More than a little

Sure, we can all do little things, but author J.K. Rowling's outing as the author of a recent crime novel will be a boon for a British charity for soldiers.

I wonder if this will pump the sales even more.

More later...

Every little bit

 Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.― Mother Teresa

I came across this blog last year when I read about it on BBC. One woman talks about raising her child as a single parent and subsisting on very little.

Now she's been blogging over a year, and talks about doing little things to make life better for others.

Important thing to ponder...

A little talkin' music

Everybody ran for the front door, 'cause the back door was nailed up.

I love the story of Lucille!

Take us away, B.B.

Sometimes I wish

I didn't volunteer to be on committees.

I'm doing so much committee work, I never feel like I'm getting real work done. I'll have to wait and see how it all turns out.

In one committee, I'm working with high-ranking physicians and nurses. In another, I'm interviewing people for jobs, since I'm one of the customers. (and we're required to send representatives...)

Almost makes me wish the interviewing, policy writing and jockeying with erstwhile random staff were over.

I think I need a vacation. Maybe I just won't come back from my next road trip.

Nah, I really don't like tourist traps that much!

Stay tuned...

Hard to swallow

It's not uncommon for rehab patients to have swallowing problems. Many times, swallowing issues are due to illness, age, surgery or trauma.

I've had some weird feelings in my esophagus, but never anything like this poor lady described in a LiveScience article.

Stay tuned...

The latest

U.S. News Best Hospitals list of rehab hospitals is out there on the internet.

Unfortunately, the Hotel did not make it to the top 10.

Maybe we'll have better luck next year.

More later...

People will talk...

And I really do listen, or read, as needed.

I'd like to thank all of you out there who weighed in on your various sites. I'm all for recognition, so here goes... in no particular order with any additional comments following each listing.

Aspen University said on its page "Fifteen nursing blogs you should be reading"
Rehab RN
By a nurse “down on the farm,” this is a fun and snarky blog. 

Snarky? Yes, this is true.

Qi Exam Prep says RehabRN is one of the 25 best nursing blogs. (Thanks!)

 #12 RehabRN
Focused on working in rehab, this blog is fresh and well written. It makes you both laugh and wince at what patients are up to as they recover, and wonder to some degree how the author does it. It's original and clever. 

How do I do it? Very carefully (with a grin, too, or grimace, depending on the situation). It's all about the presentation. I'm still working on that poker face, but I do blank, confusing stares really well. (I can confuse lots of folks).

Online LPN to RN says this blog is one of 50 nursing blogs you should be reading.


RehabRN: RN “living down on the farm with Dahey, Bubba, WildDog and other wild animals, working at the Hotel Rehab to pay the bills and get material for this blog and for my standup comedy routine.”

Wow! Thanks. Yes, one day, I will have a standup routine. I have enough potty jokes from the Hotel. (bad pun)

Finally, AJN (the American Journal of Nursing) does its professional best not to endorse one specific blogger, but hey, I made the list. Here's their criteria below:

We don’t necessarily endorse the opinions or ideas of every nurse blogger out there, but do try to give you an idea of the range of nursing blogs, and to semiregularly update this list to weed out those that are no longer being updated and add newcomers you might be interested in. The list is arranged alphabetically, not in order of quality or ”klout.” Please send correspondence and new blog suggestions to this address: nursingblog@wolterskluwer.com

One of their recent comments on bloggers listed mentioned: "We are subjective about who we choose, but generally look for blogs that still update on a regular basis, that are civil, that aren’t run by unspecified corporate entities aggregating online education options for nurses, and that do more than simply complain about unpleasant patients (though of course there’s a place for this!)."

To one and all, my thanks. Hope you enjoy the stories, comments and even the complaints you find here. It's just a snapshot of my little world.

More to come...

Thanks for penciling that in

Sometimes people make mistakes, and thankfully, there are some astute folks who follow them, recognize the mistake and make the appropriate changes.

