I don’t like rules and I don’t always follow them, but sometimes RULES are RULES, and these are the rules.
The Rules
1. The Night Shift is a work of fiction. Realistic fiction. Fiction so real you may think it’s real. But fiction nonetheless. Even the main character, RT ElizaMarie is fiction. All the other people–also fiction, but just in case they aren’t–names have been changed to protect the innocent
2. You don’t know me. Even if you do, pretend you don’t. Anonymity is never guaranteed on the interwebs, but I’ll do my best to protect it.
3. You don’t know the person I am talking about. Because it’s almost a 100% chance that the person I am talking about is an amalgam of more than one person. And even if it’s not, you still don’t know that person. See rule #2
4. Nothing or no one is as it appears. [See rules 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 for explanations]
5. HIPAA is for real. [I don’t want to lose my license before I get it or get kicked out of school before I finish]
6 I make things up…like names, details, and locations. [once again, see rule 4 for explanation]
7. The institution is the place most of the stories occur. The actual institution changes as new opportunities present themselves.
8. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental, and speaks to universal issues in healthcare.
9. Once again, The Night Shift is a work of fiction. Nothing mentioned should be construed as medical advice. If you need medical advice, you should probably seek advice from an actual medical profession, or call 9-1-1 in a true emergency.
10. I couldn’t think of any other rules or disclaimers,, but I like round numbers. Numbers divisible by 3, 5, and 10 are also acceptable. The only prime number that is acceptable is 13. Because I’m not superstitious. But don’t say the Q word around me, and I schedule my shifts by the phase of the moon.
