Anthony Hopkins. That's who my patient resembled. But he was not the scary Hopkins of Silence of the Lambs. He was a sweet, old man.
While I was setting up the dialysis machine and programming it for his treatment, he started entertaining me.
"Do you like jokes?," he asked.
"Yes, why?"
"I've got some," he said.
"Go ahead," I said.
"What do you call the removal of the tonsils?"
"Tonsillectomy?" I thought I heard this joke before but I let him get on with it.
"Right. What about the removal of the appendix?"
"Appendectomy?" I began to smile knowingly.
"Yes. What do you call the procedure when a woman is turned into a man."
My smile vanished. This was not the joke that I know. I paused, thought for a while and answered, " Don'tdothattome?"
He blurted out laughing.
"I got it right?" I asked, surprised by my own answer.
"No. That's not the answer. It's Addthatdicktome," he chuckled.
"Oh."
"Dontdothattome..." he repeated and chuckled some more.
Seems like my answer was funnier than his.
Then I confessed that I had a different punchline in mind.
"I thought you'd finally ask... what is the procedure for someone who has bad breath."
"And what is the answer?"
"Donttalktome".
He laughed some more. We had an interesting start with his dialysis. I didn't expect to have an equally interesting end. As I finished with his treatment and cleaned up my machine, the nurse for the night shift came in and introduced herself. I was unplugging the hose from the water source at the back of the machine and I only heard my patient say, "Do you know that you look like Helen Hunt?"
I peeked behind the machine and saw the nurse smile and look back at him. "Actually, now that I have lost some weight, more people were saying that I look like Jodie Foster."
Oh my gosh, I thought. She was right. I was so thrilled that I just had to say, "I can't believe I'm amidst stars! You resemble Anthony Hopkins and you look like Jodie Foster."
Wait... this is not thrilling... this is a thriller. Silence of the Lambs, ICU episode. I'd better get out of here before I become the brain menu.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Of Web Scam and Hoaxes
During the first few months of our stay in the US, the days spent at home left me with so much time to surf the internet. Work from home deals, promos, get-rich-quick marketing, etc... the net is teeming with all these stuff. I was still gullible at that time. I got scammed a couple of times. And I have learned my lesson painfully. I had to call my credit card company a couple of times to cancel transactions that were not authorized by me.
Now, whenever I see an offer that is too good to be true, my initial reaction is... it is not true. There will always be a catch. And it is very easy to check out if the offer is the real deal or not. I simply log on to http://www.bbb.org/us. That is the website of the Better Business Bureau. It monitors all the established businesses in the US and rates them from A to F. If there are a lot of consumer complaints, they get a bad rating. So I know that I should avoid these companies at all costs no matter how grand the seduction is. Hey, I just received a free trip for two to the Bahamas via Caribbean Cruise Line. How cool can it get. Of course, I did not start jumping up and down, celebrating my luck. Where in the world did this free trip for two come from anyway? When I searched the BBB, at http://www.bbb.org/hawaii/business-reviews/sweepstakes/sweepstakes-and-prizes-general-information-in-honolulu-hi-22000317. I got my answer. It turned out to be one of those timesharing promos rated with an F.
The BBB is useful for monitoring charitable institutions, too. When I donated to one of the charitable institutions in the parish, I suddenly got numerous mails from other charitable institutions asking for donations. I guess my name was shared with these other institutions. Although these donations are tax deductible, it is still wise to choose where to give. I want to put my money where it will serve the higher purpose better. I just look up the name of the institution at BBB to make sure it is legitimate and doing what it claims to be doing.
The net is a very useful place to get information from. But it can also be a place where I get a lot of garbage. Spam mails and hoaxes can flood my inbox. Whenever I get these forwarded emails containing hyped up news of cancer-causing stuff, or cancer-curing stuff, I google the topic first to check the reliability of the material. The most useful website for me is http://urbanlegends.about.com/
I think it is our responsibility to filter whatever comes to our mailbox before we send out the information to the rest of our families and friends. Of course there is always the chain emails that we receive claiming to be originating from a particular saint and if you break the chain, you will receive bad luck. Just wondering which saint ever got to live to use the internet. Whenever I receive such an email, I don't even bother reading to the last because I know there will be a threat looming ahead. I simply hit delete with a prayer, "In Jesus' Name, I cast you out of my life." I don't know what could be more powerful than that.
Of course there are always materials worth circulating but before I hit send, I delete all the email addresses in the message to protect these names and use BCC instead of TO or CC because BCC will block the email addresses from being seen by other recipients. BCC stands for blind carbon copy. FYI.
