Miscellany | bad nectarines, hospital frustrations, my teenage opera phase, and more
Some of this miscellany is frugality-related, some is not.
But all of it is overflow from my brain. 😉
(Which is honestly true of every blog post here, I suppose.)
Hungry Harvest's customer service: 10/10
Hungry Harvest's mission is to rescue imperfect food and get it into the hands of people who can eat it.
And nearly all the time, my Hungry Harvest food is perfect.
But occasionally, something arrives that is not in good shape. Such was the case with some nectarines in my last box, so I took a photo and emailed it to them.
Within 5 minutes, I got an email back saying my account had been credited. And this has been the case the other handful of times I have had some funky produce as well.
They always tell me they appreciate hearing about it when some bad produce slips through the cracks, because then they can refine their processes.
One of my favorite ways to care for patients
I have noticed that a common frustration for patients involves them waiting for something with no end in sight and no updates.
They don't know when a doctor will be by, they don't know when a procedure will happen, they don't know when discharge will happen, they don't know when a nurse will come back, and so on.
I think what makes this extra frustrating is that they often have no way to check on any of this stuff, so they are just sitting, sitting, sitting, with no information.
As a patient care tech, I don't have a lot of power at the hospital. But one thing I can do is update people.
I often say, "Let me go check your chart to see!" or, "I will go check with your nurse." or, "I will call department X and check."
Patients feel cheered if I can pop back in and say, "I see your name on the transport list." or, "You are at the top of the list; a wheelchair should be up shortly."
Even if I have to go back and say, "Your doctor hasn't signed your discharge order yet.", or, "Your diet order is not updated yet, but I'll keep checking and I'll let you know as soon as I see a change.", they still seem to feel happier when they know someone has checked.
Paint-Sharing
When I helped Fashion Girl move to her new college home, the white-painted furniture collection sustained a few scratches and dings from the ride in the U-Haul.
So when she was in town last week, I poured some of my Benjamin Moore Cloud White paint into a saved Trader Joe's sun-dried tomato jar and sent it home with her so she can do some quick touch-ups.
Benjamin Moore Advance paint is expensive (as in, $35/quart!) So I'm glad I could save her the cost of buying a whole quart when all she needed was enough for some touch-ups.
(You might think she could simply get a sample jar, but alas, the sample jars do not come with sheen options. They're all just flat, and that would not look right on the satin-sheen paint already on her furniture.)
Defending yourself vs. being defensive
When I read Jefferson Fisher's book, his section about defensiveness made me wonder what the difference is between explaining/defending yourself and actually being defensive.
So as all good modern people do, I googled.
I came across this article from 13 years ago in which the author recommends going with neither option (defending yourself or being defensive) and instead, he suggests countering with some curiosity-based questions like, "Hmm, is that congruent with who you know me to be?"
And then he has a series of follow-up questions if the person says yes, like, "What did I do in the past that gave you the impression I'm that kind of person?" and then, "Oh, okay, I can see how you might have come to that conclusion. Would you like to know what I was really thinking?”
I really love this approach, and I am going to try to remember to use it next time someone accuses me of something that feels really off-base to me. I like this better than having to explain myself (because oh my gosh, I have done three lifetimes of explaining myself already!)
And it actually reminds me a little of some of Jefferson's style of advice; you get your point across in a way that is respectful of the other person, but without giving up your firm ground.
Sometimes I have had someone say something like, "You were just trying to hurt me." and if I had followed up with some of these questions, I think the ensuing conversation would have gone better.
I could have asked if that was congruent with what the person knows, and if they said yes, then the second question essentially asks for evidence (which forces the other person to rethink, and also provides an opportunity to clear things up!)
My teen opera phase came in handy
When I was a teenager, my sister and I used to check out CD soundtracks of musicals from the library, but we also delved into the library's opera CD collection.
This was a pretty niche teenage side quest (ha), but the other day it became useful at the hospital! I was ambulating a patient, and while we did multiple laps around the hallway, I discovered that he was into classical music, particularly opera.
And I was able to hold a conversation with him about things like what is the best part of Mozart's The Magic Flute.
I also found out he wasn't much of a fan of Brahms or Shostakovich, but I suggested a Brahms piano intermezzo that is just lovely, and I also wrote down the name of the Shostakovich piano concerto that has the beautiful middle movement.
I often think about how advantageous it is to be an older person at the hospital; because I have 47 years of life under my belt, I can manage to find some point of connection with almost every patient I come into contact with.
