Monday, May 14, 2012

Decompensation, The Downhill Slide of Burnout


We were having a day like I read about over at Madness. I was standing over an evolving CVA patient pushing something or other and the moans and bells and call lights and ambulance reports on the radio were going off. The patient's son, late 50's, his mom lying there, probably dying, asks me, "Do you ever get used to this?" 
"Yeah, you do but then you begin to decompensate," says I, the ravages of burnout mirrored in my eyes.  "I'm on the downhill side of that, now". 

He never said another thing to me. The next day I thought about what I said. Might've instilled a little unease in the guy, reckon? His mother's caregiver? Shouldn't have asked me.

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