Just Like In ER

I was working last night and was tired. I had worked the previous two days and was looking foreword to being done and having some time off. My patients were starting to grate on me, Steve was making dinner, my shift was almost over, I was ready to be done. I was doing some last moment clean ups for the next shift when the secretary announced that there had been a major bus accident on Lake Shore Drive.

"44 ambulances responding to bus accident on Lake Shore" he said. I thought it sounded like an episode of ER and continued with what I was doing. "The hospital is on hold." He said. I asked what that meant and he explained that it meant that none of us could go home.

Wait, what?

Apparently when we expect mass casualties they hold all the day shift nurses and have the night shift nurses come in there so they can admit as many patients into ICUs as possible. It makes sense and I think I remember hearing something about that in orientation but never thought it would really happen. Even worse, I thought it wouldn't happen when I was almost done working a stretch and was sore, tired, and just wanted to go home. Yes, a bus filled with people would mean that there would be some people needing surgery and some just a stitch up in the ER but why can't I go home again?

I started to think about almost every season finale of ER and began thinking that maybe this sort of thing happened in Chicago all the time. People assured me it didn't but I still ended up staying about a half hour after my shift until they had sorted out all the casualties from the bus crash. Luckly, there weren't too many people hurt and I got to go home and go to bed.