Even if it's something as niche as an opera aria. 😉
___________________________
And that's all for miscellany, that is, until next time!
Any topic mentioned here is up for discussion; you can lead the way. 🙂
P.S. I was about to schedule this post, and then I came across this article, which reminded me of a discussion we had in the comments recently about the wine-ification of motherhood.
That orange chair! Sweet!
In our family we had no classical music, or arts generally. I learned to appreciate those only after an older sibling went to a gymnasium - it was all Latin, Greek and culture there, pupils from priviliged backgrounds mainly. Sibling and I both ended up singing in a choir (not together, sadly) and nowadays at singing class I get to sing aria's from several composers. This is both to practise vocal techniques and a bit to release the inner diva ("Try this - you will be louder without tiring yourself. Remember the chairs at the back also paid to hear you!").
I read an article once about how patients during surgery with partial anaesthesia got to choose their own music. That must be enteraining for the staff too. Minimal music one day, r&B or hard rock music the next!
@JNL,
When I recently had an MRI, they gave me head phones and let me choose my own music. It made the process much less stressful for me.
@JNL, When I had my wisdom teeth out I listened to a pop playlist, on the recommendation from a friend, and one of my earbuds fell out. The dentist very kindly put it back in my ear (this was just before the procedure)!
I love the Defending vs. Being Defensive conversation. The article you linked to is very useful. If only everyone would follow this way of thinking/discussing.
I know, right? I thought it was brilliant!
Your gift as a nurse, Kristen, is acknowledging your patients as PEOPLE. It's very easy to feel just "there" when in a situation with so little control, like being in a hospital bed or even working one's job. Your connections are genuine because they acknowledge the same of you--you're not just "the nurse," you're Kristen who loves music and takes a few minutes to check their chart. Sharing of self works both ways, and ideally we all come away better from these interactions, however brief.
I'm currently growing okra because my last AAA driver made me promise that I would. I needed a tow an hour away from my mechanic, so we had an amazing conversation along the way. The gentleman was multilingual (Somali, Arabic, French, and English) and had taught himself English by watching M*A*S*H reruns. We talked about recipes (hence the okra), life, etc. At the end of the trip, he surprised me by thanking me for treating him like a person, as "So many people just pretend I'm not here."
I looooove your okra story! He would be so happy to know you actually are doing it.
And good job connecting with him. 🙂
@N, where I live, becoming a cab driver is a common first step for immigrants. This makes them fascinating conversation partners. When I was in school, if my driver was from a place academically relevant, I'd pick his brain to help me with my studies. (Made sourcing a bit of a challenge sometimes.)
@WilliamB, got to love a good “personal communication” reference!
@N,
I love that he taught himself English by watching M*A*S*H reruns! I remember watching that show with my family when it was first-run. My dad loved Hawkeye's laugh. 🙂
As someone who is on Day 42 of hospital/rehab/back to hospital - y'all, we were scheduled to be discharged from rehab (he walked 100' with minimal support!!), on Friday and Thursday am he woke up soaked and delirious, so back to the hospital we went. The initial diagnosis is C Diff as the scarier things have been ruled out. So Kristen you have no idea how much your diligence in helping your patients stay informed means to them. I am no shrinking violet and will always hunt down any information I need but I see plenty of people who are alone or just afraid and a nurse like you can make any day brighter.
We've set a new clock and I have no idea how long we'll be here, but I'm hopeful. Can't be anything else but or you'll go nuts.
Whew that it’s c diff vs other stuff. I’m so sorry you’ve been on this journey for so long; no one wants to be in healthcare facilities for such a long stretch!
@Jennifer, good luck to you guys.
@Jennifer, I'm sorry that you and your DH are back on the roller coaster. I wish you all the best.
@Jennifer,
Ugh, I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your DH! C diff is no fun, but as Kristen mentioned, it could be other (worse) stuff. Sending extra hope your way.
When I was in fifth grade, one of our assignments was bringing in our favorite song to play for the class. I think we had to talk about it and present it. Anyway, all my classmates brought in Mariah Carey songs or Janet Jackson songs (this was 1990), and what did I bring? "Red and Black" from the Les Miserables soundtrack.
Haha, yes, we could have been friends. Altho Phantom of the Opera was definitely higher on my obsession list than Les Mis.
