I'm not evolved enough

What was I thinking!!! What point is there getting my masters??? One class and I was ready to tell the tutor where to go.
"You haven't learned how to think critically" explained Mrs Crump. "Ah, I'm still not sure what you mean by thinking critically" I explained.

We were dealing with a scenario where I'd been working in an east London hospital on an Agency shift. I'd been left with eight acute patients, no handover, and a nurse assistant who called in sick. I was in the emergency room as well.

I'd complained but like the typical nurse I pulled through the shift for the sake of the patients. I know I didn't do as good a job as the patients deserved, but there was just too much to do.

"You didn't deal with the situation as you should have" explained Mrs Crump. "If you'd been thinking critically, and by that I mean taking control of your thinking and the situation, you would have made better decisions" said Mrs Crump.

I shook my head "So what was the right thing to do? Your explanation still hasn't helped me. I'm sorry, I just don't get it. I use common sense, and just try to do what is right. I did think of walking out but..."

I could have walked out, but as an Agency nurse filling in a random shift, I'd have been in dire straits. The agency nurse always gets the blame and never has any real support when the shit hits the fan.

Mrs Crump is the typical nursing tutor, idealistic but not practical. She's probably never done an Agency shift in a random hospital, they just didn't do it back in her day. I don't think she has thought 'critically'. It hasn't occurred to her that in some situations there is no right way, sometimes you just can't win no matter what you choose.

I didn't go to another masters class. I've been put off, or maybe it was the 4000 word essay that put me off. Oh well, never mind.

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Opposites can't both be right

"I would never operate on this" said Dr X in a firm voice. "Not only would it not be of any benefit, but there is a 30% chance you could permanently lose a quarter of your strength in that arm. Neither the patient or his family looked happy with this verdict.
"Well, ah, just send us the report and we'll speak to our own doctor back home" said the the patient. Home in this case being Germany.

The problem was that the specialist in Germany said that the specialist we went to was wrong and that the patient absolutely must have surgery. "I'd be crazy not to operate" were his words.

The patient is getting surgery soon.

I don't know who is right or wrong, but if the wrong person is right, the patient is going to suffer.

Nothing I can do about it either.

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