Last Night in a Nutshell

I walked out of Mrs. A's room to find Mrs. B standing at my med cart with her hands on my pitcher and water dripping down her chin.

"Rita Lee! Did you just drink from my water pitcher?"

"Yes. Heh, heh, heh."

"Well, here's some more," I said as I handed her a cup of water before rushing back to the kitchen to wash my pitcher.

Funny how we get conditioned...

...to a thing and then react the same way regardless of what is actually happening around us.

***Whiny post warning!***

We've had several DON's since I began working at the Nursing Center. I usually refer to inservice as our "bi-monthly flogging". This is because the other DON's used it to tell us everything we had been doing wrong and to generally make us feel like we were the worst Nursing Department to ever exist.

I'm not saying that this never happens now. When it does, it's usually the Administrator running it. (Can I say that I don't like her and I'll be glad when she moves on to bigger and better things?) But, generally, when the current DON is in charge, it's more of a discussion of things we could do better than a "Hey, you losers, this is everything you've done wrong for the last two weeks" kind of meeting.

And yet, I still cringe when I have to go to inservice. In fact, I have often thought I would gladly give up my Medication Aide certificate just so I could be working the floor instead of sitting in there with my head bowed.

The worst is having to go to inservice on my day off (like today). It cuts my day in half. I spend the first half fretting about what's going to be said to us and the other half wondering why I keep going back if nothing I do is right.

On the bright side, I will get paid. And then I can grocery shop, which I LOVE to do. And if the DON is running it, I might actually get a suggestion for something I could do better instead of lash marks across my back.

Backhanded Compliment

Conversation at supper yesterday:

"Well, you look neat," Mrs. A said to me.

"Thank you," I replied.

"She always looks clean. She must shower," said Mrs. B.

I wish I could have thought faster. I would have said, "Yes. Once a month whether I need it or not."

Everything old is new again

I'm seeing a lot of familiar faces in this current round of hiring. While I am happy because there will be much less training time involved, I have to wonder why you would leave a place and then come back to it. I could understand if we had a new DON or Administrator, but these are the same folks that were running it when these employees left for greener pastures.

I see a lot of this here. Maybe it's because this is Small Town, America. Maybe it's because the pastures only LOOKED greener and they were actually happier here. Or maybe it's because we're fickle and when we say "never" we actually mean "never, unless I change my mind".

Hit the door running

I wonder sometimes why people come to work and then get ready to work. Shouldn't you be ready to work when you walk in the door? Granted, most days you actually have time to put your belongings in your locker and your lunch in the 'fridge. But haven't you ever walked in to a resident on the floor or someone being combative or whatever?

So I guess this is a post about appropriate dress at work. Having worked in an office for sixteen years, I can tell you that wearing a uniform every day is MUCH easier.

So, here we go:

• Wear your uniform. Don't wear a regular shirt and your scrub pants. Don't wear regular pants and your scrub shirt. In fact, I would say wear your uniform even on "Casual Day". Why would you want to get the Nursing Center (or wherever you work) all over your jeans and t-shirts that you wear at home or out with your friends?
• Wear appropriate footwear. These folks that insist on wearing these "Croc" things are just asking to get hurt. I've seen more people fall (including my husband, at home and at work) wearing these things. Yes, they're comfy. Yes, they come in pretty colors. Yes, you can get a pair for about ten dollars. But that trip to the ER is going to cost you a lot more when you land flat on your back and can't get up.
• If your hair is past your shoulders, put it up. Pony tails are OK, but I'm for a bun. If a resident is in a hair pulling mood, you won't find yourself on the end of a hair leash if you have your hair firmly secured. This goes for boys, too. We have a young man with long hair that puts his up. Work is not a fashion show. No one cares how you look. We only care how you work.
• Going back to uniforms, wear ones that fit properly. When you bend over, your fanny should not hang out. If you're a boy, I don't want to see your boxers and neither do the residents. See the bullet point above.
• Make sure you have showered and shaved and put on deodorant. No resident wants a greasy, hairy, smelly aide working with them. On the other hand, don't bother with the cologne. Your residents with COPD will thank you if you just smell like skin.

Did I miss anything? Do I sound like your mother? Or your grandma? Maybe that's the point. Dress like you care about what your momma would say. Someday you might be taking care of her.

More on staying healthy

So, since I've HAD to go see my doctor several times recently, she bullied me into getting a mammogram and a pap smear. So yesterday, that's what I did.

To all those women out there who have told me horror stories about their breasts being nearly torn asunder and their nipples almost popping off, allow me to now roll my eyes in your direction.

Jeez.

Either all of those women are serious wimps or they had the worst techs in the world handling them. I go through more pain with my migraines every month, and for longer periods of time, than I dealt with yesterday. If every medical test I ever had to have done was that easy, I'd probably go to the doctor more often.

OK. So that's a big, fat lie. But it's a nice thought.

Anyway. Go and get your mammogram done. It's not fun, but I promise, it's not as bad as everyone says it is.

Woo Hoo!

Sometimes things just work in your favor.

I've been wishing for three days off in a row for quite a while. The last time I had more than two days off in a row was in May when I took my vacation. I try not to ask for too many favors because:
A.) I don't like "owing" anyone anything.
B.) When I really want/need something, I want to be able to get it.

So, I've been trying to tough it out until December when (hopefully) I will be taking 4 days in a row off while my sister is here.

Well, I just had Sunday and Monday off. Today I get a phone call. They're making some last minute schedule changes and wanted to know if I wanted today off.

Yee Haw!!

Of course, I got all my chores done, so I have nothing to officially "do", but that's just fine. I think today will be a good day to bake some bread and coffee cake and whatever else I have the ingredients to make. I'd turn a cartwheel, but then I'd have to go back to the doctor and I've had about all I can take of her for a while.

Amazing what an extra eight hours of freedom does for your attitude.