It’s a compliment when…

your co-worker asks that you be the nurse to prepare them in for surgery.

when a doctor wants your opinion.

when your manager says, ” Do what you think is best.”

when a peer is struggling with an IV, looks over the head of two other nurses, and asks you to start it.

when a patient returns to your surgery center for care and says ,” You took care of me last time. I’m glad I got you again!”

Endings and Beginnings

The drought is over.

I’m back.

Time has been spent, of course, working, getting much needed rest, trying to improve my health, and pondering why I’ve had little interest in posting.

My last two or three post allude to the reason and it’s time to address it. I’m disillusioned.

Healthcare might not be a profession that, from a business point of view and college programs, supports a high standard of care. I’m not referring to all agencies, but enough to make the news every month. See…

I’m on draft # 2 of a memoir/self help book for young nurses and I’m asking myself Am I’m really 100% on board with encouraging young nurses to stick it out through the tough times?

Nursing is a profession that you are likely to feel you give more than you get, that is, unless you have a perspective that only a minority of nurses have. ( That statement comes from the feedback I get from peers over the last ten years.)

With renewed vigor, I’m going to keep trying to make a difference and be a role model that has a positive influence on those around me.

WordPress family and others – Thank you for not abandoning me !

Nurses are not special

The job is special.

This last year is ongoing proof that being labeled a ‘nurse’ is just that, a label. Nursing home staff with no knowledge of basic CPR, Neonatal nurses videotaped dropping babies in bassinets, some nurses giving medicines without physician orders, and the coup de grace — those supposedly naïve young adults that paid up $15,000 for course transcripts and Nursing diplomas…it’s all been on the news.

Please don’t take my introduction as a blanket statement regarding all nurses. There are jewels out there. I’ve been blessed to have a few as my mentors.

To those that didn’t bail during COVID, kudos! There was neglect to all healthcare professionals and some hung up their stethoscopes. Call me a Pollyanna, but I do believe the ones that weathered through and continue to serve, (yes, I know, I sound like I’m speaking of war veterans) they’re pretty amazing people. I know several. So…

I’ll get back to the first sentence of this post.

Patients trust us. Someone hurting, someone in shock about their diagnosis, someone processing how long their recovery is going to be, they think of us as allies. They let their guard down.

I’ve heard several times in the writing world — workshops, conferences — that good literature tells you what it means to be human. Through their words, their body language, and their interactions with family and visiting friends, patients tell nurses every day what it means to be human.

The job should never be taken for granted.

Special Request

Dear God,

I wish someone wrote a book about how to finish your Nursing career with the good memories intact and the bad ones in the dust, about how to maintain stamina — give good patient care and at the end of the day good self-care, and about how to follow all the JCAHO (Joint commission) rules and remember the rules of your heart.

Nurses around me also finishing their third decade in the field, they’re speaking of retirement as if it’s salvation (no disrespect intended.)

Things are really messed up.

Thank you for getting me this far.

Susan

I was so excited at first…

Our city’s newspaper was wrapped front to back with this. My folks, especially my mom, was so pleased to see this.

I entered their house with a Father’s Day lunch, fresh from my oven. They wanted to first make sure I saw their early morning treasure that came with the paper.

I was intrigued. However, lunch was hot and ready to be eaten!

Later, at home, I scanned the QR code. It takes you to the retail site. I went back and scanned the gigantic Statement/ Advertisement ( saying that because, of course, every person on the page is wearing FIGS apparel.) I looked for another QR code that maybe had a direct link to the advocacy site with details of what FIGS is doing in the Capital.

I’m not a total cynic. I believe there is positive intent. Now, did FIGS pick professionals that had the body types for which the standard size apparel is flattering, yes, they did, and that’ll be a topic for another day…

I just wish that, when they bought so much space in the paper, and we’re not a small city of distribution, that they would have directly spoken to the measurable efforts they are taking. Below are some good links:

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230327005277/en/FIGS-Releases-Its-2022-Impact-Report

https://www.legal.io/jobs/5413770/Director-of-Advocacy

I’m a little let down that I had to dig around to see what they’re doing to be a voice for healthcare professionals, but, they’re trying, so I’m going to take a deep breath, and keep reading, and learning, and sharing.

I thought I’d seen everything

I went to the waiting to get a patient. I’m going to call him Joe.

A guy close to Joe’s age was sitting next to him.

“Sir, I’d like you to hang on to Joe’s phone and wallet. I’ll come get you when I have his monitors on and IV in.”

He gave me a big smile and said, ” I’m his brother. It’s all good. If I’m not out here, I’ve gone outside.”

“O.K. Got it.”

I weighed then walked ‘Joe’ into pre-op and over to a 8×10 bay with a stretcher along the left wall. He sat down in the aluminum chair wedged close to where the monitors are. Just as he sat, my manager stepped up behind me. I stepped aside so she could say “Hello.”

I never mind this. She speaks glowingly of the staff and giving assurance of top quality care.

” And Sir, when Susan is done, I’ll have, you said it’s your brother out there, I’ll have him come back to sit with you.”

