Toxic? V...No, it was benign!

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We health care providers, use these words "toxic" and "benign" in relation to our work in the hospital setting. "Benign" would mean the ward is not so busy and we can have our meals on time, give proper care to our clients, administer medications and procedures on time, and receive and endorse clients from the outgoing and incoming staff on duty from the previous and the next shifts. "Toxic" is the other way around. When we say "the ward is toxic", this would mean so many clients (patients) to take care of (consider the ratio of one nurse to handle 25 patients); not eating meals on time, delaying of drugs administration, delay in giving procedures and treatment, and delay in endorsing the clients to the next shift. Adding to that, the doctors needing the attention of the already exhausted nurses to follow up their orders to be carried out. I and my students thought that we will be toxic on our first duty day. Alas! It was not. Why? It was because the chief of hospital has not yet signed our MOA, and our schedules of duty were not yet submitted to the wards of the hospital. (I am in medical ward, level 4 students on Mondays and Tuesdays, and OB ward for level 2 on Thursdays and Fridays). Yesterday and today, we stayed in the third floor of the hospital and waited for the call from the nurse training office to inform us of the MOA. It was finally signed at 1 PM this afternoon. Toxic? I made them toxic; I gave them a 15-item quiz, and I was surprised because some of them forgot the right answers to the questions I asked. But generally, our duty was benign, because we sat in an air-conditioned area. Next Monday, it will be a toxic duty day for them. My students expect that from me; it is for them anyway.