Einstein was a genius and I was not. But I did have mentors and guiding lights. Those folks that may have been in your life only for short periods of time but made impressions on us that lasted. Albert was an intelligent guy but I can guess he wasn’t necessarily a good teacher and for sure probably couldn’t change a tire.
In my earlier days, My first actual medical job was working as a surgical assistant. No, not the kind that hands scalpels to the Doctor and such. The kid that gets called when the room needs to be cleaned, floors mopped and all. I also happened to be a early Grub Hub sort of guy that went to a local Bar to pick up wine burgers for the Anesthesiologist on occasion. I am hoping that the cooking burned off the alcohol, but what the heck I was just the kid. The Doc was a lousy tipper. I will not until this day forget a time I was asked to take a long heavy object from the surgical suite to other area called pathology. Come to find out it was a patients leg amputated above the knee due to diabetes. No wonder it was heavy. I am glad I didn’t drop it. I transferred the patient back to his room as he awoke reaching for the leg that was no longer there. This was another of my many introductions to medical disability and debility. I would never forget it.
When I was asked to be the “House Orderly” I asked first what that meant. The answer was pretty simple, you are available in the hospital and when you hear your name announced you respond and do whatever we ask. Sounds simple right? Who is gonna teach me how to do this job? Mr. B. His name was Richard and he was a Mexican fellow with long wavy hair down to his shoulders. He wore traditional scrubs and looked more like a character from the Up in Smoke Cheech and Chong Movie. He was a cool guy and I liked him a lot. He showed me how to do all the male catheter placements, bandaging changes, construct traction and grab bars and so forth for the hospital beds. And yes, I changed bedpans. Nowadays I think you probably have to have some sort of license for these chores right? Back then, See one, do one and then teach one. Mr. Bocardo taught me well. Unfortunately my Father wouldn’t let me wear my hair as long as Richard’s but I did my best to grow it out. Mr.Bocardo taught me how to talk to patients as regular folks, long before I got all fancy with schooling, college and degrees and the like. He had a good demeanor and a great smile. Even though some of his patients were not so inclined to accept care from a long-haired stoner-looking Mexican guy, he won them over. He was a guiding light.
Richard lived in a small house in the middle of an orange orchard in Phoenix with his “sister”. Man could she cook and from that point on Mexican Food has been my favorite. Oh, did I mention, if you looked closely enough beneath some of those orange trees grew some beautiful marijuana plants. Yep, Richard smoked a lot of pot. He was a kind person, a good man, a mentor.
I transported patients throughout that hospital. When they arrived. When they departed. Thankfully when they departed through the back door I didn’t have that job. I moved them to surgery and back. I knew every square foot of that hospital by the end of my work there. The skillset I learned there has served me well to this day. I also learned that the hospital was a great place to meet women. It was my Summer of ’42 so to speak, in 1973.
I learned at this time how important it is to be a jack of all trades(so to speak) Medicine is so specialized these days and during my various jobs I have been able to pick up good experiences that I hope my patients have benefited from over the years. I had good teachers, good mentors. They took the time to watch me make mistakes and show me how to do it next time. They were guiding lights.