I really enjoyed this story in the obituary of Lindy Boggs, former congresswoman, who died recently at 97 years old.

As a woman, I have been fortunate to be a beneficiary of that event.

Godspeed, Ms. Lindy.

Happy Friday!

It's the last Friday in July. You won't get another until next month.

Need any other excuses (reasons)? I am going on a field trip with the home health team today AND the weather is beautiful.

Here's hoping it's a good Friday wherever you are. Cheers!

Just more proof

That politicians will (inadvertently) always be in the news.

Nice, er, bird.

That is all.

I needed entertainment so...

The state of some education in America is pretty scary. This is what they are talking about in the clip below.

Enjoy the scenery!

Learning something new

I've taken care of post-transplant patients, but lately, we've gotten a few pre-transplant patients at the Hotel.

So I went to the library to find some information. First of all, the International Transplant Nurses Association has a wealth of information about transplantation topics and patient education. Like rehab nurses, transplant nurses deal with a wide variety of subjects while caring for patients.

In addition, some things vary for patients based on their rating or score for whether they are eligible (or need) a transplant. Liver transplant patients hear about their MELD scores, heart patients may know what their Seattle Heart Failure Model or other score can affect how and when they get a transplant and how their doctors treat their heart problems before they get transplanted.

Why does this make a difference? Goals, folks, goals. Rehabilitation is big on how patients can (reasonably) meet their goals on admission and discharge. We don't just want them to progress while they are here. They need to continue it as time goes on.

Needless to say, working in rehab is never boring. There's always something new to learn.

Stay tuned!

Seen online

"I don't bother choosing my words carefully anymore. People are just going to twist them up anyway."

No surprises there, just typical Hotel!

Rumor has it...

Just like the song, we hear JC may be in the house very soon.

So, of course, they moved all the furniture in the waiting area in front of our clinic doors. Nice.

I hope they show while this mess is here and write up the idiot staff I work with.

However, in honor of our good JC friends, I cleaned out our coffee maker. If I'm going to be stressed, it's going to be locked in my office with a cup of coffee before my inquisition.

(Rant over). That is all. Enjoy your Monday.

The latest Sunday Stealing

Here's the latest from Sunday Stealing called Collapse. Enjoy!

Have you ever clicked on an ad on the side of your screen by accident?
Of course (they put the links in the darnedest places!)

When was the last time you were disappointed?
Hmm. Happens regularly, but I don't count.

Do you like the smell of rain?
Yes. Especially in summer.

What was the last thing you took a picture of?
My child Bubba.

When you go to McDonald's, what drink do you usually get?
Depends. I usually drink water wherever I go.

What's the nickname of your home state?
Can't tell, but some people find it annoying.

What's the worst type of weather in your opinion?
Any extremes. I love it when it's about 60-65 degrees and partly cloudy to sunny.

Do you have a Kindle, Nook, iPad or none?
iPad.

Would you rather read or write?
Writing is my choice, but I love reading, too.

When was the last time someone took a picture of you?
Yesterday.

Do you own a pair of slippers?
Technically, yes. Let's just call them house shoes. I wear them around the house, including going outside in them. I think of slippers as fluffy and can't handle concrete or grass.


Is your house currently hot, cold or just right?
Just right. I love programmable thermostats!

Is there a Dead End road near where you live?
Yes. A few.

Do you roll your eyes often?
Not really. That drives me nuts!

Growing up, did you see your cousins often?
Fairly often.

Where was your first job at?
I was a church secretary.

Is life a party to you?
Mostly, when it's not work.

Who are you tired of seeing in the news a lot?

Just depends on the day. Kimye is way up there on my list, and all the related stories. Don't even get me started...

When was the last time you flew a kite?
About a year ago.

How long have you had a blog?
Forever. Officially, I've had one since Blogger started.

Have you ever had to call and complain about a product you bought?
Yes, but social media is so much more effective now...and it works!

Name something positive you love about yourself.
I am positive the majority of the time.

For that one patient...

