This site is not down for a revision or upgrade…the owner is down for repairs 😒
Expected return date is mid December.
I hope I haven’t made a mistake
About a week ago, our manager asked me, for the second time, if I was interested in Pre- admission testing (P.A.T) being my full-time responsibility versus mainly Pre- op care and filling in at the P.A.T desk in that staff member’s absence. ‘ That nurse’ turned in her notice about a week ago.
The initial inquiry was early last summer, when the semi- retirement of a supervisor resulted in a shift in roles. I awkwardly declined and promised to help whoever takes that role as much as possible.
Patient care fills my cup.
When I say that , I don’t mean the sweet notes that come later or the recognition from supervisors brings me joy.
I honestly believe that people are okay until they see the scan, the grossly abnormal lab values, and then the visits cumulate in surgery, chemotherapy, or both. It’s overwhelming.
People are scared. They’re scared and feeling very vulnerable. Connecting with the patients in pre-op successfully – seeing them laugh, smile – it has always made my day. Noticing shoulder relax and brows unfurling — physical signs that the patient is not as tense.
Sitting with stack of notes, orders, history & physicals from surgery offices, screening intake histories for cardiac issues needing clearance, or the patient dependent on oxygen that has to have surgery in an inpatient setting…nope…no fulfillment there. Add to that the fact that it’s endless. There is no closure, not even at the end of the day. Those piles of paper are there the next morning.
***
See, productivity aka dollars is always on the mind of the bean counters. Compassion stops in all those pocketed places where no actual patient care is going on.
A surgery gets cancelled – surgery times are moved so there are not gaps in the schedule. Patients are called with a new time to come. They love that – not! I’ll spare sharing other anecdotes. I’ve learned a lot in 39 years of nursing. My intent is not to trash the profession…
Yes, I’ll be on the phone with some patients, helping them do their online medical intake questionnaires . If over 70 years old, there will be gratitude. However, it’s more likely than not that this is now a job, not a career. It’s something I’ll do the best I can at, and at the end of the day, I’ll go home and remember that I am not only a nurse, I am a human being.
The P.A.T role needed to be filled, but I have enough discernment to know that it being presented to me as an ‘opportunity that any nurse would want’ was just script. It was all business.
On that note: END SCENE
She did it better!
I believe that once or twice I’ve commented on Social Media and it’s impact in healthcare; for me, specifically in the area of Nursing.
I incidentally came across this post by a seasoned nurse, Tiffany Gibson , keynote speaker, Educational consulting and Board certified Nurse Professional Development Specialist. She also has prior experience as adjunct staff at Drexel University college in Greater Philadelphia
I believe she said this well and I want to share it !
Liking it so much, I first posted it to my LinkedIn page, and of course, obtained her permission to post it here 🙂
Don’t Walk Away Mad
I went to Barnes and Noble in search of a recommended book , The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Once inside and done perusing the brightly covered New York Times Bestsellers’ in bright hardcovers, I found the book in the area of social science.
The inside cover explains that the author set out to write about writing , but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories – our reporting and imaginative narratives/ mythmaking – expose and distort our realities. A writer that went deeper with his mission. I was sold.
Being that there was a ‘ Buy one, get one half off’ sale, I pushed down the self shaming internal voice saying You don’t need another book and stopped at a stand twenty feet from the cashier. ‘ The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians’ caught my attention. Written by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, it included contributions from people in the field from all over. I added it as my second purchase.
At the register I explained my joy at finding this second book. I gleefully told the cashier that I was a nurse by day and amateur writer at night. Anxoius to share more, I told how I was working on putting my stories together. Her reply burst my bubble.
” Uggh, so glad Nursing is over for me!”
My mouth dropped open in surprise.
As people behind us patiently waited, she rang me up while giving a quick summary of her career. No exceptions, no upbeat comment followed her initial reaction at hearing the mention of Nursing .
Working hard not to sound righteous, I thanked her and told her I was sorry it wasn’t a good experience.
It doesn’t change my plan. It helped me regain focus.
Click Bait is everywhere
Wrapping up my last week at home post knee surgery, I pulled myself away from NetFlix and picked up a section of the Orlando Sentinel paper brought over from my folks. There it sat on the side column of the front page: Florida’s passing rate on Nursing exam is below the national average.
I’m going to cut to the nuts and bolts of the lukewarm article.
The national passing average is 91.6%. Florida’s average is 89.4%.
The passing rate of four of the largest schools is 100%, 96.2%, 98.1% and 97.3%. Respectively, that’s Florida Gulf University, University of Central Florida, Seminole State, and Lake Sumter college. Hmmm, better than the national average.
