Every hospital has a "diversity" policy. You can't discriminate against any one's religious choices, which is understandable. Apparently, this does not apply to their employees in some places.
As we have just finished celebrating the Birthday of Jesus, I find it the perfect time to recognize how unless you are a patient, you don't get to choose how you express those feelings. We were encouraged by our facility to wish patients "Happy Holidays." I understand that this is to make sure you are including all those areas in which may be celebrated, but what about how it makes me feel?
Saying the phrase "Merry Christmas" is the one thing that truly brings a smile to my face this time of year. If I want to wish my patients and coworkers a "Merry Christmas", then I will. You can not demand I treat my patients rights equally, but then not my own. By telling me I can't use the phrase that backs what I believe Christmas to be is an ethical no no.
Sadly hospitals and other employers have been getting away with it for years. I know to some people this may seem like a small blip on the radar, but to some of us, our faith is what shapes us.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Looking up from the stretcher
There is a reason that health care workers are bad patients, we know too much.
I got the pleasure of looking up at my co-workers last Thur night for the first time in 4 years. As I lay on the stretcher in the ER, with such back pain that I wanted someone to knock me out...I thought, "damn, maybe it's an aneurysm." Fair well knowing all my symptoms were pointing to kidney infection or stones.
One of my favorite ER docs walks into my room and did the whole "what the heck are you doing?!" thing, because again, its odd when you see someone you are not just working with in different situations. We start doing the symptom run down, how long, how much pain, if I do this...does it hurt? Etc. Somewhere in there, I got a shot of dilaudid in the ass and that began the downhill spiral of haziness to occur.
When your doc is on such a good level with you that she says "well, you look like ass" my only reply was, "I feel like ass." So, this got me thinking a few days later...this is not a normal doctor patient interaction. Yes, we work together, we have saved lives, caught mistakes, been unable to save a life and done it all with a smile. Would she act any less kind or personable to another patient, NO. I've watched her over and over again, and she's always the same, but, in this case, its different. Did I receive better care because I was an employee? Some may argue yes, but I still hold to no. They did everything for me they would have done for any other patient with my symptoms...the difference? I know how to act and how to treat the people taking care of me.
The things that families and patients don't realize sometimes is, you get what you give. Our attitudes directly reflect how you treat us. The prime example? while I was laying there in a very nice diluadid/toradol coma, the patient across the room from me started throwing a fit. Why? Best guess from what I remember was attention. The reason I know it wasn't real...is how the husband acted. He sat there calm and cool, if in fact, there had been something wrong...he would have reacted. His reaction tells me, she does this a lot. The way she acted got a semi negative response from the health care worker seeing her. Justified? Yep.
No one wants to be sick, no one wants to be on that side of the stretcher...but take the time to think about those taking care of you, because in the end, they will give you what you give them.
I got the pleasure of looking up at my co-workers last Thur night for the first time in 4 years. As I lay on the stretcher in the ER, with such back pain that I wanted someone to knock me out...I thought, "damn, maybe it's an aneurysm." Fair well knowing all my symptoms were pointing to kidney infection or stones.
One of my favorite ER docs walks into my room and did the whole "what the heck are you doing?!" thing, because again, its odd when you see someone you are not just working with in different situations. We start doing the symptom run down, how long, how much pain, if I do this...does it hurt? Etc. Somewhere in there, I got a shot of dilaudid in the ass and that began the downhill spiral of haziness to occur.
When your doc is on such a good level with you that she says "well, you look like ass" my only reply was, "I feel like ass." So, this got me thinking a few days later...this is not a normal doctor patient interaction. Yes, we work together, we have saved lives, caught mistakes, been unable to save a life and done it all with a smile. Would she act any less kind or personable to another patient, NO. I've watched her over and over again, and she's always the same, but, in this case, its different. Did I receive better care because I was an employee? Some may argue yes, but I still hold to no. They did everything for me they would have done for any other patient with my symptoms...the difference? I know how to act and how to treat the people taking care of me.
The things that families and patients don't realize sometimes is, you get what you give. Our attitudes directly reflect how you treat us. The prime example? while I was laying there in a very nice diluadid/toradol coma, the patient across the room from me started throwing a fit. Why? Best guess from what I remember was attention. The reason I know it wasn't real...is how the husband acted. He sat there calm and cool, if in fact, there had been something wrong...he would have reacted. His reaction tells me, she does this a lot. The way she acted got a semi negative response from the health care worker seeing her. Justified? Yep.
No one wants to be sick, no one wants to be on that side of the stretcher...but take the time to think about those taking care of you, because in the end, they will give you what you give them.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
When to keep you mouth shut?
Tonight started off like any other ER filled night, with my Trauma cloud looming. I knew things weren't going to go right when we started the shift with a blunt force trauma MVC that resulted in a cracked chest in the trauma bay. Now, I'm never one to really shut up, back down, or be told what to do. Tonight, along with every other co-worker in the bay...we were quite. Was in the fact that we had a person's chest wide open on the table? Nope..it was the fact that the Trauma surgeon and chief resident were having words, many many words. Not nice words at that. I give the Resident a pat on the back though, he didn't back down, he stood his ground for what he believed was right...did it change the result? Nope-but that Trauma surgeon will never be that aggressive with them again.
