Zika Zinger

Well, I have ended my 19 year stint as a home care nurse with a bang. The very last patient I called to arrange a visit informed me they thought they had "Zinker" Virus. Turns out it was probably food poisoning or some GI virus but definitely not Zika here in the northeast. With great restraint, I reassured the patient by educating them in the fine points of Zika and the usual symptoms (in which this patient did not have a single one). It reminded me of what my grandmother use to say when someone was whining complaining about coming down with some ailment. She would calmly reply " Well, if you want it bad enough, you can have it."
Good luck to all of you caring for our in hospital and community patients. I am sure we will be hearing this refrain a lot, I am afraid. And I am sure someone eventually will get Zika, but I am not so sure they really wanted it.

Dream Job

Today I am basking in that wonderful feeling of having landed the perfect new job. I am excited, nervous, and anxious to begin. I will be leaving an organization I have worked for the past 19 years. I've worked in several positions there;  some staff, and briefly in management. But, it is time for me to move on.

I am no stranger to taking on a challenge. This will be the most challenging yet. All those other experiences have taught me I can do this. Imagine becoming an OR nurse right out of nursing school! Yup, did that. Then, 2 years later I walked into a busy Boston hospital, thinking I was experienced enough for that. Of course, I found out it was like starting all over again.

Later, after I became an expert in that field, I longed to be a critical care nurse. How naive I was to think I could do that job. But learn it I did. And for 15 marvelous years I worked with the best group of nurses I have ever met.

Of course, commuting to the city was taking up too much time away from raising my girls. So, on to home care I went. I remember looking into that blue bag with a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and thinking I had lost my mind. I was going to take care of cardiac surgery patients discharged home after 5 days! However, that experience was the most rewarding of my nursing career. I learned that my assessment skills went way beyond the technology I was use to relying on.

Now, I will be going back to the technical. This position will be improving patients early recovery at home with new technology. It seems I have come full circle.

Are we making progress?

Are we making progress in nursing on incivility and lateral violence. I hope so. Every nursing publication and web site I subscribe to has brought it to the forefront. Since nursing has once again achieved the most trusted profession, we have  a lot to live up to. Treating each other with respect and kindness has a rippling effect. Let's pay it forward to one another. We've worked too hard for too long to let bickering amongst ourselves tarnish this great opinion others have of us, because we are better than that.

The Magic Word

Ok, time to get back into this blogging thing.

So today, I am reflecting on The Magic Word or actually words, for dealing with unpleasantness found in this little video. I saw this on Workplace Diva' s blog. I must remember these the next time I find myself in a distressing situation.

https://youtu.be/g5RknemM8Hw

How many times have I been insulted by patients or their family members? Too many times, and afterwards I am left wondering
1. What did I do to provoke them?
2. How could I have handled that better?
3. How can I fix this relationship so we can work together harmoniously?

I know I will continue to work with patients, families, and co-workers that I don't like, but I know I can make it  work if I can understand where we went wrong.

"That's interesting, tell me more." Or "That's interesting, why would you say that?"  Are definitely great ways to get the conversation going and find out where that person is coming from. Then, I can turn the relationship around  (pun intended). Simple, yet effective.