Who claims to have met lots of famous people. This story reminded me of you.

I know you'd deny it, but it would have been fun to share. Nevertheless...I digress.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Stop dumping

Dear Local Hospitals:

There haven't been any good stories in the news lately, but we know this practice still exists.

Many hospitals still practice dumping. Not hazardous waste, but people. Inconvenient people. People who are homeless.

So Little RiverTown Merciless Medical Center, cut it out. Stop discharging people you know are homeless.

Recently, one of your discharged folks came to the Hotel and is really a mess. Said patient should have been discharged to an agency program that can help him/her.

You did a great disservice. If my coworker has some phone numbers on that patient's discharge form, I'll be copying it and sending it along to OIG.

Because you should have known better. He/she has options.

Sincerely not,

RehabRN

================================

P.S. I found this info below when I did a Google search and I'm not even an LCSW.

Get your act together and make the calls you need before you discharge people to the community.

National Call Center for Homeless Veterans
http://www1.va.gov/HOMELESS/NationalCallCenter.asp
Phone: 1-877-4AID VET (877-424-3838)
VA has founded a National Call Center for Homeless Veterans to ensure that Veterans or Veterans at-risk for homelessness have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. The hotline is intended to assist homelss Veterans and their families, VA Medical Centers, federal, state, and local partners, community agencies, service providers and others in the community.

Wishes

I was just like you. I was born on a Thursday, too. We had the same hair and eye color. I grew up straight and tall and you saw it.

You knew I would get married, but you didn't make it to the wedding (and you told me you wouldn't).

We named our little boy a good Irish name you would have liked and used your name as one of his middle names (with his other grandpa's name), and I did it just right, so you wouldn't be reminded of the father who abandoned you so long ago. As the folks in the neighborhood used to say when he was a baby, Bubba was a buster (see #3 here.)

A decade has passed, and on this day, I still think of you.

Happy birthday, Dad.

Love,

RehabRN

Yes, it's hot

Here in RehabLand, it's getting to be just like the rest of the country: downright hot. This is not terribly unusual for us in July.

However, why on earth is the crime rate going up?

Here are a few things on the local TV crime blotter this morning:

• Man kills his friend for spilling beer in his car around midnight
• Wife kills husband in upscale gated community with a knife

This is can be great for business (people end up in rehab hospitals if they survive) but terrible for society in general.

Just one more reason I really like fall...

More later.

Nuggets for July 17

Here are a few goodies I've run across on the internet lately. Enjoy!

A little explosive
Always provocative, Rolling Stone may ignite a few opinions all over the place with their cover photo and story of a Boston Marathon bomber.

Wired up
AHA's survey of Health Care's Most Wired hospitals is out and to no surprise, the Veterans Health Administration made the list.

If you were wondering
How those folks can count all the participants in uprisings, revolutions, etc., the good folks at the BBC have an article about that very topic.

No contest
Maybe if MBAs were licensed like RNs or other healthcare personnel, they'd make the most trusted list, and not appear in an article like this one about writing their own recommendations. I'd love for my old clinical instructor, Nurse Battle Ax (a former Navy nurse) to talk to one of them.

It's almost a full moon...

However, the calendar says we're a week early.

You would have thought it was with the sophomoric antics of some of our supposed "professional", long tenured staff.

I am starting to think that the best and the brightest leave because this guy's book title is indeed true. Why be exceptional when mediocre will do just fine?

Might as well give up and bay at the moon early.

Stay tuned.

A revelation

 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.--Luke 12:2

Diseases and disorders can be eye-opening, in more ways than one.I always thought that a relative had a common neurological disorder. No big deal. You see it, grow up with it, and you deal with it.

Life has a habit of throwing curves, and this relative sure suffered them lately: deathly illness, recuperation, and it seemed, a return to health.

Recently, the relative went for a consult. Normal, I thought. Done at the advisement of the old boss, since "It's a good thing to do." Now, I learn it's not normal, but now it's even more different. The oddities that stood alone put together all make sense.