@kristin @ going country, this has less to do with opera or musicals than with performing for one's class. But I once entertained my second-grade classmates during a rainy recess with a rousing rendition of "Won't You Come Home, Disraeli" (sung to the tune of "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey") by Allan Sherman, best known for "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah." I sometimes wish I'd been a fly on the wall at the next conference between my mother and Miss Armstrong.
@A. Marie, My (boy) children actually call me "Mud" more than Mom, which comes directly from the "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" song that I taught them and that they love. I don't really love that my name is literally mud, but that's the way that particular cookie crumbled.
@kristin @ going country, we had a similar assignment in my school in fifth grade. My classmates brought in music that was popular at the time. I brought in Beethoven's Für Elise, which was my favorite piece of music when I was 11! 🙂
@kristin @ going country,
I listened to les Miserables when I was in labour almost 33 years ago on my walkman. Lol I still love hearing it... It got me through a rough days after giving birth too... It's funny, I totally forgot about it til now. Thanks for mentioning it!
@Kristen,
LOL, I worked at The Museum Company during the late 80's/early 90's at a local mall, and they would play these amazing music CDs as background music. One of the CDs was songs from popular musicals, including Phantom of the Opera. I had never heard most of the songs, so that was my introduction; I really love those songs, and still know the words, after 25+ years.
I generally find, when people are trying to gas light or manipulate me into backing down, a cheerful agreement with whatever they are saying helps. ''YOU WERE TRYING TO HURT ME'' '' Yupadoodle do''
It will make them super annoyed but with no leg to stand on.
Kristen, your opera miscellany reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask you: have you been playing piano lately? I know nursing school kept you super busy, but since that's over now I've been wondering.
I do here and there, but definitely not every day. Part of the problem is that it's a little out of tune; I had it tuned recently but then some of the keys around middle C got wonky in a jiffy. I need to call my tuner to come help me out because the dissonance is making me not want to play.
Oh, that is ANNOYING. I don't blame you. One nice thing about playing violin is I can tune my instrument myself. 😉 Definitely comes in handy, along with being able to change strings.
I (an older nurse) once had a conversation about the Gods of Ancient Egypt with a patient during a very long procedure. Being older does have its advantages!
That Diana Damrau video of Queen of the Night is absolutely one of my favorites. I once posted it on Facebook with a comment that this was a pretty good depiction of how teenage girls sometimes perceived their mothers. Not sure my daughter was amused, lol.
When I looked up a video of this aria for this post, I realize: I had never actually seen someone sing it! I had only heard audio recordings before.
@Meg in SoTX and @Kristen, yowza, that DD video is one heckuva Queen of the Night. And although I'm no opera fan in general, DH tamed me enough to enjoy parts of The Magic Flute and Carmen. (I still sometimes go around singing this parody of The Toreador Song from Carmen: "Toreador-a, don't spit on the floor-a/Use the cuspidor-a/What do you think it's for-a?")
@A. Marie,
I recently introduced my teenage son to the Gilligan's Island "Hamlet song". 🙂
https://youtu.be/bXId5jOTxdg?si=8bJu0SbrcheBFZ7b
Thank you so much for being attuned to people's anxiety about having to wait. You are doing a great service in trying to help them.
I love that you are so sensitive to your patients' needs. Being in the hospital is stressful and being treated with kindness helps to alleviate this stress.
Yes! No one is having their best day when they are in the hospital (except for patients who have just had a baby. Ha. They are the one exception.)
I will need to read more on the defensive and defending with the new approach. I'm not often in that position but might help me not get at someone else- not be accusative or blaming. There is sort of a sweet spot age wise between 45-60. Trusted because we know things, but not disregarded. I feel I'm approaching the disregarded spot though.
I don't know a lot about opera (and I can't play an instrument!) but I know I would appreciate having you for a nurse 🙂
I haven't read the defensiveness article yet so will have more nuanced thoughts later, but anger in general is often an emotion responding or masking another emotion (ie you could be angry because you feel sad at injustice or are frustrated, angry because you don't feel in control and so on). Anger in itself is not a 'bad' emotion but you have to look at what it's trying to tell you. I saw an analogy that it's like a flashing light on your car dashboard.
I posted this on Friday, but as it's a miscellany day, I'll post it again - I thought this article on the difference between attitudes towards nature in the US and Sweden was really interesting:
https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/sweden-nature
I missed the wine-motherhood chat! Do you remember which post the comments were on?
