The crazy week continues

Snippets of my day:

1. Overheard while the tech support guy was in my office: "Really? It was on fire?" Medical equipment and fires just don't mix. It's especially troubling when it catches on fire due to the electrical outlet.

2. The headache from Hades. Was it pollen, sunlight, #1 or the storm front moving through? Not sure at all. Thank goodness for migraine meds!

3. In my role as nurse volunteer for a conference, I got to grade a selection of the poster and paper submissions.

I swear I graded one by some of the folks from Saintarama Rehab. It's blinded, but I do know they are from my neck of the woods. I hope I can stay long enough to see their poster (if the other folks accept it too).

BTW I thought it was pretty good. Would love to implement the same thing at the Hotel. Communication and keeping people from falling is a very good thing.

New moon craziness

Well, according to the calendar, it's not a full moon. I would have thought otherwise recently, though.

People (patients and staff) acting funny at the Hotel made me go and check the calendar.

A few oddities here and there to keep up busy. Among them...

1. A death (not unexpected) in the acute wing. 

2. A seminar (also at the acute wing). Just another occasion to hang out and sell the program (mixed results on that ). The major plus: walking to the parking garage (it was a glorious day and no, I did not rush one bit!).

3. Balky people everywhere. I love reactionaries! Sometimes, we just don't plan in advance, so we're standing there waiting when we could be doing work that will be of benefit later.

The rest of the week awaits...so off I go!

And tell us what you really think?

I know a lot of good folks come to us from At Your Cervix. The author doesn't mince words when she discusses a recent conference.

You go, girl. Tell it, because no one else will. We can't just do it because we've always done it that way.

Yes, EBP is a big hairy deal in the nursing world. And dosed with a healthy helping of common sense, it's a very good thing.

More later...

Truth or fiction version 46

You'd be surprised at some of the articles I've been reading lately.


Take a guess and see how many you get right. No prizes, but you too, can have bragging rights in your neck of the woods.

Go ahead! Get ready (or not) to entertain your friends and family. See who can get the most right. I'll post the answers 24 hours after the initial post.

Robots are running around the hospital seeing patients in rehab. Truth or fiction?

Women are getting the "Cinderall procedure" in droves?

And finally, since we have "bring your kids day", you may just want to bring a furry friend one of these days.

Stay tuned!

Not just for travelers

I saw this article recently in one of my e-mails. As one other article mentioned, there are a lot of myths out there (some perpetrated by well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning folks).

One of the biggest issues is that you may need legal representation, regardless of whether you are sued by a patient or not. If you are investigated by your State Board of Nursing (SBON), your license could be in jeopardy.

Another reason: if you volunteer and use your nursing skills, your employer's malpractice may not cover you in the event something goes wrong because you are not at work.

Many malpractice policies can help you to pay for your defense (as most employers do not cover that). Losing your license often means losing your job. Losing your job means losing your income.

Happily, this can be remedied. Check out a malpractice policy of your own. NOTE: some specialties are more expensive to insure than others, but this may vary by carrier.

If you need a nurse attorney, see one of these fine nurse attorneys (if you are in their states) or contact a firm and ask them if they have nurse attorneys who handle cases before your SBON.

Taralynn Mackay
LaTonia Denise Wright

As always, when in doubt, check it out. Your career (and livelihood) may depend on it.

Never fear...

Still here. Just having writer's block.

Only temporary, and partly fueled by excess pollen in RehabLand leading to an obvious nursing diagnosis of disturbed sensory perception. My nasal passages are definitely disturbed.

Time for more saline spray...

More to come.

Happy Easter!

To all of you who celebrate (whether it's now or later)! Enjoy!

Completely logical

Maybe this dog was just trying to get a chance at chasing (and actually catching) some cars.

Enjoy!

DVT management

Lots of customers come into the Hotel with history of DVT.

While I was reading the RehabLand news today, I saw a very interesting article about removing them to resolve issues.

There were no photos, so Dahey could read this article, too. (He has a weak stomach and ears).

Enjoy your day wherever you are!

Ice cream and Viagra?

Thankfully, we won't (or shouldn't) have anyone eating this at the Hotel.

It's one thing to need a medication fridge, but a freezer for this? Yes, the pharmacy folks keep our shingles vaccine, so we don't have to do it.

It's always something as Roseanne used to say.

Another aftereffect of the Polar Vortex?

I hope not. I already have a longstanding dislike of the pollen in springtime.

Polar vortex = pollen vortex

One word (or interjection): UGH! (scratching eyes as nose runs...)

More to come...

I have to remind myself why I continue...

To blog.

Who knew that keeping a journal may be the one of the best kept productivity secrets out there?

Sounds like a very good reason to me.

TGIF! Enjoy your weekend wherever you are.

Passwords I'd like to use

With the all the Heartbleed news, (a computer security issue) I've spent a good portion of my evening trying to figure out some easier to remember strong passwords.

The Hotel makes us change them on a regular basis, and they've gone from 8-12 characters to a minimum of 15.

So at home, I'm trying to have a middle ground: strong passwords that are easy to remember.

Some I've thought about but won't use are:

• My phone number + my home address (postal). I might run out of characters with that one.
• Engl3bert!Humperd1nck. (just too oddball)
• Pick an expletive (I have used them in the past...because that's what I'm thinking whenever I have to change them).

So I'm going to go with some other options.

