Heard on the unit

Patients, some of our coworkers, and even the boss, can say the darnedest things.

Scenario 1 -Maybe he just likes me

Patients in our meeting room (where the big screen is) watching the Turkey Day football.

Me: "Look at all those guys in front of the TV asleep watching football. Too much Thanksgiving dinner."
Boss: "And are you going to say something stereotypical about that?"
Me: "No, I'll just keep it to myself."
Boss: (with glint in his eye)"I'm sure it's just tearing you up."
Me: "Of course, it is." (smirking in reply)

Replies you don't expect

Patient 1 in a double room is a big born-again Christian who grates on his neighbor's nerves (Patient 2).
Patient 1 is watching a Christmas movie. We talk about what Ralphie wants for Christmas, and what the patient wanted for Christmas.
Patient 2, exasperated by Patient 1 in general, replies, "How about an assault rifle, anyone?"

Fun surprises

Some of our patients spend a long time with us with very few calls. One patient of mine has had the opposite problem. "I get more calls now than when I was at home. One guy from my unit, who I haven't seen in years just called me. He told me he has my dog tags."

This particular branch of the service is famous for posting listings of members of particular units on the internet and they have lots of their own bulletin boards. Someone got his family info from an internet post and called a relative who passed along his hospital phone number.

Add a dash of excitement

This was the week that was:

1. Assigned to the now reigning heaviest patient on the unit all week (the absolutely heaviest patient went home). Shoulders are aching. Patient is sweet, though. Nothing like the mean, foul one we just sent home (see previous).

2. Requested, asked nicely, e-mailed and queried directly to see if I would get some time off this week. Reluctantly, boss gave in. One of my coworkers opined, "it's just like nagging your husband to do stuff around the house."

3. For a dash of excitement, we had a drug bust this week. No, there is not supposed to be anyone named Mary Jane; although we do have a Mary or two on staff. (tongue firmly in cheek). Nice. So glad I missed that one. Glad security got the pleasure of search and destroy on that one.

4. Neuropsychologists stick up for the nurses in front of administration on several patient issues. Amen! It's about time. Maybe those regular team meetings (aka the bitch sessions) are working after all.

Change of Shift - Thanksgiving edition

Yes, Kim's slaving away...check out the latest edition of Change of Shift over at emergiblog.

Oh, let it be the day...

I get some work done on my paper.
I get a turkey for Thanksgiving.
I get a nap.
I get a few other things done.

And last but not least, let it be the day that we get rid of a few patients so the inn is not so full. We've been bursting at the seams lately, and with people on vacation, it gets a little crazy.

I'm just praying today the uber-pain in the arse, as one of my coworkers calls this patient, gets on the plane and gets out of Dodge. We certainly must have made it on Santa's good list for taking care of that one!

An anniversary

One of my patients reminded me what today was while I was working: JFK anniversary. Said patient actually met JFK while on an honor guard detail.

Nuggets for November 19

Theoretically, I'd like to post these weekly on the same day, but darn it, if something doesn't pop up and distract me!

Anyway, here are a few of the goodies I've been saving all week to share with you. Enjoy this pre-Thanksgiving feast! It's calorie-free!

News of note

Pregnancy outcomes good for MS patients (from www.reuters.com)
Some of my people are really going to like this one. Overall, MS seems to get better in a lot of women while pregnant.

On another MS note, I found this interesting blog called Fingolimod and Me by a woman who's participating in a drug trial for fingolimod, aka FTY720. I enjoyed the subtitle the most: A hypocondriac joins a clinical trial...

I wish I worked here

This NY Times article discusses a company with a no gossip policy: Workplace gossip? Keep it to yourself

Amen, sister!

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius weighs in on the mammogram debate in this nursezone.com article.

Mystery resolved

I enjoy reading a good mystery novel now and again, but this story I recently read is not fiction:
Mystery of Bangladesh's mass arsenic poisoning solved. Let's hope fixing it will become a priority!

Goodies in the blogosphere

I really enjoy reading LaTonia Denise Wright. Who would think she could make legal discussions interesting...and downright funny? This nurse barrister surely can turn a phrase, and while the topic's a serious one, I enjoy the presentation. Check out her More Drama for your Mama post.

Ian from impactednurse.com has a great article on Mindfulness that's worth your time. I have to remind myself often to take care of myself for my patients, especially while working.

Finally, Mother Jones tells it like is in her Listen to your doctor, Uncle Sam post. Don't miss it!

When's my next vacation?

I started thinking that after a hard day of lifting the other day. I really enjoy my job, which I could think about at home, sitting on the couch, reading a book in between the work I assigned myself to do at home. Boy, moving is hard work!

