Here I go again

***Happy National Rehabilitation Week! ***

Life is distracting. Especially when you have lots of things going on at once. Teenage kid getting hormonal. People at work being uncivil. Weather being unusually warm. Such is my life in RehabLand.

I've been finding and cataloging some great articles I've run into about these subjects, so here are a few of them. Hope you enjoy! I am, since it's helping me to stay sane as I get ready for the last week of travel for this year (I hope!) I'm looking forward to more learning, sightseeing and a Philly cheese steak while I'm hanging out with a whole bunch of other rehab nurses from around the country.

It may be from July, but KevinMD never fails to deliver some compelling content from nurses. I have to say if I were going to put something together, I'd be anonymous, too. The truth hurts, but hopefully, more folks will learn from the examples given in this article.

While it's not health related, if you are a foodie, and you love fried chicken, like Dahey (it's a genetic thing) you won't want to miss this article on the best fried chicken in the US. I swear he's still alive because of it. Dahey was a regular many moons ago when he lived down the road from Hattie's first storefront.

Finally, in light of national rehab week, take it from a former rehabber himself (who I just met, along with his parents, on one of my trips recently), ASK. People in wheelchairs, in many cases, can talk and advocate for themselves. Don't be afraid to ask, or you too, might miss a golden opportunity. Thanks Charlie for reminding us.

Hope you enjoy your weekend wherever you are!

Random thoughts

It's a stormy day already here in RehabLand, and Bubba's up early wanting donuts. My head is splitting. AND I double booked myself at work today. I can't wait for this day to be over.

Here are a few points to ponder:

There's always some new technology to learn in nursing. It just amazes me, though, that some people figure out how to "game" it as soon as they can. It really gets scary when this gaming potentially interferes with care.
There's an updated version of this code, but somehow, I don't think people like the Slug actually read (or practice) it.

If you get tired of the bullies, check out this advice on bullying or parallel violence from Katie Duke.

And finally, if you want to feel good about what you do, no matter what, check out this post from KevinMD.

Thank you patients. You are the reason why we are all here.

More later...

Gotta love the men

I go to my gynecologist and he's asking what my secret is to losing seven pounds since last year. I tell him I watch carbs and sweets.

He must have missed lunch because we had a lengthy discussion about donuts. (Fortunately, his office is close to a donut shop and within 2 miles of a cable network rated one).

Then I come home and read Dr. Grumpy's post about nurses over at kevinmd.com. Aww! I know who appreciates me, and who doesn't.

Yes, indeed, it was a good day. Gotta love the men!

Share the love

I really like reading other blogs. Nursing blogs, doctor blogs, you name it.

So today, I'm going to share the love for one of my favorite all-time MD blogs, KevinMD.

While I was enjoying some quality time with Bubba (recuperating from running around on his spring break when I could), I perused blogs I haven't had the chance to really read in a while.

KevinMD had some posts that I really enjoyed. Hope you do, too.

• Have you ever felt that you've been profiled by your doctor? I have (I've been that "asks too many questions" relative). This article was illuminating and had plenty of examples.
  
• CYA medicine? Yes, it really does exist.
  
• People die without love. Sad and so very true.

A cautionary tale

I read this KevinMD article today just because I liked the title: The toxicity of Medicaid.

Some of you may say, "This is a doctor writing this. Boo hoo."

Boys and girls, we should be up in arms, too. The patients described here don't just need nursing care, they DESPERATELY need it. (yes, I'm shouting again.)

The system has engendered dangerously bad habits in people. As nurses on the front lines, I'm sure our friends in the ED could tell us about how many patients might easily be triaged to lower levels of care...if they existed in their area and took Medicaid.

In rehab, we coordinate care regularly between specialties and help people get things they need, even if they are indeed expensive. We need to do more of this for Medicaid patients to keep them out of the ED.

Unfortunately, the EDs of America sit there like the vaunted Motel 6...we'll leave the light on for you. The light is on, but it is unfortunate that many folks miss the most important thing about the ED.

This place is for emergencies only. It's not for a one stop shop to get all your doctors' appointments done right now, so you don't have to get up in the morning, and (gasp) go to more than one place. It's not so you can avoid your copay. It's for emergencies.