Joe said, “Um, he might be outside.”

With a ” No problem” and a genuine smile, my boss went on to help others.

His brother didn’t come in to pre-op.

My boss told me to take a look out the side entrance by the building.

‘Joe’s’ brother had a hammock set up between two trees and was slowly swinging back and forth.

This was the person responsible for getting my patient home 🫢

Outcome of my trip to the library…

Empathy: from the Greek ’empatheia-em & ‘pathos’ – feeling

Gorgeous nuggets from the collection of essays by Leslie Jamison in her book The Empathy Exams:

1. Empathy is figuring out how to bring difficulty into the light.
2. Empathy requires inquiry as much as imagination.
3. Empathy requires knowing you know nothing.
4. Empathy means realizing no trauma has discrete edges.
5. Empathy means acknowledging a horizon of context that extends perpetually beyond what you can see.

Quirks

We all have a thing, a saying, a cliché comment that you can get away with because you’re not poking fun at anyone, it’s just a cute phrase.

Just this last week, mine came back to bite me in the you know what.

Standing by his left elbow, I watched as my patient signed his consent with a swish, a whoosh, and finished with a dot and a slash across the ‘t’ at the end. Somewhere in the middle were the letters in his first and last name.

” You write like a doctor,” I said matter- of- fact. Not an insult, in my opinion. They are brilliant people with a heck of a lot of responsibility.

Standing about four inches taller than me, my patient turned his head in my direction, his chin down, one corner of his mouth up.

” I am a doctor – one that routinely refers patients to the surgeons that work here.”

Trying not to miss a beat, I responded quick.

” You’re the reason I have a job here. Thank you!”

***

I need to come up with new material.

AI in the Boxing Ring with Nuance and Empathy

Our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness

I’ve heard this above quote by a minister, a writing instructor, and by a nationally recognized public speaker.  After reading a sample of The AI Revolution in Medicine by Peter Lee, Carey Goldberg, and Dr. Isaac Kohane, Pediatric Endocrinologist, I too want to say it out loud.

M.K. thanks for the email and the suggestion to take a peek at this material.

 I also want to thank Shakespeare before going further because what he said was ‘Your greatest strength begets your greatest weakness.’ Um hmm, begets, as in gives rise to, brings about, and that’s what technology has done, brought speed, efficiency, access to more knowledge, and all the foibles that come with it.

In my opinion, ChatGPT language model is the star of the book, but fairly not portrayed as a spotless protagonist.  The potential opportunities for gains along with risks are equally outlined. Being a nurse, some of the technical language is out of my wheel house.  I had a negative reaction to the idea that it could empower patients. Our geriatric population is growing and from my experience as a healthcare provider, I can tell you, the percent of the ‘over 70’ patients comfortable with just the current technology practices for things as simple as checking in online for an appointment, eh, it’s not great. There are also the outliers like my mom, (who just rounded the corner into her eighties) who Google everything they can from lab results and printouts from MD offices!

You put enough patient data in, yes, ChatGPT does appear to be the hero, a timesaver magnum opus.

I also agree 100% with the authors believe that healthcare administrative duties can be significantly reduces. I know all my nursing friends would be on board with that! Will or should it replace us, a breed already dwindling down? Who knows, the nursing world is getting quite shaken up lately.

I do believe that ChatGPT will improve differential diagnoses. Misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and delayed diagnosis are some of the most common types of medical errors. There are way too many sad stories of patients waiting months for appointments, then more time for diagnostic testing, then return visits, only to find out they have a complicated medical problem further along then realized.

Will it educate physicians and nurses on empathy, nuance, and context, in this case, the whole patient — as of now, I don’t believe it will.

            I think this is a great read for a specific breed of healthcare professionals.

            I’m just not one of them.

Dress Casual

We do say ” Dress comfortably” and we mean it.

It doesn’t stop some. I’ve checked in some very stylish ‘over 60’ women decked out in their finest dresses, full face make-up, jewelry ( I take deep breaths while they remove each piece and give to their spouse), and shoes I know they are not going to want to go home in!

However, this last week I had a patient who took the instructions serious, and boy do I mean serious.

Entering the waiting area, I called out for *Mr. Smith and redirected my gaze to the gentleman in the far corner who stood up.

Late forties, early fifties, his gait was sure and his smile relaxed. He had on a flannel robe and I hoped shorts and a T-shirt underneath.

“Hi” I’m Susan and I’ll be checking you in.”

I extended my hand to shake his and check his armband at the same time.

“Hi, I’m ready. Let’s do this!”

Bilateral inguinal hernias didn’t seem to have affected his demeanor. You would have thought I was going to sell him a car.

In his pre-op bay, I had the consents laid out on the counter. Signed, I pointed to the gown, cap, and socks on the stretcher bed for him,

” O.K Got it !

He dropped his robe with flourish and seeing nothing but skin, I flung the curtain shut so fast I almost tore my rotator cuff!

I’ll need to add to my dialogue ” Please let me close the curtain before you start changing.” 😳