Demotion/Or is it?

Had an interesting night at work a few weeks ago. A male patient came in, and after dealing with him for approximately 1 hour, I still wasn't quite sure why he was there. He came in very dirty, an obvious leg deformity. He appeared to want help finding a wheelchair that was stolen from him, also his dog (clue right there he wasn't completely mentally there.). Never found out what happened to the wheelchair or the dog. He told me he was in law school at Jeff State Jr. College (doesn't have a law program) and that he was a doctor in Viet Nam (later changed that to a Medic). He also demanded something for pain and told me the only thing that worked was hydrocodone and he could generally get that over the counter but hasn't been able to find it (Big clue there!). When I told him that this was a controlled substance, he became very upset at me and told me he knew what he was talking about and I didn't have a clue. After trying to reason w/him (big mistake), I finally left the room and the ER doc went in (a female). He didn't like her either but told her that he wanted to see a real doctor and wanted to talk to someone who knew something about medicine that obviously "that tech I've been talking to doesn't know what she is talking about." The tech being ME. The short of it is we had to call the police in because he became quite uncontrollable.

Point - I have seen how some of the "techs" work at different hospitals around the Birmingham area. They are way overworked and under appreciated (as are most medical personnel). So, to be classified as a Tech - by the standard of those I admire - was a compliment. Now when someone asked me something I answer "What do I know, I'm just a tech." By the way, the doctor that night set him straight about who was in charge of the ER - HER!

Have a great weekend. This "Tech" is going to work.