Doctors Dodging Tickets

E.R. overcrowding is a serious problem, especially in the winter. Hospital beds fill up and admitted patients end up being held in the emergency department. Additionally, more people get sick in the winter, so our waiting rooms are full. It's normal for me to examine patients in the hallways, because of the lack of available rooms. Sometimes, there's no space to see patients at all. In times like these, our hospital goes on "divert" meaning we have to turn away all but the most critical ambulance patients.

My physican group staffs two hosptials, Kent and Milford. Late Friday Night (into the AM Saturday morning) I was working at Kent when we were on divert. My partner in Milford called us at Kent, begging us to go off divert, because he was getting flooded with patients from both his area and ours. We couldn't. There was no space and no nursing staff to allow us to see patients, and our waiting room patients had been there for six hours. I told him that when my shift ended at Kent, I would go to Milford to provide more pateint-seeing manpower.

So my shift ended and I jumped into my car all pumped up to go to the next hospital. Five minutes on the road and the lights of a police car flash behind me. Of course, I was speeding (60 mph in a 40 mph zone). I bagan to regret volunteering for the extra shift.

The state trooper asked me "Is there a reason why you're driving so fast tonight, sir?"

I answered "Because I'm an ER doctor and I was called from one hospital to work at another."

So, I got off with a warning. When I arrived at Milford, my first patient (someone who was soooo happy to see me because they had been waiting six hours) was...guess what....?

A state trooper.

So, as it turned out, one police officer did me a favor, so I could help out another. Karma, man. I was also told the next day by a collegue, that with the ER doctor excuse, I should never get a speeding ticket in this town again.

This job ain't so bad after all.