I almost wish I could put the genie back into the bottle, but it would have gotten out sooner or later, anyway.

More later...

Sunday stealing -Wakadoo meme part 2

Oh, I missed the first part, so here's the second. Enjoy!

30.] What brand of batteries do you usually get? Whatever is on sale.

31.] Are any of your friends pregnant or have kids?  All of my friends have kids. If anyone is pregnant, this is a problem.

32.] What is in your medicine cabinet?
Kid's allergy medicine, every sort of itch potion you can imagine and dental floss.

33.] What's your favorite aspect of the natural world? 
Waterfalls.

34.] What's your favorite man made thing? 
Air conditioning

35.] Can you whistle properly? 
Define properly...

36.] What song do you think is the most widely heard in the world? 
This sounds like one of those Google interview questions, if they still use it.

37.] Where's the strangest place a fast food restaurant was located?
Tianamen Square. Really?

38.] What states surround your state? Or are you not land locked?
There are other states that border mine, but that's all I'm telling.

39.] Do you own binoculars or monoculars? What do you use them for? 
No.

40.] Do you ever wish you had a telescope on the roof or attic to stargaze? 
We have one, which goes on the patio occasionally.

41.] What's your favorite chocolate bar?
Right now, Lindt Dark 90%

42.] Do you fall asleep easy in cars? No. How about planes, trains and boats? Trains, yes.

43.] Would you rather live a year of your life in every major country or stay in the same place you live forever without vacations?
Duh. I'll live a lot of places, thankyouverymuch. No vacations would kill me.

44.] What will you not tolerate in a person? 
Impoliteness.

45.] Do you forgive others easier or yourself? Why is this? 
Yes, because I'm a perfectionist.

46.] How was God made, if he exists?
He always was, and ever shall be.

47.] Have you ever done aqua aerobics or polo?
Both. Love them, but don't have time anymore.

48.] What age were you when you learned how to swim?
Around 8. I got better at it by 10.

49.] What shows or characters scared you as a child?
Dracula or any horror characters. The music actually was worse than seeing the character.

50.] Do you stay up all night on New Years Eve/Day or go to bed after 12am? 
Depends.

51.] What's something unusual currently in your fridge?
Cauliflower.

52.] How about your freezer?
Nuts.

53.] What could you be doing now that is more productive?
Finishing my laundry. 

54.] Give me some lyrics from the song that's stuck in your head?
They say I gotta go to rehab/And I said, "no, no, no" (what I'll be saying tomorrow when I wake up.


55.] What's your favorite type of firework?
None. I just like watching them in the air at the big local shows.

Now, time for a PSA*

*Public Service Announcement

I found a really good infographic that discusses organ transplantation recently.

It's become a bigger deal around our house, because one of Dahey's relatives is now on the transplant list. He/she fits the profile noted on this infographic.

One thing I learned: maybe the US needs to go to an opt-out system versus opt-in, if it will increase the numbers of organ donors.

Transplantation waiting and aftercare is not always the easiest, but neither are the alternatives.

Please consider organ donation. It really is the gift of life for someone.

More to come...

Sometimes...

You just need a little help to brush up on your history lessons.

Last week, Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win a Wimbledon singles title.

And thanks to TheLi.st, I'm reminded that the women (although waiting) still finished before the men.

Virginia Wade, I hope there's another little girl somewhere in Britain batting tennis balls around, so you don't have to wait 77 years for a woman to do it AGAIN.

That is all. Stay tuned!

The rush

Nurses have four fundamental responsibilities: to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health and to alleviate suffering. The need for nursing is universal. (Preamble, Code for Nurses, International Council of Nurses, 2000.)

I did my job today. I promoted health and alleviated suffering. It totally rocked. And no one will tell me otherwise.

Stay tuned!

How many more days?

Yes, it's only Thursday, but as one patient relative said to me yesterday, "The days are all running together." Yes, that happens a lot at the Hotel.

So is it flow, as this theory says it is? 