Now, whenever I see an offer that is too good to be true, my initial reaction is... it is not true. There will always be a catch. And it is very easy to check out if the offer is the real deal or not. I simply log on to http://www.bbb.org/us. That is the website of the Better Business Bureau. It monitors all the established businesses in the US and rates them from A to F. If there are a lot of consumer complaints, they get a bad rating. So I know that I should avoid these companies at all costs no matter how grand the seduction is. Hey, I just received a free trip for two to the Bahamas via Caribbean Cruise Line. How cool can it get. Of course, I did not start jumping up and down, celebrating my luck. Where in the world did this free trip for two come from anyway? When I searched the BBB, at http://www.bbb.org/hawaii/business-reviews/sweepstakes/sweepstakes-and-prizes-general-information-in-honolulu-hi-22000317. I got my answer. It turned out to be one of those timesharing promos rated with an F.
The BBB is useful for monitoring charitable institutions, too. When I donated to one of the charitable institutions in the parish, I suddenly got numerous mails from other charitable institutions asking for donations. I guess my name was shared with these other institutions. Although these donations are tax deductible, it is still wise to choose where to give. I want to put my money where it will serve the higher purpose better. I just look up the name of the institution at BBB to make sure it is legitimate and doing what it claims to be doing.
The net is a very useful place to get information from. But it can also be a place where I get a lot of garbage. Spam mails and hoaxes can flood my inbox. Whenever I get these forwarded emails containing hyped up news of cancer-causing stuff, or cancer-curing stuff, I google the topic first to check the reliability of the material. The most useful website for me is http://urbanlegends.about.com/
I think it is our responsibility to filter whatever comes to our mailbox before we send out the information to the rest of our families and friends. Of course there is always the chain emails that we receive claiming to be originating from a particular saint and if you break the chain, you will receive bad luck. Just wondering which saint ever got to live to use the internet. Whenever I receive such an email, I don't even bother reading to the last because I know there will be a threat looming ahead. I simply hit delete with a prayer, "In Jesus' Name, I cast you out of my life." I don't know what could be more powerful than that.
Of course there are always materials worth circulating but before I hit send, I delete all the email addresses in the message to protect these names and use BCC instead of TO or CC because BCC will block the email addresses from being seen by other recipients. BCC stands for blind carbon copy. FYI.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Learning Curve
When I was still orienting as a dialysis nurse, I encountered patients who were very supportive of my training. They allowed themselves to be stuck by me. Of course, little did they know that I am not a novice at all when it comes to sticking needles on patients. My training as an anesthesiologist makes me even more experienced than the one "teaching" me. But I do not advertise this fact. I was advised by people in the office that I should not tell my patients that I have a medical degree because they may start "consulting" me and I could be charged with practicing medicine. So I was very careful about this. It pleased me when patients thanked me after the session and told me that I did well.
When I was already doing dialysis on my own, it was a different story. I had to build my confidence along the way. There were good days when everything ran smoothly, from the machine to the treatment of the patient. And there were bad days.
I remembered one particular instance when I went into a patient's room, introduced myself in a nice way (I always try to be pleasant just to establish good rapport). The patient looked at me arrogantly and started asking questions. How long will his dialysis be, how much am I taking off him, how long have I been working as a dialysis nurse. Perhaps the biggest mistake I made was admitting that I have started dialysis just a couple of months ago. He started bossing me around, demanding I take off 6 liters from him despite my better judgment. When I stuck him with the needle, he started shouting that I was sticking his nerves and it was hurting. I got pissed off and raised my voice and said, "Hey, stop panicking. It's not like I just learned doing dialysis yesterday. I know what I am doing. I am not sticking your nerves. Look at that backflow of blood. Your nerves will not show that." He stopped and calmed down. But I was already hyped up and upset. I could stick needles to his neck if I want to, I thought. If looks could kill, he would have been dead by then because I was giving him dagger looks. I guess that must have scared him, despite his huge physique because he stopped talking and allowed me to do my work.
I usually talk to my patients and give them some sort of patient education while I do the dialysis, but with him, I just sat there quietly until the end of the treatment. You just know when a patient is too full of himself, it is useless to pour information to him. It will just overflow and spill out. Why waste my energy and saliva. Of course, he did not finish the treatment because he went into seizure after one hour. That was why he was admitted to the hospital. So I stopped his treatment and rescheduled him the next day. Those are the kind of days which leaves me unfulfilled as a dialysis nurse. But I learned my lesson.
The next day, when another patient asked me how long have I been doing dialysis, I merely answered, "Oh, long enough to be bored already." She merely laughed and I started giving her patient education.
Sometimes giving too much "information" can be detrimental to a patient's health and "sanity" because it makes them paranoid. Now, when patients ask me that question again, I look them in the eye and say with all honesty, "Almost a year now." And they leave me in peace to do my work.
When I encounter bossy patients who want to manage their own dialysis treatment and order me around, I merely bombard them with pathophysiologic basis of the treatment that I plan for them. The information overload is usually enough to gain their trust and cooperation. Now I've learned how to use information, i.e. when to give too much and too little according to patient's profile and needs.
