New doctor in the old work place

Today was my first day back at work in Sweden. It was suddenly all back to how it was before, just as if Botswana never happened. I mean, at first working in that strange environment was overwhelming, but after a while it seemed normal. I stopped panicking about spilling HIV-positive blood on my bare hands. After all, HIV is not that contagious. Patients die sometimes, even the young ones. It’s not the doctors’ fault that people get hit by cars or acquire sepsis. Life goes on. Failing to save someone is not the same as killing him.

I spent four months without getting a single CRP or troponin. Did it change my management for most patients? No, probably not. So, do I really need to get it on every patient I see here in Sweden? I don’t think so, but I believe that if I don’t I will soon be reminded that I am the one who has changed my perspective, not my hospital.