It was a really small sidebar in the comments on this post, where I suggested going low or no-alcohol is a great way to save money AND improve your health. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/teach-me-how-to-be-frugal-in-10-steps/
Regarding drinking: I'm from a teetotal family and was never interested in drinking, but it's been interesting to see the culture change as my social group grows up (the drinking age is 19 where I live.) From 16 to maybe 23, there was a lot of pressure to join in the drinking, and a lot of parties I didn't go to, because it was just about alcohol and it wasn't fun. Then people stopped caring when I was in my mid-20s, and then gradually as I approached and passed 30, people started having more health problems or decided to stop drinking. Now, I'm very often not the only one not drinking. It's nice!
Thank you for the music recommendations! If you like Romantic composers, the French romantic vocal works are incredible. This is Veronique Gens singing Faure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZLWDRoLEfg&list=RDSZLWDRoLEfg&start_radio=1
I have been that patient just laying there waiting for someone, anyone to update me on WHEN the doctor would see me so my discharge could be signed off -----and my RN was quite annoyed with my asking, and made sure I knew they were annoyed, which made the situation worse (he was either having a bad day, or just a bad nurse...ZERO bedside manner/empathy, and when my visiting friend asked how he was doing his response was "I'm a few hours into a 12 hour on a weekend, so how do you think I am doing"...we were MORTIFIED with that response....
I got so frustrated with the waiting (3 hours) I almost just walked out! (I was admitted for a few hours via ER for Tachycardia and was fine at this point and just wasting a bed..) -- so I THANK YOU for doing this for your patients, it makes a world of difference to the patient if they are just given some information, no matter how small....instead of just laying there waiting.
Ooof even if we are having a hard day or we don’t feel like being there that day, it is not appropriate to say that to a patient. I’m sorry that happened to you!!
Your Opera phase reminded me of my son at 16. He began a breakfast conversation with "So I have been listening to Sammy Davis Jr's lesser known musicals . . . " This was just a few years ago. I love the teenage brain. That is why I so enjoyed teaching high school.
I am struggling with my seeming incapability of moving beyond maintenance weight and losing a much needed 15 pounds. I am pretty down on myself right now as I have been taking actions for about a year. So I am going to write a list of credits here. It does not help for me to punish myself or I will move from maintenance to gaining.
1. I have focused on moving away from all Ultra Processed food as a result, there are no trigger UPFs of my house. I have a clean environment.
2. I have bought Quest blood tests to check myself twice this year. I have moved out of the pre diabetic range and am now normal which joins my healthy cholesterol and blood pressure.
3. I have curated my wardrobe so every piece fits , becomes me, and makes me feel good.
4. I have posted regularly for 15 years with like minded "food coaches" for 15 years and have gained only 10 pounds within that period. No yo yo-ing.
5. As a teen I was over 200 pounds. At 61, I have not had to go back there.
6. I have been successfully using intermittent fasting for the summer.
7. I make intentional exercise an important part of my week.
8. I have not experienced bulimia, attempted suicide or taken a drink in over 30 years.
OK. That looks pretty good to me. Still not enough to drop the scale. I would love ideas from others.
@Mary Ann, keeping at maintenance weight is typically *harder* than losing the weight. That is a huge achievement in and of itself! I hope you'll consider adding that to your list.
Looking over your list, I'd be interested in how it matches your reasons for wanting to lose weight. There are many health improvements in there already.
Finally, have you heard of the National Weight Control Registry? They may be interested in hearing about your successes.
@Mary Ann, that must be very frustrating after all your hard work. This is a fantastic list. Kudos on your mindfulness and self-awareness.
As WilliamB said, maintenance itself is a huge achievement. As we age, it's so unfair that some of us actually have to eat even less and move even more in order to lose weight.
I remember reading that even adding a healthy apple a day to one's regular diet results in a ten-pound weight gain per year. Here's the depressing math, which I hope is accurate: 100 calories/apple times 365 days/year equals 36,500 calories divided by 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. But on a high note: Burning an extra 100 calories per day for a year should result in a ten-pound weight loss. Personally, I'd rather move more than eat less.
Your foundation sounds strong, and success is sure to follow (although more slowly than you'd like it to).
@Mary Ann, might consider having your thyroid checked.
@WilliamB,
Thank you for your encouragement. It helps.
@MB in MN,
Yes. At some point it is about small reductions of calories over a long period of time. I guess I am stubbornly resistant to how little I can eat compared to what I use to eat. I guess I need to "accept the things I can not change."