I usually talk to my patients and give them some sort of patient education while I do the dialysis, but with him, I just sat there quietly until the end of the treatment. You just know when a patient is too full of himself, it is useless to pour information to him. It will just overflow and spill out. Why waste my energy and saliva. Of course, he did not finish the treatment because he went into seizure after one hour. That was why he was admitted to the hospital. So I stopped his treatment and rescheduled him the next day. Those are the kind of days which leaves me unfulfilled as a dialysis nurse. But I learned my lesson.
The next day, when another patient asked me how long have I been doing dialysis, I merely answered, "Oh, long enough to be bored already." She merely laughed and I started giving her patient education.
Sometimes giving too much "information" can be detrimental to a patient's health and "sanity" because it makes them paranoid. Now, when patients ask me that question again, I look them in the eye and say with all honesty, "Almost a year now." And they leave me in peace to do my work.
When I encounter bossy patients who want to manage their own dialysis treatment and order me around, I merely bombard them with pathophysiologic basis of the treatment that I plan for them. The information overload is usually enough to gain their trust and cooperation. Now I've learned how to use information, i.e. when to give too much and too little according to patient's profile and needs.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Bias Against Immigrant Nurses
Spring is my favorite season. From the dreary, colorless environment, I found the different hues of green truly captivating. The sun which I usually took for granted while I was still living in a tropical country is now embraced with much enthusiasm. But Spring is not all blue skies and colorful flowers. The sunny weather is interspersed with rain and dark clouds. And that was how I have been the past months.
One moment I feel contented and happy, the next day, my heart is filled with dissatisfaction and angst. The negative emotion usually stems from long hours at work and the feeling of receiving unjust compensation for it. I think most new immigrant nurses feel this way. I have talked to a handful of Filipino nurses working in the hospital as ward/ICU nurses and my condition is not an isolated event. We sign a job offer in the Philippines with an hourly rate which is not reflective of the ones we receive when we start working. It is not usually divulged until when you start working already. By then, you have cut all ties from your previous "life", packed up your belongings and brought your family here. It leaves you with little choice but to endure the situation until your contract is fulfilled. The employer deducts the immigration expenses from your salary for the duration of your contract. So you will end up receiving a lower rate compared to your co-workers. Personally, I think this idea is garbage.
With the high turnover of nurses in the hospitals, having a nurse for two years should already help the hospital save in terms of training new nurses. In my company, I have seen new nurses get oriented and quit just after 3 months. Actually, in the 9 months that I have been employed, I have seen 10 nurses resign! Most of them did because of the crazy hours we work. If they could get me to stay for two years, they have already saved some money. That's why I could not get the rationale for paying an immigrant nurse lower salary compared to our counterparts. I just feel like cheap labor and I know I am doing a good job. There are some nurses under orientation who could not even get out of orientation. And that means expenditure again for the company. So whoever is sitting in the financial table is not getting his numbers right by treating immigrant nurses this way. Frankly when I came here, I had all the intentions to work as a dialysis nurse for the rest of my stay. But now, having experienced this bias, I have decided to do my time and get out of the job and find something else. And I know most immigrant nurses have been thinking along that line too. And it is such a waste because if only we were treated equally, we would have stuck with the position and done a great more good for the company.
One moment I feel contented and happy, the next day, my heart is filled with dissatisfaction and angst. The negative emotion usually stems from long hours at work and the feeling of receiving unjust compensation for it. I think most new immigrant nurses feel this way. I have talked to a handful of Filipino nurses working in the hospital as ward/ICU nurses and my condition is not an isolated event. We sign a job offer in the Philippines with an hourly rate which is not reflective of the ones we receive when we start working. It is not usually divulged until when you start working already. By then, you have cut all ties from your previous "life", packed up your belongings and brought your family here. It leaves you with little choice but to endure the situation until your contract is fulfilled. The employer deducts the immigration expenses from your salary for the duration of your contract. So you will end up receiving a lower rate compared to your co-workers. Personally, I think this idea is garbage.
With the high turnover of nurses in the hospitals, having a nurse for two years should already help the hospital save in terms of training new nurses. In my company, I have seen new nurses get oriented and quit just after 3 months. Actually, in the 9 months that I have been employed, I have seen 10 nurses resign! Most of them did because of the crazy hours we work. If they could get me to stay for two years, they have already saved some money. That's why I could not get the rationale for paying an immigrant nurse lower salary compared to our counterparts. I just feel like cheap labor and I know I am doing a good job. There are some nurses under orientation who could not even get out of orientation. And that means expenditure again for the company. So whoever is sitting in the financial table is not getting his numbers right by treating immigrant nurses this way. Frankly when I came here, I had all the intentions to work as a dialysis nurse for the rest of my stay. But now, having experienced this bias, I have decided to do my time and get out of the job and find something else. And I know most immigrant nurses have been thinking along that line too. And it is such a waste because if only we were treated equally, we would have stuck with the position and done a great more good for the company.
For now, my daily prayer has been : Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
The Lord revealed His sentiments from Ezekiel 22:29, 31 - "The wealthy cheat and rob. They mistreat the poor and take advantage of foreigners. So I will turn my anger loose on them for what they have done." The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)