AustLit

'I am reading the Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry in the nurses' station of the psych ward. There aren't enough chairs, and even if one were empty I would not presume to sit down, so I am leaning against a filing cabinet. The nurses' station is located within the central room of the ward and - unlike the station in other wards - is totally enclosed by large perspex windows. Patients mill around the station, and try to attract the attention of a nurse inside by tapping gently on the windows, much like one taps on the glass of a fishbowl to attract the attention of the goldfish inside. Hence, the soubriquet: the Fishbowl.' 

 (Publication abstract)