"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
oups.com...
Congrats to her. I managed to squeeze in 20 years with a local hospital

doing mechanical work. I got to be the proverbial "fly on the wall" and
now
I don't begrudge good nurses whatever they make.

She certainly works hard and the nigbt shifts have their own
complications. Interestingly, all Manhattan hospitals pay around 5 or
6K less. A clinic in the Hamptons is paying a one her classmates 76K,
but that's too far away for her.


Many of my hours there were overnighters. The graveyard shift is a special
bunch with a whole different feel. The camaraderie runs deeper, and everyone
seems to have a better grasp of the team concept, especially between
departments (e.g., between security, engineering, and the ER staff). One
night, for instance, a couple of drunk bikers came into the ER. I had been
demolishing some O2 lines in the area; work that had to be done overnight.
One guy was (superficially) injured and for some reason, his friend got
rowdy, and decided to sucker punch a security guard who was a good friend of
mine, I didn't think twice about swinging a 24" aluminum pipe wrench across
the back of his legs. I didn't want to kill or even seriously hurt him, but
I did want him on the floor while the RNs radioed for security and police
backup . He actually apologized and thanked me after he sobered up, with no
broken bones and only a nifty looking bruise across one hamstring, he
realized I could have removed his head with the same swing.
I think, with less people on the clock, those who are on realize how much
more they depend on each other.
Scout