Today I am on call, which means "try to find something to spend your time until tomorrow at 6 AM". Of course if they need a pediatric cardiac surgeon I ll be here and happy to help, but apparently they don't.......yet!
That s why I have time to write this post.
There are a lot of interesting things about this hospital. First of all it is ONLY cardiac! (like heaven to me). 20 operative theatres, 4 intensive care units. and 5 wards..... plus a cardiac A&E (ER for who is not British) and interventional cardiology. One fourth of the activity and the premises is dedicated to the Paediatric side.
All people working here are colour coded.......
Surgeons and anaesthetists are dark blue (like the attending in Grey s Anatomy)
Cardiologists are Green
Young nurses in the wards are light Green
all nurses in Theatres are light Blue
Senior nurses are Pink
Physiotherapists are dark Green
Perfusioninsts are dark Greys
Cleaning Ladies are either light light light blue or with Sari (I still ignore the reason)
"May-I-Help-You" ladies are white
Louise and I are White as well.......eheheh hell yes, apparently we are naturally colour coded to them and easily spottable.
This division is really interesting because it states exactly who you are and at what catergory you belong. (I suppose that in a society with casts this organisation comes quite natural.) and at the same time stimulates the eyes. I don t have any idea about it, the only thing I know is that I don t dislike it.
I have been in several hospitals, but I have never seen such a crowded place. The waiting rooms as well as every single corridor is full of people (patients and relatives) waiting, walking, chatting. It s like to be in Portobello road on Saturday mornings with the only difference that here the only italian is me.
To face such flow of patients the hospital provides a large number of floor employees to ensure that this flows continues to move. That's why every floor has "May-I-Help-You" ladies telling you where to go and where to wait. If the corridors has 3 doors, there will be three May-I-Help-You ladies, one at each door, sitting on a plastic chair waiting for you approach, and if you are blue or green, they will stand up and open the door for you. There is also one May-I-Help-You lady for each lift.
I spend most of the time (95%) in theatre (that is the main reason why I decided to come here) and I have to say that strange things happen in there as well.
There is no strict policy on whether to use the music or not, it depends on the surgeon; and as i can assure you the music may be enjoyable during some phases of the surgeries, all the theatres have music. So everyday I spend mornigns listening to Radio BIG FM 92.7 MHz, that broadcasts only indian music......yes exactly, only indian..... no Shakira, no Lady Gaga, no Take That etc..... only the ads are in english.
In the afternoons I become luckier as the other surgeon has an Ipod full of international music. He plugs it on the dock and selects random album and off we go. The first day I listened to 3 hours of "The best of the Eagles", the second day 3 hours of Swedish speed metal ( that was painful) and the third day ABBA+MammaMia. I dont know which one of the two swedish music was worse....but anyway at least I smile when the surgeon told me he didn t know Piers Brosnan could sing. I replied: in fact he cant.
Some times, at least twice every hour, the electricity shuts down for 10 seconds, so: No lights, no Diatherm, no ventilator, no Cardiopulmonary bypass and no Piers Brosnan. And of course no AC. and when the electricity comes back, Mamma mia is still singing, the diatherm must be reset, and a loud and ear-breaking noise tells you that the AC is working again......
Ahhhhhhhhhh what a difference if think of my prof in Italy that wanted religious silence in the whole floor during surgery........
Despite that, I am feeling less and less new and more and more tolerant with their ways of doing things.......at the end of the day I am the guest.
One last thing:
Illa means NO
and Houdu means YES
That s why I have time to write this post.
There are a lot of interesting things about this hospital. First of all it is ONLY cardiac! (like heaven to me). 20 operative theatres, 4 intensive care units. and 5 wards..... plus a cardiac A&E (ER for who is not British) and interventional cardiology. One fourth of the activity and the premises is dedicated to the Paediatric side.
All people working here are colour coded.......
Surgeons and anaesthetists are dark blue (like the attending in Grey s Anatomy)
Cardiologists are Green
Young nurses in the wards are light Green
all nurses in Theatres are light Blue
Senior nurses are Pink
Physiotherapists are dark Green
Perfusioninsts are dark Greys
Cleaning Ladies are either light light light blue or with Sari (I still ignore the reason)
"May-I-Help-You" ladies are white
Louise and I are White as well.......eheheh hell yes, apparently we are naturally colour coded to them and easily spottable.
This division is really interesting because it states exactly who you are and at what catergory you belong. (I suppose that in a society with casts this organisation comes quite natural.) and at the same time stimulates the eyes. I don t have any idea about it, the only thing I know is that I don t dislike it.
I have been in several hospitals, but I have never seen such a crowded place. The waiting rooms as well as every single corridor is full of people (patients and relatives) waiting, walking, chatting. It s like to be in Portobello road on Saturday mornings with the only difference that here the only italian is me.
To face such flow of patients the hospital provides a large number of floor employees to ensure that this flows continues to move. That's why every floor has "May-I-Help-You" ladies telling you where to go and where to wait. If the corridors has 3 doors, there will be three May-I-Help-You ladies, one at each door, sitting on a plastic chair waiting for you approach, and if you are blue or green, they will stand up and open the door for you. There is also one May-I-Help-You lady for each lift.
I spend most of the time (95%) in theatre (that is the main reason why I decided to come here) and I have to say that strange things happen in there as well.
In the afternoons I become luckier as the other surgeon has an Ipod full of international music. He plugs it on the dock and selects random album and off we go. The first day I listened to 3 hours of "The best of the Eagles", the second day 3 hours of Swedish speed metal ( that was painful) and the third day ABBA+MammaMia. I dont know which one of the two swedish music was worse....but anyway at least I smile when the surgeon told me he didn t know Piers Brosnan could sing. I replied: in fact he cant.
Ahhhhhhhhhh what a difference if think of my prof in Italy that wanted religious silence in the whole floor during surgery........
Despite that, I am feeling less and less new and more and more tolerant with their ways of doing things.......at the end of the day I am the guest.
One last thing:
Illa means NO
and Houdu means YES
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