It's about respect.....dumbass

The ER was batshit crazy and coke whore busy last night. I didn't really get to sit down, except for cramming a half-eaten, stale burrito down my gullet. I'm getting pretty good at this phlebotomy thing. The patient that made my night was this aging biker with bronchitis. We really hit it off as I was performing his EKG and drawing his blood. We talked cars, recreational drugs and the political implications of Slobodon Milosevich's death. He even agreed with me that a '59 Caddy was about as pimp of a car as you can get. His nurse apparently said that he recommeneded me for some commendation, a F.I.S.H. award or some bullshit Provena thing. Nice damn guy. He also gave me a few blog worthy quotes:

"It's always better to kick ass than to kiss ass."

and

"Us bikers aren't mean people, we just like to look mean so people will just leave us alone."

That dude made the night bearable and was a guy could totally see myself hangin' out with. As a patient, he was very easy to deal with and interesting as all get out to talk to. He respected the fact that I was trying to help him out and that I was a guy doing my job. I think I respected him by treating him like a human being who was sick instead of oh I don't know....a broken car that needs an gasket replaced. Bedside manner is huge, and more than a few patients told me tonight that the ER doc on staff last night was severely lacking in that department. I like to think my bedside manner is pretty damn good, even if my medical/technical skills aren't always there. I'm gonna get all Oprah and Dr. Phil on ya, but the mutual respect my biker patient and I had for each other was a really cool thing. It was something that I wish I could have in some of my (supposed) friendships. Communication is huge. I feel a long overdue rant coming on, so bear with me. There was an order for my patient tonight to get an EKG. He didn't understand why he needed one, so I explained what it did and why he needed it. He was cool after that 'cause he knew what was going on. I've told people some things that weren't easy for me to say. All I need sometimes is some sort of feedback or acknowledgement that I said something. Throw me a bone here, I need to know what's going on. When I get no acknowledgement, no communication it hurts. Indifference to what you say sometimes is a bitter pill to swallow. When my patient said ouch, at least I gave him a band-ait. When I say ouch, all I get is "do you not want me to talk to you again?" Well it was nice when you stabbed me, but could you pour salt on the wound next time? Not cool, but I've been through worse. There are certain expectations, certain rules (guidelines if you will) when youre in a friendship that must be met. Yeah akward shit is gonna pop up from time to time. Yeah we'll sometimes have to talk about stuff that maybe neither of us want to really talk about. I mean all I want is respect. Respect for feelings, respect as a human being, respect as a friend. It's a two way street. I'm by no means perfect, but I like to think I try to be there, listen and communicate with my friends. I'm to the point now, that if you not willing to do the same for me, then maybe you're not worth my time anymore. But yet I still want to wait to hear from people....

Fuck it, I'm eating some Girl Scout Cookies and passing out.