Good people are hard to come by

Good people - they are unfortunately a dying breed in this age. Common courtesy, decency and even common sense having taken a back seat to iPhones and the "I am better than everyone" mentality. I observe it on a daily basis and to be quite honest usually I observe this behavior from the patients I deal with on a daily basis, I do see it on occasion in my own coworkers and even some of the doctors I work with.

Today though, I came across a genuinely kind person - a patient who came into the office who almost saved my life, or at least my hand, from an uncertain fate.

Many people can be kind on the outside but quickly turn rotten without the slightest provocation - few are actually nice as this patient happened to be. It was her first visit and she was nervous but maintained a pleasant demeanor. The doctor talked with her for quite some time, then he decided to preform incision and drainage of an abscess in the office which she handled like a champ. After he walked out of the room I came in to clean up and before I could even put on gloves the patient very abruptly warned me of the uncovered - used #11 scalpel that the doctor had just carelessly thrown in the garbage can. She told me to be careful and then said goodbye and went on her way.

For those of you unfamiliar with surgical instruments a #11 scalpel blade is about the most dangerous piece of metal under 2 inches one could find in or around a medical office. They are pointy like an x-acto knife and add to that the tempered medical grade surgical edge sometimes down to half a micron thick - and you are dealing with something that could cut through the trashcan in an instant...never mind the trash bag or my hand for instance.

Now it may come as a shock to some of you but some doctors, when it comes to anything remotely unrelated to diagnosing illness - are about as dumb as rocks. Never mind the medical training during which I guarantee they received instruction on proper disposal of instruments - how about common sense?

Razor sharp blade + trash bag = bad?

The reason I find it worth mentioning that this lady happened to mention it to me and how wonderfully kind that is - is because it has happened before! The first time this particular doctor pulled this stunt I would have sliced my hand to bits if I had not been paying very close attention to what was at the time a half visible handle in the bag of trash. I came to find out later that the patient had actually been the one to throw the scalpel in the trashcan himself! Nonetheless the doctor was to blame on this occasion as well, as there is a sharps container attached to the wall next the door of every single exam room in the office.

When approached about it on both occasions not once did he look up from fidgeting with his iPhone when he laughed, shrugged it off, insincerely apologized and walked away. This kind of behavior is exactly why patients aren't the only ones who hate arrogant doctors, their staff do too!

There is light at the end of the tunnel however because I have now come across at least one - good, kind person and for that I am thankful if only she could teach the doctor to do the same.