Quora is an online site where lay people can ask medically-related questions. As a retired physician, I review the questions and some times answer a few. It is a good exercise. I sometimes have to Google the answer and review medical articles in the process.
Here is one answer which elicited many readers. I thought you might enjoy it as well.
The question was: “What are little-known things that go on behind the scenes at hospitals?”
The overhead pages are in a secret code. “Green grass on the third floor” may sound soothing, but it means there’s a fire on the third floor. “Code blue in room 402” means that a patient needs the code team – complete with crash cart – to get to the indicated room ASAP. That code means the patient’s heart has stopped and they need resuscitation.
In the Emergency Room, there is a running list of patients who have come in frequently for pain meds and are suspected of drug abuse. The ER is often Grand Central Station when it comes to people seeking higher doses of narcotics than what their regular doctors want to give. As a result of the constant pressure on ER doctors to write scripts for narcotics, they tend to become skeptical when people come in complaining of pain. Their cynicism is unfortunate but understandable.
Another little-known aspect of the ER is the suspicion that patient volume increases on nights with a full moon. The term “lunacy” comes from the belief that the moon causes people to behave oddly. More people do stupid things on the night of a full moon. More accidents occur, often involving excessive alcohol consumption.
I suspect what you are really asking, though, is “Is it true that medical staff are having a lot of sex at work?” Workplace romance seems to be a common plot in most medical dramas such as “ER.” While I was in residency, I was unaware of anyone having sex at work. Sorry to disappoint all the aspiring television writers out there.
The reality of the ER is the work is hard and the hours are ridiculous. When you have a free hour, then what you do is hunker down in your tiny bunk bed in the on-call room and try to catch a little sleep. There is no time for the flirtatious chit-chat or deep philosophical discussions or even medical discussions you might see on “House, MD.” “The hours, at least in residency training, are grueling and not conducive to romance.
The hours are not so bad once you are done with training and on staff at the hospital. There were some stray stories of extra-marital affairs for the higher level attendings. At that level, they have more breathing room. Nobody propositioned me, however. An 8-year-old patient called me a “beautiful woman,” but that was the extent of it.
Dr. Janet Tamaren 