I am on-call for Lynchburg right now. Unlike Rockbridge, being on-call in Lynchburg is a double-edged sword. On one hand, I hope I don't get called out so that I can just relax at home. However, by doing that, I only get paid the $5/hour to hold the pager. So for a 12-hour shift, I get a whopping 60 bucks. Whereas, if I get called out I make a lot more money per hour, but doing so forces me to give up relaxing at home.
I got called out around 9:00 this morning, which means I will stay in Lynchburg for the rest of my on-call shift, since that trip from BV to Lynchburg would get tiresome. First I had to go to the VICU at Virginia Baptist to do an "appropriateness for discharge" assessment. Then I had to go over to the ER to assess one of our frequent flyers, who becomes suicidal if the wind so much as changes directions. I had this at Rockbridge as well, these clients who are always in crisis, or so they think they are in crisis. I'm sorry, but wanting to change your SSDI payee because your current payee steals your money is not a crisis. Being suicidal because Ric Flair is no longer wrestling is not a crisis. Being severely depressed and angry because your neighbors complain about you watching your porno movies while listening to gospel music at the same time at loud volumes IS NOT A CRISIS! But I always have to remind myself, if it is a crisis to them, it is a crisis to me. The clients in the three examples I gave of supposed "non-crises" all had the same diagnosis of Schizoaffective Disorder, those most interesting of clients who couldn't choose between being Bipolar or Schizophrenic, so they exhibit symptoms and characteristics of both Disorders. I worked with one such client on an ongoing outpatient basis for close to two years, and I can honestly tell you it was one of the most gut-wrenching experiences ever. He would make some progress with anger management, and then all of the sudden have an outburst that landed him in a psychiatric hospital.
The thing I tell myself over and over again is that I love doing crisis work, and I have to continue to be patient with all clients, but especially the Schizoaffective ones. They have such a hard time establishing meaningful relationships and rarely have I met a Schizoaffective client who had a long-term girlfriend or boyfriend. The rewards come when you work intensely with a Schizoaffective client and they work hard and make some progress on one of their goals, and the smiling pride they show when you commend them for their efforts. That's what makes this work worthwhile!
So after I had finished up at the ER, I got some lunch and brought it back to the office. I turned on the TV and there was a poker tournament of some sort on ESPN. I am waiting for the day when poker gets more airtime than the NFL. That will be the end of civilization as we know it. Since poker is shown on ESPN, a sports network, little kids will probably think that poker is a sport. I await the day when I ask some 8-year old kid "So who's your favorite professional athlete, and he responds, "Chris Ferguson! You know, Jesus!". I will respond by saying, "I weep for the future."
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