When do you want to go that extra mile for a patient? Or more accurately I should say 'why' do you go that extra mile?
It's not a big deal, in fact it can be quite small, but doing that bit extra can be as simple as forking out 50 cents for the old fella in room 1 who hasn't got money for his morning paper.
It may involve rounding up four nurses on a busy morning to help one patient to the shower who's been bed sponged for the last month.
It may be phoning up a patients neighbor to make sure their pets get fed.
The list of extra things we do is not always part of the job description, but we do them anyway. We do them because it is not just right, we do them because it feels right.
But there's one thing I've noticed about the people for whom I do the extra things.
They're not demanding. They're often old. They're really nice to the people looking after them. They appreciate what we do for them.
Their only fault is that they sometimes suffer in silence because they don't want to be a burden.
They're not rude, obnoxious, demanding, threatening or abusive.
It pays to be nice. And we appreciate your appreciation. You see, we like to go that extra mile.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
That extra mile
Thursday, October 8, 2009
keep your clothes on
She was every man's worst nightmare, at least to work with. She was eighteen years old with wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, a perfect figure, but worst of all, she knew she was a knockout and knew how to use it.
I gotta say something, I can't keep looking at the ceiling. Hell, the low seating sure doesn't help. I'll have to say something. Not sure if it's appropriate, but it's making me uncomfortable.
"Chloe, this is getting ridiculous, please cover yourself" I demanded.
"Why sir? What on earth is wrong" Chloe flicked her hair and beamed a smile at me.
"It seems you've never learned to dress yourself properly. Your blouse is half undone, the top half that is, and everyone can see your chest" I explained.
Chloe made no effort to cover herself "It's awfully hot sir, just getting some fresh air" Chloe's smile was definitely looking predatory.
"Chloe, do I have to call your father and tell him you can't dress properly? I'm sure your assets work well with the rest of mankind, but in my health center you're going to dress properly." Chloe still didn't make an effort to do up her top.
It was time to cruel. Cruel to be kind that is. "And besides Chloe, as a nurse I've seen more breasts than you can imagine, and much more memorable ones."
Chloe quickly buttoned her top up.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Let's get constuctive, not destructive
In New Zealand some the media are telling us the some Maori like to call the health system racist. They say their needs aren't being met.
Now let's just think about this a moment.
1. Some individual people may be racist, but how can you call a system racist when all it tries to do is help the sick.
2. No system is perfect, and people from all backgrounds probably feel at some stage or another that their local hospital doesn't quite meet their needs.
3. How is calling the system racist help anyone? Think about it a bit. Whether it's meant to or not, all talk like this is going to do is make a lot of good, caring, hard working nurses upset. Nurses take this personally, at least every single nurse I've worked with does.
4. Wouldn't it be more constructive to say "Hey, we've got a big problem with whatever..." be it with drinking, smoking, diet, access to health, heart disease etc. And then say "What can be done to solve these problems?"
Posts
