In most hospitals, there is rivalry between different ICU's, where each arena, likes to believe they know the most, have the most critical patient's to care for, and therefore, are the "best" critical-care nurses. Working in what is known as the Coronary Care Unit (medical) meant that you took care of people with CHF, acute MI's, Unstable Angina, pacemaker's, etc. You didn't have to deal with many wounds, virtually no post-op surgical patient's and rarely any infections. In other words, a pretty clean place. So when one of "our" nurses, decided to transfer to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, I was forced to put my disbelief into words.

Oh, Marge

Oh, Marge
I have to tell the truth,
S.I.C.U.
Will steal your youth,
We'll miss your
Always wonderful self,
Like empty bookends
On a shelf.

Trauma surgeons
There's not doubt,
Really love to
Shake and shout,
Measure outputs
Like fanatics,
And drink the juice
Of drained lymphatics.

So sure, the place
Is great for learnin',
Q-2 hour
Crash and burnin',
Busted faces
Legs and brains,
Fifty thousand
Sucking drains.

But you'll be back
To plead your case,
And fool us with
A happy face,
Nostalgic for
The pretty view,
At sunrise
In the C.C.U.

Fibril_late; 1994