Not sure, so, c'mon Friday!

I really feel like I'm in one of these

Two words: Dilbert comics.

Here are some of the classic quotes. "You want THAT? I'm not going to jail!"

"I'm not in charge of credentialing." said the human resources director of, you guessed it, the credentialing department (every hospital has one!)

Yes, I'm really sure they won't take you to jail for doing your job, which is not illegal, immoral or even fattening.

Stay tuned...

The world of science

Science is so amazing these days.

According to a recent BBC article, bladder cancer in men may be detectable by using a urine odor test. So, if you have folks with smelly urine, they could, according to researchers have cancer.

If smelly urine is not enough, how about those folks with the purple catheter bags?

Definitely a sight to be seen....stay tuned.

No s&%t, but a cure

We deal with a lot of excrement in rehab patients.

I have heard much about this procedure, but never realized the need for donors.

That is all. More later...

The road to rehab

There are a lot of roads people take to get to me at the Hotel.

Some people get old, fall down, and never get back up. Some go to the hospital for an operation and suffer a heart attack in the operating room.

Other people dive into swimming pools and hear a crack. Others are shot: in battle, in the course of a robbery (and they might be the perpetrator or victim), and some, are suicide attempts.

Many suicide attempts are fueled by PTSD, job loss, divorce and hopelessness.

Some folks make an attempt to free themselves from the weight of being a survivor. Being the only survivor of an ambush, a fire, a plane crash.

And finally, others, like Jeremy, are survivors of military sexual assault.

I hope you will share his story, so his dream can come true, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice once and for all.

Crossing fingers...

Because I have coworkers from the Hotel in Korea on vacation, and they are coming home this weekend.

I'm hoping, like Sheryl Sandberg, they missed this flight.

More to come...

Ah, I know how to get this going...

Just too funny, and a little scary, because we rehab nurses, DO know how to get you going.
You may not like it, though.

Don't ask me what I do with this finger (waving index finger in the air...)

Nevertheless...

Have fun and blog away.

That is all. Enjoying the quiet in the house today!

Happy 4th of July

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.  ~Elmer Davis

Thank you all who fight for liberty and justice for all every day, especially on the floors, on the wards, in the waiting, operating and triage rooms.

I raise my glass to you, wherever you are. If nurses aren't brave every day, no one benefits.

Nuggets for July 3

Okay, I could have waited for tomorrow and had fireworks, but I had to post this today.

Stuff's just too good to wait, and I'll be busy keeping WildDog out of trouble (i.e. chasing errant people and fireworks.)

An interesting juxtapostion
I forgot how I found Jess's Juxtapositions blag, but I really enjoyed her post On Central Lines. Nurses: you'll never think about them the same way again. I know I won't!

RIP 
You may not realize it, but if you look at your computer and see a little thing with buttons and a cord, you have to thank this guy. Who can think of computing before the mouse?

RIP Douglas Englebart, inventor of the computer mouse.

A law we need in RehabLand

If you assault a healthcare provider, you should go to jail. Period. You will very soon in the state of Texas.

If you're 50, don't ever do this
Not sure what you shouldn't do? Check this article. Some items are funny, some just look like they'd hurt.

As a contrarian, of course, I'll ignore some of the advice, like Jell-o shots. (I hate people telling me what I can or cannot eat!)

Enjoy your fireworks wherever you are!

Certified, baby!

Yes! We got another nurse certified recently at the Hotel. (Thought he/she would take FOREVER!)

C'mon CARF...we'll be ready!

Stay tuned.

No I wasn't up all night

Celebrating, just awake with a hacking cough. Thank goodness I finally found some cough medicine which helped me to get back to sleep only took an hour, but at 0200, when you think you may go to the 24 hour drug store...it was a LIFE SAVER!

And to all our folks up north, hope you enjoyed your Canada Day. I was thinking about you and several of my old pals up in Winterpeg and Montreal yesterday.

Miss you guys lots!

More (cough) later...