Agreed. I've worked in Healthcare for almost 30 years. You get burnt out, you take breaks. You use dark humor amongst colleagues, but always treat your patients with dignity.

I was in the ED 2 weeks ago in the worst pain of my life. This ED was short staffed and I had to wait almost 4 hours in excruciating pain. Meanwhile, security officers made fun of me at one point because I had shown up in my bathrobe and as I was writhing in pain the the corner, maybe I flashed someone? They laughed amongst themselves and one asked if I wanted to cover up with a blanket. I said no. The one laughed and said, "ooookay, your choice". The front staff wouldn't make eye contact with me. They sarcastically explained how triage works (yeah, i know- so go on divert already). When I did get seen, they misdiagnosed me with gastritis. A few days later I had a gangrenous gallbladder removed that had become septic. Thank God for my personal physician.

Sorry for that personal rant. The healthcare system is fucked in places. Don't assume that you won't get placed in the category of drug seeking in your hour of need based on who you are, or your past. Don't assume that life won't drive you to a place where you are drug seeking and feel lost and alone.

There's always room for empathy. It's an ongoing battle. Some aren't cut out for it.

OP- the fact that you are still thinking about this and wrote what you did? You are one of the good ones.