• Hiding in plain sight with non-standard characters (wherever I c@n!)
• Plenty of hints
• Creating a passphrase

Hope you enjoy your evening...back to the changing of the passwords. More later!

Far too much entertainment...

When I am not at work. This is not an endorsement, but I found this app because of Rob Fraser, a very nice Canadian.

Nothing like looking at stuff you can see at work and see the comments that are listed.

The end of the line...

Only if you have an old computer. Yes, Microsoft is finally retiring support for Windows xp, unless you work for certain governments who have ponied up for support.

Despite its failings, at least I don't have to worry about this any more. I made all of my xp problems disappear by downloading this version of Linux free. My hardware was just old enough (and underpowered) that it would not support Windows 8.

Be warned: it is a change. I opted for this because I wanted something easy that would support my attached goodies.

Still tinkering...enjoy your day!

Mush

That's what my brain has felt like lately. Total. Utter. Mush.

What could do this you ask? Two things.

First, interminable meetings. One right after the other. Trapping you in a room with closed blinds and crazy weather after a week of freedom should be against the law.

Second, I also got to interview people. For my old unit and the SU. It's so nice to feel wanted...until they tell you that you'll be trapped in a room for that, too. Filling out papers. Lots of papers.

An aside (or rant ..WARNING):

If I told you we were required to ask these kinds of questions, would you come to the interview unprepared? About 25% of the people came in not knowing (or caring). Consequently, it was easier for me to give a lower rating on the interview.

Some folks didn't pay attention to dress, either. Scrubs are not unusual for nurses if the person just came from work, but they should be clean and neat. If they are not, they are not appropriate.

Dress was the least of the worries, though. Some people just couldn't answer the questions. The best person I interviewed was one where my supervisor kept saying, "Feel free to elaborate" as the candidate basically answered the behavioral questions with yes and no. It made me wonder if they had just gotten off the night shift (the candidate never volunteered that information, though).

Needless to say, they declined to offer said candidate a position due to poor performance.

Remember folks, I don't know what you do. The interview is where you tell me what you do and why I should hire you.

Ah, another week ahead, but thankfully, without any interviews.

Stay tuned!

If it's Sunday...

It's time for Sunday Stealing again. Hope you enjoy the latest one called For old times' sake. My answers are below.

Cheers!

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

When was the last time you swam in a pool? Months ago.

 Do you like to party? Sure.

Describe the shirt you're wearing? Green.

What is one feature film that you don't like? Most action films.

Would people describe you as happy? Yes.

Sleep with or without clothes on? On.

Does it bother you if people swear around you? No.

Do you prefer Wednesdays or Thursdays? Right now, Wednesdays.

Like to travel? Yes.

Think you're attractive? Sure.

Are or were you a good student? Yes.

Are you currently happy? Yes.

Colored or black-and-white photo? I like black and white.

Do you consider yourself the life of the party? No.

Do you drink? Yes.

Do you make fun of people? Only if they pick on me.

Do you think dreams eventually come true? Some do.

Favorite fictional character? George Bailey.

Go to the movies or rent? Both.

Have you ever moved? Yes.

How's the weather right now? Pretty sunny.

Last time you cut your hair? About a month ago.

Last person you talked to on the phone? Husband.

Last time you showered? Last night.

Loud or soft music? All depends.

McDonalds or Burger King? Burger King.

Night or day? Day.

Number of pillows?  One.

Piano or guitar? Guitar.

Current annoyance? Allergies.

Last thing you ate? Cupcakes

Last thing you bought? Groceries

Pick a lyric, any lyric or a song...Because I'm happy...

Pick a movie quote...Here's looking at you, kid.

The joys of spring

RehabLand had a very long winter. Finally, spring came on March 21. Daffodils are popping up and the trees have buds.

Now, we're experiencing the not-so-hot stuff. Hail. Yesterday, it was golfball-sized near the Hotel, but thankfully, miniscule at the Hotel.

With almost 6 inches of rain in the last two days, there are lots of puddles that look like small lakes. Flash flooding really is not like a flash mob, folks.

And if that wasn't enough, here come the tornado warnings.

Let's just hope the power stays on...more later.

Bully pulpit

I have a friend (no April Fool-- call him/her M) who is having this problem, and because he/she felt threatened while we completed our studies, he/she kept quiet until his/her internship was over. He/she suffered.

ANA discusses bullying in their Healthy Nurse section on Bullying and Workplace Violence:

Lateral violence refers to acts between colleagues and bullying is often described as acts perpetrated by one in a higher level of authority. This behavior may involve covert or overt acts of verbal and non-verbal aggression. These types of behavior have been reported to result in enough psychological distress to nurses to cause them to leave the profession (Dellasega, 2009). 

The person perpetrating this bullying is in a higher level of authority. Ever heard of C-suite? Well, he/she is up there. It's hard to believe that your former preceptor would, out of the blue, accuse you of theft of intellectual property and assault your character in company e-mail of a prominent hospital system, but the former preceptor did.

All the while, my friend was just happy to receive a national award recently. When he/she came home the other day, there was a family crisis. Off to the hospital, but not for work. One of the family had become ill and required emergent surgery.

After I calmed him/her down, we discussed what happened since school. Everything is documented. Since the degree is done, I suggested he/she contact an attorney. Life's too short to live in fear of this crazy person.

As the saying goes, tough times never last, but tough people do.

More to come...