Tampa Bay Area, Florida
My first experience in a 'big-city' ED did not disappoint; Tampa General was one of two major hospitals (St. Joseph's the other) and we usually received more than our share of trauma cases as well because we were not a private hospital as was St. Joe's. The pace on the night shift (my preferred shift) was usually fairly calm once we'd cleared out the evening crowd, but as anyone who has ever worked in an ER or EMS can tell you, full moons make life interesting!
We had some great docs, one in particular (Jon Miller) was also a great teacher. One night we had a film crew from PBS who had been traveling around the country doing a report on emergency departments and as the night crew was coming in, they had been packing up to leave as evenings had been unusually quiet. I challenged them to stick around because of three factors; it was a Friday night, welfare checks had been issued that day and it was a full moon. I cannot recall the exact numbers, but by 7 AM we'd had over 20 EMS units with trauma victims, several 'drop-offs' (where someone would drive up the ramp, toss someone out, then drive off) as well as some interesting walk-ins. One part of the crew characterized it as "...hair, teeth and eyeballs everywhere..."
We had some great docs, one in particular (Jon Miller) was also a great teacher. One night we had a film crew from PBS who had been traveling around the country doing a report on emergency departments and as the night crew was coming in, they had been packing up to leave as evenings had been unusually quiet. I challenged them to stick around because of three factors; it was a Friday night, welfare checks had been issued that day and it was a full moon. I cannot recall the exact numbers, but by 7 AM we'd had over 20 EMS units with trauma victims, several 'drop-offs' (where someone would drive up the ramp, toss someone out, then drive off) as well as some interesting walk-ins. One part of the crew characterized it as "...hair, teeth and eyeballs everywhere..."
Tampa General was located on the tip of Davis Island (at the top of the image on the right), a small afterthought just south of downtown Tampa and connected by two bridges (one of which routinely was submerged in any strong storm with winds out of the southwest). The crew I worked with there were great though we had one of the interns who felt he could help himself to the food in the refrigerator in the nurses' lounge without asking. A 'special' recipe of brownies (Ex-Lax) taught him the importance of asking permission before treating himself and others also took note of this his mysterious affliction.
Tampa was a great place to live and work; the Buccaneers (local pro-football team) were somewhat appealing to me as they played with the same skill as the Chicago Cubs, that is to say there was no danger of their having to wear those heavy Super Bowl rings! Since I left the area they have also acquired a professional baseball team (in St. Pete across the bay from Tampa). For a variety of reasons (including the humidity during the summer) we chose to relocate back to North Carolina.
Tampa was a great place to live and work; the Buccaneers (local pro-football team) were somewhat appealing to me as they played with the same skill as the Chicago Cubs, that is to say there was no danger of their having to wear those heavy Super Bowl rings! Since I left the area they have also acquired a professional baseball team (in St. Pete across the bay from Tampa). For a variety of reasons (including the humidity during the summer) we chose to relocate back to North Carolina.