Because one day, if you have a heart attack, stroke, or car accident, you may want them to be ready and waiting with the light on, for you.

I love the internet (or this week's Nuggets)

Which is where I ran into these articles, thanks to my favorite publications, as well as some fellow bloggers.

Hope you enjoy!

Mistakes
Frankly, since I've started working at the Hotel, I've been mistaken at odd times for a doctor, a nurse assistant, a sales person, a stripper and a random person in scrubs. I have never been offended by these descriptions because I take them at face value: the patient was delirious, delusional, demented or just plain oversexed (sorry couldn't think of a D adjective for that last one).

I ran into this KevinMD op-ed (which I highly enjoyed the angst because of the Nerdy Nurse) of this obviously almost 30 something year old woman who is mistaken for a nurse, when she has those coveted MD letters on her white coat.

All I have to say is, if you had the demented character who said you reminded him of a stripper, you'd have thanked your lucky stars he called you a nurse instead. Far worse has happened...

An innocent abroad

All I have to say is, I'm not going to say to much, or I'll have to plead the Fifth, but this is a very interesting article if you are a little technologically inclined. It's just the tip of the iceberg, and I thank my lucky stars that my only cultural barriers right now are between hospital departments.

If you only read the first two sentences...

You may very well see your own career trajectory right before your very eyes. The words that struck me:
"hospitals need to create a patient-centered culture founded in principles of compassion, service and high quality"

You got it, Sabrina. Indeed.

There but for...

The grace of God go I...the old saying goes.

I absolutely loved the following line in one of KevinMD's posts entitled, What this doctor learned when he was a patient.

Dr. D’s orthopedist has about the communication skills of a mentally-retarded clam.

Sometimes we nurses say the same thing...about everything I just mentioned. Thanks KevinMD having such a great guest post. It's a great story.

Nuggets for June 15

Happy June 15! Since I haven't done a Nuggets section in ages, I thought, why not? I've been reading some really interesting medical stuff for my grad class, and lo and behold, some of my favorite MD bloggers have interesting posts that should be seen.

So here goes, folks. Please enjoy the scenery. There is some very vivid mental imagery here if you really think about these items...just sayin'

Enjoy!



So you have been living in this century for how long now?
ER Doc from Serenity Now Hospital has a great post about a really out there patient who is still figuring out how to use the telephone. 

The epitome of tact or Why you should turn off the cellphone in the ICU
Grumpy, one great neurologist (and no, I don't work for him...he's nicer than our boss) has a public service announcement you'd think was obvious.

Never assume...

Last but not least

KevinMD has a couple of posts you shouldn't miss.

Medicine or family first discusses a series of articles running in the NY Times debating if part-time physicians should exist.

And now, since it's bikini season, he discusses a hairy (literally) topic which can have some significant complications.


Stay tuned....more to come.

Nuggets for March 7

Lucky 7! Happy March 7, all. I'm enjoying my weekend doing random housework and other assorteds.

Here are a few topics of interest I'm researching here and there while I have the time.

Dialysis is not common in my practice, but not unusual. This dialysis center company has an interesting blog on dialysis topics. Don't forget to check out a couple of dialysis nurse blogs, such as jo's Sinus Arrhythmia and U know PP. Wanna be one? Check out this dialysis nurse's page for a first-person account or check out this page for nurses at http://www.kidney.org/.

Your hemoglobin is low enough that you win a blood transfusion. What causes that anyway? This page at http://www.anemia.org/ has lots of references to the causes of anemia.

People are always looking for alternative treatments and this one was the topic of conversation lately. I found this via the blog, http://blog.bioethics.net/, which has lots of interesting articles, you don't want to miss.

NINDS at the National Institutes of Health has a lot of great articles on neurological disorders and stroke. A couple of my recent favorites: Spinal Cord Injury: Hope through Research and Stroke. The Know Stroke section has lots of great information on identifying stroke symptoms and what to do about them.

Speaking of getting lucky, KevinMD has a post about a researcher using his charms to get a favorable rating for Seroquel.

And finally, on a silly, but serious note, a lot of celebrity doubles are roaming around out there. One of our residents reminded someone of this guy.