The hotel at Madison is nearing capacity. We're running out of room. People are coming in because the holidays are popular. Lots of volunteers visit us and drop off goodies. Some of our regulars have this routine figured out pretty well.

On top of that, I'm finishing my grad class...slowly but surely. I'm hoping my funding for next semester doesn't go away before I can get it again. I'm just going to have to put juggling on the list of things I do...and not for fun. Nurses juggle a lot, anyway, due to the nature of the business, but the juggling right now is somewhat beyond my control. I guess I'll be happy to see if the balls return again to the air.

So many things, so little time. Am off to make the most of it right now. Stay tuned!

One down, one to go

One online course is complete. Hooray!

Now it's just wait and see for the other one. Lots and lots of stuff going on this weekend and then they idyll is broken. Back to work...

Nuggets for November 11

So many goodies, so little time. For those of you who take care of America's veterans and active service personnel, this one's for YOU! If you want to learn more about military nursing traditions, check out this great page at medi-smart.com for a list of varied websites, from oral histories of military nurses in Vietnam to other military nurse resources.

I still can't get over what happened at Fort Hood. One of my coworkers recently lived there. I am still thanking the Big Man for the civilian police officer who took down the shooter. I was working at Madison when I read Nurse Ratched's account of working with the shooter, which gave me chills as I read it aloud to a group of coworkers. I just cannot imagine...

Compassion fatigue is common among caregivers of all stripes. It saps you of the energy you need to do your job, take care of people and continue along in a healthy manner. Dr. Charles Figley has an older article about this very topic, with lots of references.

The holidays are coming and yes it's stressful. This article called Choosing Happiness in Our Lives revisited discusses how to deal with some topics that just might creep up with all those relatives coming to town.

One card

He opened it, and one line made the difference:

"Thank you for your service."

To all veterans today, I say thank you, too. Look around you, there are probably more veterans than you think. Some World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Cold War veterans, too, who stood watch, on the fronts of barriers and demilitarized zones, in the air, and in oceans deep, to keep us all safe.

Food, cooking and a little spice

Well, since we're getting out of barbecue season now on our unit, everyone's thinking about Thanksgiving. Some of our patients and nurses, however, are always thinking about food and things spicy.

Our dietician has so much fun with many of our patients, who, not unlike a lot of the general population have high BMIs. What does this mean? This means that dietary will talk to patients about adjusting their diets. Of course, most people don't like the "adjustment" part, which usually means they get less sugar and fat.

One of our high BMI guys has done better since he's arrived, but we joke that if you go talk to him, by the time you leave the room he'll be talking about food. Mr. X is a bon vivant who developed his talents in the finest kitchens before he came to us, so he's very discriminating. We don't have the best hospital food by far, but Mr. X can tell you what they do well and what they don't. Mr. X has even been nice enough to share some of his favorite recipes (including one similar to this one) with the nurses and whomever would like them. He's working on a gourmet dinner before he leaves, so I'll probably miss it while I'm slaving away here at the ranch.

Finally, one nurse has added some spice to the unit in a different way. Since we're expecting some terror patients soon, she decided to get some sage on the unit. K. is not really a new age kind of gal, but since she's seen people who have used sage on our unit in the past, she got some and purified our empty rooms just in case. Only time will tell if it actually worked...or we'll have to call the chaplains in for further consultation.

More later...

Falling leaves

I think of this song every time I go outside these days...

The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall

It's that time of year here, and while the leaves were falling slowly and picturesquely the other day, the gusts have put piles of leaves everywhere. And as usual, the critters are running around near Madison. Deer leaping out all over the place, skunks on the move, and yes, the field mice are heading indoors whenever it gets chilly.

Madison is still the same. We're getting into the holidays. As a peon, I'm pretty much expecting to work every single solitary holiday. I'm already on the list for Thanksgiving. So we'll see how it all goes. We'll also be planning the vacations for next year soon, so I'll expect to get mine at whatever time the boss sees fit again this year, not when my family would like to take a vacation. I don't mind right now, though. I got lucky and managed to get a week everyone suddenly lusted over.

So while I'm meandering around this time on vacation, I'll be studying and doing some work around the house. And posting about a few interesting things I've encountered lately. And hopefully, I'll be jumping into a pile of leaves once in a while.

Stay tuned...

The three D's

Ah, things I do when I should be reading more of my homework...listening to three D's right about now...

Dan Fogelberg
Denys Lable (and a couple of friends...)
and last but not least,
Declan Masterson

A little pipe music never hurt anyone!

Stay tuned...will be back!