Giving IM injections always gave me the creeps! I hated it.
I would agree with you on gallows humor. HCW in high stress areas typically grasp at ways to cope with what they see and do. Lay people would likely be really really appalled at what goes on sometimes. But you CANNOT survive in that kind of environment if you don’t find a way to emotionally distance yourself from what’s happening. You cannot give good care to people in horrific situations if you are horrified and upset or traumatized.
I wasn’t as good at protecting myself as I needed to be, so I left trauma care and eventually ended up in cardiac ICU. Still was very intense, but less emotionally depleting to me than trauma.
Thanks for your insight.