Fun things to argue about at work

1. What exactly happens when someone coughs up a nasty trach plug? Is it sputum or gastric contents?

2. If you can't tell the difference in #1, should they let you graduate as a nurse practitioner? I probably p*$s% off our NP student, but last time I checked, lungs should not (regularly) contain gastric contents.

3. What does no really mean in any language (pick several, but we're all speaking English--American, anyway--here)? When you refuse to see my patients (or in our local speak: decline) and say no, I take it to mean, NO you will not see them. Yes, there is a communication gap here.

Sorry if you don't like what your boss says to you after that when I tell him/her. Not exactly my problem. If I could write orders for what the patient wanted, I'd be practicing medicine, not being a nurse.

The color of the sky, football teams, and crabby patients are all up next. We'll see how the week progresses.

Stay tuned.

In the news

It's a little early, but there were a few interesting things in the news lately.

Makes you wonder...
Can diabetic crises be related to running out of food at the end of the month for poor families? Some researchers say it just might be. 

Brain death in the news
While we've been hearing about brain death in the news lately, I ran into this interesting article (from August 2013) recently about The Conundrum of Organ Donation.

It makes you consider more than just brain death, but how things happen on that road.

From the Genetic files
I ran into this interesting article on spinal muscular atrophy in the genetic diseases section at NIH. 

Snow days
We have had our share of winter weather lately. Here's a list I'll have to use on Bubba for the next snow day.