounds ended up being more involved than I had anticipated. Certainly not the first time, won’t be the last. My family was waiting at home and I was able to play some ball in the front yard. I lost a game of “HORSE” to an eleven year old as the sun set for the day. Experiences in rural medicine like this happen daily all across our state. Over one-fifth of people in our state live in rural or frontier areas. Rural providers use a full skill and knowl- edge toolbox as they care for their communities in unique ways. They’re fulfilling their calling in the commu- nity to be a contributing piece moving the whole forward. As family doctors in all settings, I hope we find sacred time to reflect on those connections we make and the good we do for our neighbors. Connections help give pur- pose and remind us of what drives us to be family docs. It fills us up in what can undoubtably be a draining pro- fession. Share your stories and allow yourself to be proud of the work you do. Feed your chia.  29 |