Leaning In, Leadership, Ladies!

I just read Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In about women in leadership positions. She is a very good author, but an equally articulate speaker. I found this TED Talk a powerful reminder of how social change is both an individual and societal act. Enjoy!

Gratitude and Happiness: Say thank you today!

A free upgrade from bronchitis to atypical pneumonia and why Zoomcare is still awesome....

Today I have been working on mandatory education for work from my computer. My throat is still raw, I sound like I have been smoking for 40+ years, and my lungs are tired of cough-cough-coughing. The upside is my rib cage muscles will be buff and my abs are getting an extra workout.

Low and behold the nurse from Zoomcare called me to check up on how I was doing. First off I have never ever had this happen with primary care. Obviously they are concerned that their patients get better after they leave.  The nurse was concerned that my symptoms had not improved much since Sunday and said she would have the MD call me.

An hour later I chatted with the MD and explained that some of my symptoms had changed, but not improved per se. She said it sounded like I was dealing with atypical pneumonia, not bronchitis, and that she was calling in a prescription to my pharmacy right away for azithromycin. And that she will be calling me back on Friday to see how I am doing.

I am so pleased at the care I have received!

Zoomcare: An unwanted adventure in really great primary health care

I have been battling bronchitis x10 days. I officially lost my voice at the beginning of my three days of work this week. It made for a frustrating 3 days of work since I talk ALL the time. I fortunately was able to not cough during those 12 hour shifts due to antitussives and decongestant meds and continued to wash my hands incessantly but I barely slept last night as it all caught up to me and I turned into a phlegm monster.

I popped online Sunday morning around 0445 to figure out just where I could go on a Sunday to have an MD confirm the fact that I have an infection and whether it was viral or bacterial. My hospital does have employee health and an urgent care clinic. Both are closed on Sundays. Not helpful!

I happened to notice a few weeks ago a Zoomcare in downtown Boise. I booked an appointment online from my cell phone in bed . It's a one time flat fee for service. No hassle or haggling with insurance. And I'm not going to ER for something minor and clogging up the system meant for traumas, severed limbs, and septic shock.

Overall, the experience was incredibly satisfying and the service was superb and I am serious when I say every town in America should have an urgent care clinic like Zoomcare. I walked in for my appointment at 11:00am and I saw the PA at 11:05am. No waiting. Although I was totally disappointed that my bronchitis is viral (meaning that I will be miserable for another 2-3 weeks) they were helpful in giving me an albuterol inhaler to help with the shortness of breath I have been experiencing. So now I'm on the road to recovery and can breath again.

Games: for your health

This video by Jane McGonigal is fantastic. It talks about the value of playing as adults, but also about this woman's struggle with illness and how creative play gave her a tool to help her help herself through the healing process of a traumatic brain injury.

I found her discussion on post traumatic growth to be insightful because some people do persevere and recover from a traumatic event and those people are thought to be 'lucky' or 'resilient.' Rather this shows that they are simply using a different set of tools. The nice thing is tools can be shared, like McGonigal talks about here.

here is a link to here to her website as well: https://www.superbetter.com/

My mantra for nursing

"Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always."

~Hippocrates

I have to return to this quote on a regular basis to find my footing, to regain my common ground. This is where Hippocrates' quote must be turned inwards as well. It's not just a prescription for how we care for others, but how we must care for ourselves in order to excel at our profession.

I had another miserable, no good, awful, question my existence as a nurse sort of night. In the course of seven months, I consider 2 episodes like that to be a pretty good track record. 

However, when all hell does break loose, it frustrating the lingering effects it has upon your psyche. I have had four nights off and go back tomorrow night. I even avoided a four hour immediate pay shift (easy money and easy work!) when they were short staffed earlier this week because I absolutely couldn't bring myself to step back in the hospital that soon. I'm cringing at returning tomorrow night even.

I have replayed that 12 hour shift over and over and over and over.....it doesn't matter if I'm cooking, packing, cleaning, walking the dingoes, trying to fall asleep in this horrendous heat, or rehashing it with a coworker. I imagine this is mildly what PTSD is like. Poor souls.

It's going to take awhile to lay that night to rest, as well as feel satisfied that if I encounter a similar situation that I will be able to use what I learned from that night to make it better. 

In the meantime, I'm trying to be gentle with myself and know that reflection is the key to resilience.

Achy breaky back

  

After 6 wonderful years of living relatively pain free from chronic aching back pain (as long as I'm not sitting down) something happened to my precious spine. I am blaming it on the day shift hours I picked up this week!!!

I woke up Tuesday morning with 8/10 pain- burning, sharp pain- radiating from my lumbar spine outward in all directions. Sitting, standing, lying down, sneezing all brought new sharp sensations of tortuous pain I had no idea even existed. Putting on pants was like being put through a version of a Spanish Inquisition interrogation - I would have admitted to anything to have had the pain just stop. Thank goodness for slip on shoes at least, I may of never left the house otherwise.

I called the chiropractor and waited with clenched teeth, yoga stretches, an electric heating pad, and a bottle of Aleve for my Wednesday appointment. The appointment went well, apparently my L5 vertebrae was out of place and since muscles can be slow to respond to change I've got another 2-3 days of hurt ahead.

So, here I am now, Thursday morning, down to 4-5/10 pain post adjustment with a new back brace, more Aleve, and a rice pack heating pad just wondering how the next 3 nights of work are going to go...