@MB in MN, turns out it isn't quite that simple. Gross calories - how many kilocalories a gram of food produces when brined in a test tube, and is what's on the nutrition label - is not the same thing as how many net calories we get from eating a food.
Per Richard Wrangham's "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human", it's how processes something is and how small it's cut makes a difference. Whole vs minced, raw vs cooked, about 12% each. So a cooked burger yields about 25% more usable calories than the same meat as a raw hunk.
A very recent study shows that the human body adapts how much it burns, so that hunter-gatherers burn about as many calories as an office worker. Caveat: the study hit the popular press last week and I haven't read the actual study.
@WilliamB, thank you for that additional info! I'm glad there are smart people in this world as this exceeds my brain capacity!
Speaking as a former patient and former patient care-giver, what you are doing is so, so needed! The lack of information for a patient can sometimes be appalling. I'll never forget my daughter, granddaughter and I visiting my husband in the hospital on Christmas Eve before attending the 8 pm service at church, and as we were sitting in his room, dressed for church, around 7 in the evening, a staffer walked in and said cheerily that she was glad to see we were all there to take him home, he was ready to go. We had been told nothing. He was still catheterized. There had been no mention of checking out, follow up, any PT, catheter care, nothing. They had my cell number in his records, I checked. The doctor was unavailable, so I insisted on a review, and we did not take him home that night.
I like classical music, but I don't care for the opera. I don't like that singing style, but the music is glorious. I do have to ask - what could possibly be wrong with Brahms and Shostakovich?
Some Shostakovich is a little too dissonant for me! But yes Brahms generally seems inoffensive.
Communication….yes, things seem to fall through the cracks too often! No one should be discharged without warning….sheesh.
@JD, argh in retrospect for your family's Xmas Eve experience with your DH. Good for you for refusing to take him home under the circumstances.
And as a general note, think of all the patients out there who (a) don't know they can speak up and/or (b) have no one to speak up for them. Nurses and other health care personnel like Kristen are blessings, but I have a feeling that they're few and far between.
Communication and information makes patients so much happier and easier to deal with, and can lead to more efficient outcomes.
Here's an example: my eye doc was late for my 8 am appt. I waited and waited, then got absolutely no info when I asked and waited some more. Eventually they moved me to a room and the process repeated, with my asking more and more frequently and my getting more and more pissed off. Over 3.5 hrs later the doc walked in. *He* apologized and explained he was in emergency surgery resulting from a car accident.
And you know what? I was even more pissed off after that because why the hell didn't anyone tell me that?!?
Doing so would not have violate patient privacy. I would have understood. I could have rescheduled and not wasted literally half my workday, and I would have been happy instead of pissed off and telling off the office manager in the waiting room (I wanted everyone there to know what happened).
So yes keep the patient informed. We're much happier and easier to deal with that way.
@WilliamB, I'm with you on this one. There's no need to violate HIPAA rules just to let a patient know that a doctor has been unavoidably detained for emergency surgery or some other reason.
AGREED. There are HIPAA-compliant ways to update patients. I do it all the time.
@A. Marie, Exactly! It's just common courtesy to tell patient doctor delayed & in situations like that to offer reschedule option. 3 1/2 hours, I would have left after 1 hour of no information.
Reminds me of my cancer surgery at St. David's North --- Austin area (actually was in the county northwest of Austin, not even in the same county.). I had always heard that medical care in Austin was really stink-o for a city that size, but they didn't do cancer hysterectomies in my town so my choices were limited. The local doc recommended this place so I blindly went along. I live 2+ hours away from Austin. First they wanted me to arrive at 5 a.m. which means the friends taking me would have to come get me at 3 in the morning. I said no way, they are friends not family and it would be rude to ask them to get up that early, and had a huge argument with some moron hospital official. Finally got hold of the surgeon and she said 8 would be fine. After my surgery, I was plopped into a room and my purse and personal belongings were nowhere to be found. I couldn't find a phone in the room in order to phone my friend to sit with me, and when my friend called the hospital they claimed I wasn't there. Even though she'd been with me when I was admitted. Turns out they had put my bed in an upright position but not told me the phone was behind me. Anyway, I was all alone the entire night following the operation and I could have fallen out of bed.