When should we sit back and not say anything? When its too late? When we think "man I should have just said that!" I'm not saying spit everything that comes out of your mouth, because some sort of filter must be in play in order to keep some people from going to jail.
Most people don't want to hear the truth, they don't want to hear what they need to hear, and most importantly they don't want to hear they are wrong. Was this Resident wrong tonight? No, he actually followed protocol to a "T" Should he have stood his ground? Hell yes. Was the surgeon right in questioning him? Most say yes...this is in fact a teaching facility. I say, unless he's doing something wrong, let him be and save the arguing for later.
I encourage everyone to say what they think, why should you hold back? If more people said what was on their mind instead of sugar coating the instance, maybe...just maybe things would get solved a whole lot quicker. In the words of my favorite TV MD "everybody lies."
This is for all you Residents out there that over the past 8 years, I've yelled at, said what I thought, told you I wasn't going to do what you ordered, did what I wanted, told you what to do, showed you what to do and helped you learn and grow. Stand your ground, say what you think and admit when you are wrong...and when you are right, tell everyone else to shut the hell up. :)
When should we sit back and not say anything? When its too late? When we think "man I should have just said that!" I'm not saying spit everything that comes out of your mouth, because some sort of filter must be in play in order to keep some people from going to jail.
Most people don't want to hear the truth, they don't want to hear what they need to hear, and most importantly they don't want to hear they are wrong. Was this Resident wrong tonight? No, he actually followed protocol to a "T" Should he have stood his ground? Hell yes. Was the surgeon right in questioning him? Most say yes...this is in fact a teaching facility. I say, unless he's doing something wrong, let him be and save the arguing for later.
I encourage everyone to say what they think, why should you hold back? If more people said what was on their mind instead of sugar coating the instance, maybe...just maybe things would get solved a whole lot quicker. In the words of my favorite TV MD "everybody lies."
This is for all you Residents out there that over the past 8 years, I've yelled at, said what I thought, told you I wasn't going to do what you ordered, did what I wanted, told you what to do, showed you what to do and helped you learn and grow. Stand your ground, say what you think and admit when you are wrong...and when you are right, tell everyone else to shut the hell up. :)
Monday, November 29, 2010
When is it just too much?
So, I constantly say I don't want kids someday. I'm 28 and just don't feel like its in the cards. I'm always giving friends reasons when they ask, which usually goes along the lines of, "reason number 10,365 to never have kids." (it's always something new when I start using the big numbers.)
Well, tonight is no exception and I used number 17,267. A 105 year old patient rolled into my ER on a stretcher from a nursing home (where no doubt the kids placed them), sick as all get out, and as we suspected they were a full code. The patient has 6 kids. That is six people that are now affecting your life at the age of 105 in a fashion at which might not be quite as ideal.
So, after the patient was stable, we stepped out of the room, I looked at the resident and said, "This is reason number 17,267 that I will never have kids, they will toss you in a home and not make good decisions about your life."
In the time I've worked in large hospitals its really sad what I've seen families do to their loved ones, just because they couldn't quite let go. I understand that it is hard, and that you love you mother-father-aunt-uncle etc, but you have to sit back and think, "if that was me, would I want that?"
A friend of mine recently started a blog. I've always considered it, but never really took the time to do it. I always thought that writing about the antics of work would be a great thing for some people to read about. I've been employed by 3 top notch trauma centers in the US, and the stories that have built in 8 years are astounding. Not to mention the new ones from the trauma bay on a daily basis.
So basically, this is going to be a way for me to let loose. I will not break any laws, mention any names and unless absolutely necessary won't even mention of the patient is male or female. I just want to talk about the things that go on, because I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, its not Grey's Anatomy. Most days, I wish it were, because there would be a lot more hot doctors. The downside to that is, I think the mortality rate would be a lot higher.
More to come in the future, for now, its back to saving lives.
Well, tonight is no exception and I used number 17,267. A 105 year old patient rolled into my ER on a stretcher from a nursing home (where no doubt the kids placed them), sick as all get out, and as we suspected they were a full code. The patient has 6 kids. That is six people that are now affecting your life at the age of 105 in a fashion at which might not be quite as ideal.
So, after the patient was stable, we stepped out of the room, I looked at the resident and said, "This is reason number 17,267 that I will never have kids, they will toss you in a home and not make good decisions about your life."
In the time I've worked in large hospitals its really sad what I've seen families do to their loved ones, just because they couldn't quite let go. I understand that it is hard, and that you love you mother-father-aunt-uncle etc, but you have to sit back and think, "if that was me, would I want that?"
A friend of mine recently started a blog. I've always considered it, but never really took the time to do it. I always thought that writing about the antics of work would be a great thing for some people to read about. I've been employed by 3 top notch trauma centers in the US, and the stories that have built in 8 years are astounding. Not to mention the new ones from the trauma bay on a daily basis.
So basically, this is going to be a way for me to let loose. I will not break any laws, mention any names and unless absolutely necessary won't even mention of the patient is male or female. I just want to talk about the things that go on, because I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, its not Grey's Anatomy. Most days, I wish it were, because there would be a lot more hot doctors. The downside to that is, I think the mortality rate would be a lot higher.
More to come in the future, for now, its back to saving lives.
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