Birds of a feather

Sitting in the infusion department at chemotherapy today for Mark's round 3 treatment, I noticed the various members of the medical team and various species of birds came to mind. There is the front desk receptionist...she is a blue jay. She smiles and is often caught singing to herself as she busily processes patient forms and payments. She always seems happy and chipper. There are the therapy nurses...the core and strength of the team. Floating from patient to patient like busy hummingbirds in different colored Crocs and Sketcher Shape Ups, they perform a multitude of tasks in the few hours they see their patients. There are also the stool pigeons of the nurses....those that stand around pretending to do work like the others, but are only there to collect their paycheck. They peck around from here to there, trying to look busy when the administrators are around. The phlebotomists are like vultures, seeking their next victim for blood....and never apologizing when they can't seem to find a vein. The doctors are the peacocks...flaunting their white coat feathers as if trying to attract a mate. They seem to silently scream, "Look at me! I'm important! I'm better than you!" This was especially evident when a patient in the next space threw up from his chemo treatment and all one of the doctors did was call over any orderly to clean it up...(Please note, our doctor.."Dr. B" as we call him, is in no way one of these peacocks. He does not wear a coat. From day one, when we asked him why he didn't have a coat, he informed us, "I don't care for the attitude and separation it seems to bring about when it's worn." Ask any of his nurses or patients, Dr. B is the best! We feel fortunate to have him!). The orderly is the sparrow...barely noticed by others, but diligently working to keep the department going. The most impressive member of the staff I observed is the Nurse Case Manager...Mother Hen to the department. She knows everything about everyone including what meds they are taking, what side effects to expect, which nurse is celebrating a birthday and what time so and so went to lunch...it was amazing to watch her in action! The roost would break down without a case manager. All in all, it was a fun day people watching.
PS-Mark's treatment went without incident today. He visited the cardiologist yesterday who said things looked alright. Follow up will be in a couple weeks. I'll keep you posted! :)