Poo

Doctors in general are overly interested in poo. Color, frequency, consistency.  You name it, and we probably want to know about it.  This is not really advertised when you start medical school.

Every morning when I round on my patients, I listen to their heart and lungs, push on their bellies, check their wounds or drain or both, and fire off this list of questions in rapid succession:

"Are you eating? Have you passed gas yet? Are you nauseous?  Did you vomit?"

"Have you had a bowel movement?  What was it like?  Would you like something to help you have a bowel movement?"

Occasionally a patient can't poo after surgery for one reason or another.  This is bad juju.  No poo means that the patient will be staying in the hospital another day.  Which means they will be on my list another day.  Which means I have to round on them another day.  Which means I get ten less minutes to eat/sleep/play with my pup/study/sleep.  Which makes me grumpy.

All of that leads me to this morning when I gave an 87 year old gentleman a high five for having a bowel movement.

I'm not terribly proud of that moment, but I have ten more minutes to sleep tomorrow.