My sweet little CNA was trying to help but she had 8 or 9 other patients to tend to as well. (Said it was a slow night, she usually has a dozen.) So she couldn't check on me very much. The next day was the first of the month and it was a holiday weekend. They had changed procedures and no one knew exactly what was going on. I was taken to a discharge waiting area where I got to sit in an uncomfortable chair and stare at the wall for 4 hours. I felt like I was in a Soviet prison ward. The landline phone kept ringing but the attendant there was too busy playing Candy Crush and other games on her cell phone to notice. (Yes, it was my friend calling. Multiple times!)
I finally had to totter to a bathroom down the hall and that's when I ran into my friend, who had been frantically hunting for me all morning. After finally getting my purse (something had been charged on one credit card without my knowledge or consent), we got the heck out of there. My complaints fell on deaf ears. Long story short, I changed medical providers and am furious at the local docs for railroading me into the "I can fight cancer close to home" organization because of all the false advertising -- I was NOT close to home-- and the incompetence of everyone I met. (Except the CNA). From now on, I'm going to Baylor Scott & White and to heck with the feud my city's docs have with them.
@Fru-gal Lisa, That's just horrible. I hope that you at least got the credit card charges removed.
@Regina,
Nope.
But Medicare paid most of it.
I now have a wonderful oncologist/gynecologist at Scott & White in Temple. Shaves an hour off my hospital commute. Only see him once a year anyway.
I like my MisFit boxes. My issue on occasion is that the FedEx guy does not always recognize arrow directions. Bakery items often do not like having a pineapple on top of them.
Defending oneself vs being defensive: Funny you should mention that. Just this past week a fellow nurse asked if I'd be willing to change my schedule to allow her to have particular days off. Well...This nurse has had a particular record of being hired and quitting to move back to where she worked or to something she thought more her liking, leaving us in the lurch. And yet...we continue to rehire her. She does have skills. Yes, I work a set schedule of only five nights in a two week period. I am working toward retirement. I have never left a job willingly and been loyal to a fault. And this is my time. I said no.
@Chrissy,
I know a HVAC tech that did that, but it was because of better insurance coverage for his Special Needs child medical care. But he also always gave notice before leaving job. I think that's why both companies always rehired again later.
A bit of random is good for everyone! You are a special nurse for your age, and because you share what many good people do: a willingness to find common ground with others. There is almost always something shared between me and a stranger, and it rescues me from repeated conversations about my odd name and background.
My favorite composer since high school is Bach, J.C., and I still aspire to do justice to his wonderful music on the piano. Have also sung in several choirs to bring his Masses to life, challenging projects but full of joy and beauty. I am sure there would be more fans of Bach if we had better music education in our schools.
I love lots of music, and especially lately the spirituals accredited to American Black communities. There are lots and lots of them besides the famous ones, and many are achingly beautiful.
Your daughters are so lucky to learn from your example how to fix and mend, repair and paint. You are teaching all of us from your example!
@Kristina, just curious, JC Bach or JS Bach? The latter is the famous one; the former is his son. JC wrote some very nice music, but that is an unusual choice to be a favorite composer.
It's nice that you see your patients as people. I am absolutely terrified of anything medical. I won't even go to the hospital when I know I need to.
I know everyone is apprehensive about hospitals but this is extreme, my blood pressure even goes up.
It would be nice to think there would be a kind person like you if I ever have to go.
Aww. I hope that some especially kind person is there to help you whenever you need medical care. I promise there are a lot of kind people at hospitals; I see them every day. <3
I wish that paint was always in a glass jar compared to the metal cans. Yes, I know the whole cost & weight thing but paint in glass jars last longer, no rusting metal can contaminating the paint or dripping paint onto floor while in storage/not use, you can actually see color & how much paint there is. I have some partial paint cans that I should switch into smaller glass jars & toss the paint cans. I used to worry about the paint color info, but now so many places can color match a small sample color.
I like the alternative questions option compared to defending self (either version). Though sometimes there are people who no matter the facts choose to believe false allegations/information just because they can't believe someone else could tell a lie/non truth. I like the whole make the other person think about the information & their own experience(s)/interaction(s). It may not work every time but it possibly makes the situation less stressful at least.
Kristen, do you have transition training from your current care tech position to new position as RN? Your current care tech position does make patients better at least by getting them whatever information. That truly is the worst part of being at hospital is waiting & not knowing anything. I'm sure you will continue that into your RN position as well. 🙂
Oh, for sure! We have several weeks of training, then several months of practicing nursing with an experienced nurse precepting us, and then it's actually a full year until we get to shed the "new grade nurse" label. 🙂
And yes, as an RN, I actually think I will have more power to update people because I will be able to message doctors and social workers, etc. to get things moving and get updates!
