Saturday, September 1, 2012

Changing Names

 
Here's a funny thing that happens alot on trauma surgery at County-  I'll be seeing a patient named Michael Phelps for three or four days, and one day I will show up and suddenly he will be named Ryan Lotche.  Same guy, same room- new name.  The problem is that we get so many gang related gun shot wounds, that sometimes 2 guys from the same fight (but opposite sides) end up in the ICU together.  If they find out that one of their enemies is there too (by overhearing a nurse, seeing a list of patients, etc) , they try to get a fellow gang member to come and "finish him off".  No joke.  So we regularly have to change certain patient's names so that they won't be recongized.   Gabby Davis become Jordyn Wieber.  It is biazarreo.
 
PS- Obviously the names above hvae been changed to protect the innocent. Ironically.