There is one singular reference to Nursing educators that comments on how education jobs are not competitive with clinical jobs and retention is difficult. ( Our current governor is cutting 120 million in higher education funding.)
Close to the summary is a tepid quote from CEO Memorial Regional that ” Nurses are the backbone of healthcare.” Personally, I would have edited that out.
And of course, there’s the every so popular reference to the growing number of senior citizens in Florida. Duh.
I needed something. I needed substance. I didn’t get it.
At least I get to go back to work tomorrow!
Six Word Story – Giving It a Try
thesoulsearchersite.wordpress.com/saturday-6wsp/?_gl=14v5d50_gcl_au*MTk0ODkzMzgzMy4xNzM5NzY2MDI4
Forty years Nursing, heart wrenching memories.
How to stand…or limp… on the other side
- With only a slight shift in gait due to pain, walk into an unfamiliar surgery center with shoulders back and a confident smile.
- At the reception desk, without a prompt needed, give your name ( spelling the last to ensure accuracy in their records), your date of birth, and the name of the physician doing your surgery.
- Be polite. Listen to the directions on how to put the gown up even though you already know.
- Pick the vein you want the nurse to use when starting your IV.
- With the IV in and the preoperative nurse done, ask when the Sandman is visiting ( aka the anesthesiologist) .
- If more than five minutes passes, announce that you are ready for your hero to arrive — Mr. Wonderful — the caped crusader with Versed ( valium), the top shelf stuff — some call it the Happy Juice.
- As they roll you into the Operating Room, look anywhere except forward. Doing that sucks the pleasant Versed right out of you and your heart rate goes up by at least ten beat per minute.
- When you wake up, your knee or whatever body part needed intervention, is now pleasantly numb post surgery. Enjoy this short duration.
- Have a super knowledgeable friend, who just happens to be an experienced nurse take you home, like the kind that will have Colace ( to help with you know) delivered since you’ve got your Percocet sitting front and center for when the lidocaine in your kneecap wears off, the person that sets up your Breg knee cooling system in under three minutes. Last but not least…
- Follow the instructions and advise that you give every day at work when you’r’re on the other side of this ‘situation.’
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Hits too close to home – Had to do it
I accept the ups and downs of working in Healthcare, but when American voters returned someone to the White House who is taking actions like the noted one below, it gets under my skin. Especially this year… someone I love is getting better because of medical research in pharmacology for cancer patients.
So, Five days in his role, the Commander-In-Chief, amongst the dozens of other Executive orders he’s thrown down, is messing with the NIH.
Seriously!!
I’ve copied the first paragraph of new media reporting on this and included the link to the full articles.
*I’ve included as an intro, a reminder of some of his comments during his first four years, specifically quotes made about Covid. Bear with me. I think a refresher about his naïve’ attitude regarding science and research deserves to be referenced.
The first part of my post is a timeline I found of the Executive response during the very early stages of COVID.
| Jan. 22, 2020 | “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.” |
| Jan. 24, 2020 | Trump praises China’s handling of the coronavirus: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” |
| Jan. 28, 2020 | “This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency…This is going to be the roughest thing you face.” Trump’s National Security Advisor says to Trump. |
| Jan. 30, 2020 | “The lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless in the case of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak on US soil,…This lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.” [Memo from Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro] |
| Feb. 2, 2020 | “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.” |
https://doggett.house.gov/media/blog-post/timeline-trumps-coronavirus-responses
Let me be clear, I’m not sharing the above for the purpose of making any statement about China’s management of the Crisis going on in their country.
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President Donald Trump’s return to the White House is already having a big impact at the $47.4 billion U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), with the new administration imposing a wide range of restrictions, including the abrupt cancellation of meetings such as grant review panels. Officials have also ordered a communications pause, a freeze on hiring, and an indefinite ban on travel.
Scientific researchers around the country are concerned after the National Institutes of Health canceled meetings this week with very little explanation. The move comes after federal health officials were told to halt public communications until they could be reviewed by a Trump appointee.
The NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world — it invests more than $40 billion in research every year.
The Trump administration’s freeze on communications from U.S. health agencies is leading to another disruption: the abrupt cancellation of scientific meetings.
The move covers a swath of health conditions, from a Presidential Advisory Council meeting on antibiotic-resistant germs to National Institutes of Health evaluations of grant applications for research into cancer and other diseases.
I’m not trying to demonize him. Just saying…if he continues to make changes to Medicare, i.e. reducing coverage for medications and promoting only partial coverage of patients getting chemotherapy treatment, then…shame on you, shame on anyone who voted for him!
Don't Curse the Nurse! 