My family (from my father's side) was very into classical music. My parents had a rule that all of their children had to take at least one year of piano lessons; if at the end of the year you wanted to quit, fine. But if you wanted to continue lessons, they would gladly pay for them. My oldest sister kept going and was a music major in college (I still remember her senior recital) and taught music in schools until her own children arrived. The other kids dropped out after their year of servitude but I kept going with lessons from age 5 all through high school. My oldest sister was my partner at my very first piano recital (age 5) where we played a duet called Dance of the Wooden Shoes. (I can still play that from memory!) And all my electives in college were music related. Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor, Aida, etc.) and symphonic ("Bach, Brahms and Bartok" was a lot of fun).
When people asked me what my first concert was (thinking pop music), I had to say "Arthur Rubinstein with the National Symphony Orchestra" in Washington, D.C. My father was my date. ;-} My oldest sister, who no longer plays, recently gifted me all her sheet music and books of Chopin Etudes, etc.
I love hearing about how much you are loving your job, and how you as a person are blessing all who you come into contact with!! You are an inspiration to us all.
Hearing some of the other commenters stories makes me so grateful for how my recent hospital experiences went! I could tell the nurses were very overworked, but they were all still great, if rushed, and it didn't feel like anything got missed. All the doctors, minus one resident, were friendly and caring and professional and I felt like they took my questions and concerns seriously!
Re the alcohol article: I read a 'counter argument' from a researcher I really trust and enjoy about this where it ties this new focus on women's alcohol consumption, to larger trends impacting women, and that the decision to write this and the 'wellness' industry in general, have an agenda about the role of women that this type of 'concern' supports.
https://www.wral.com/story/tressie-mcmillan-cottom-dry-january-is-driving-me-to-drink/21810661/
@Jessica, That was intriguing!
@Jessica, thank you for sharing that article. Very thought-provoking.
I do the paint in jar thing with wall color. Keep it a little easier to access and little touchups go a long way.
While I am not sure about other patients, one thing I don`t like about docs, clinics etc: if they want you to undress, give you the flimsiest clothing, and then make you wait.
I get cold very fast and I absolutely hate it to the point that I am not willing to talk to anyone at some point. Get people a blanket! Something. Really.
For the defence in every part of my life: I read the article and this is just not me.
Don`t argue with stupid - if someone says something like "You are just doing this to hurt me" where is the point? I would not ask gentle questions. Coming from a disfunctional family , I detect the emotional manipulation asap and ask back: does it work? Followed by exit. Because anything else is a waste of time.
With normal misunderstandings, that`s a good and profound technique to not make the problem more charged, but if someone uses the emotional nuclear bomb? NO.
The last time I was in an ER they left me sitting on a gurney for 2 hours with no updates! When I finally buzzed them, they said they were looking for a bed for me. I didn't want to be admitted I just had one question about my covid symptoms that no one ever gave me a chance to ask. I left against medical advice and was fine. Yes, I had Covid but not as bad as to need to be admitted. Especially after being left unattended for 2 hours.
Answering and addressing patient questions and concerns are so helpful! Good for you and your patients.
Kristen, as a nurse actually keeping your patients informed is such a blessing! I work in healthcare but was on the family and patient end of things recently. My husband was in ICU after some surgical complications and I was there every single day during the day shift. All but one of the nurses were very personable and introduced themselves to me and made sure to explain things to us when they came into the room to check on my husband or perform some procedure on him. The one exception must have been having a bad day, because I did not see him once in my husband's room the entire 6 hours I was there. When my husband did call for assistance, the nurse that came was his previous nurse from the other day who was assigned to a different patient. Sure, his nurse could have been on his lunch break, but who knows since we never saw him. Anyways, we never said anything but my husband did notice a bunch of nurse managers surrounding his nurse and giving him a talking to near the end of his shift. He later came in and apologized for being a "bad nurse" that day, which my husband appreciated, but we just hoped we would never have him again!
I would love to see that orange chair in Fashion Girl’s new home!!
As someone who has spent a staggering amount of time inside a hospital or nursing home during the last couple of months ( as a family of a patient) - please know that your keeping the patients up to date truly matters. It means a lot. Thank you ❤️