The Many Shades of Red

I recently had a student ask me if I had ever done anything embarrassing as a student myself. “Well, of course not,” was my indignant response. I quickly followed with, “well maybe.” A sigh, then, “okay, okay! I had more than my fair share of such moments.” After having him sign several forms promising he wouldn’t publicize my accounts, I launched into my narrative.

“There was this time, one of the first times I had ever talked to a real patient. All I had to do was go in, administer a nebulizer treatment, listen to their lung sounds, and then go on my merry way. I was nervous, but I was also something else! I mean, I was entering the world of the medical professional. I was important; hear me roar!

“After verifying my order, I marched into the room with gusto, and said, 'Hi, Mr. Michaels, I am here to give you a treatment'. The bald, frail person sitting on the side of their bed glanced up at me, shook their head, and said, 'Mr. Michaels isn’t here. But I’m Ms. Michaels'. Gulp. In my moment of triumph, I had called a woman a man! This simply couldn’t be happening to me.”

The student, at this point was sufficiently attentive to what I was saying. I could see his current smile was at my expense.

“Sufficiently red-faced, I obediently squirted some antibacterial gel into my hands, took a deep breath (what else is an aspiring Respiratory Therapist supposed to do!), and continued. I listened to breath sounds and administered the medication without further incident. I walked behind Ms. Michaels, and proceeded to prepare to listen to breath sounds before leaving, stating, 'Okay, Ms. Michaels, I just need to listen to your breath sounds, and then I’ll get out of your hair.'  Without a pause, she stated, 'I don’t have any hair.'

“I believe at that moment I invented a new, very dark shade of red. I was horrified. She laughed and continued laughing for what seemed like an eternity. She then thanked me, telling me that she needed a good laugh. My watchful instructor at the time exited the room quickly, barely containing bouts of laughter.

“I learned a valuable lesson that day. Not about administering medication. Or even verifying gender in a chart. But about laughter . . . about people who are gracious, even in sickness. I also discovered that day that there are multiple shades of red, and I’ve seen each of them on my own face.”