Priorities

"Calling multiple times won't expedite the process of asking the doctor, I will ask as soon as I have chance..." I hung up the phone after I finished explaining to the lady why I didn't have an answer for her yet, cause ya know, calling three times in one morning to find out if the doctor (who, by the way, she has never seen), would write her a letter saying it was "medically necessary to have a pet in her apartment" is at the very top of my priority list. Right behind the guy who wants his Viagra refilled. Right behind the lady who wants a different free sample because Medicaid won't approve what the doctor prescribed. Right behind the guy who wants his Lortab 10 filled from a different doctor who is out of the office. But right now I have to check in someone who is threatening to barf all over the waiting room. Right behind the child who is having an asthma attack. I guess the elderly gentleman standing at my counter who has a med list a mile long will just have to wait a sec before I change them all to generic so Medicare will cover it....., Oi, was that the doctor that just whizzed past me? Maybe I can ask him all these questions right now, while at the same time not mentioning any names so that I won't break any HIPPA regulations? Ooops, too late, Urgent Care is telling me they have a "chest pain" checking in.....well you get the idea - that goes to the very top. A lot of what I deal with is urgent - and I treat it as such. Its a good thing I have a day off so I can deal with my attitude.....Sorry, I'm venting, but I feel better now :-)

Life at BMC

Welcome to another aspect of my life - BMC. I spend the majority of my daylight hours there, (and many of my sleeping hours are spent awake wondering if I remembered to do all that I needed to that day). I have been working there for almost 5 years now! I remember when I first moved to this small town 10 years ago just out of high school and within just a few weeks I had to bring a child that I was babysitting into the clinic to get stitches. Little did I know that I would become a nurse and eventually be working there! Only by that time they had moved from a small building into a huge multifaceted facility at the entrance of town.

I am so thankful for my job. As I was looking through one of my old journals from years ago, I ran across a page were I had written down several things that I wanted in a job. One of them was that I would enjoy going to work everyday. I can honestly say that at this point in my nursing career that I enjoy my job. It may not be what I want to be doing the rest of my life, but I enjoy the people that I work with and appreciate the friendships I have there. I work for and with some of the best doctors in the world. I have been so blessed by their willingness to let me globe trot over the years and they still welcome me back with open arms. Pretty amazing. Of course there are challenges, but my "people skills" are gradually improving and I attribute a good portion of that to day in and day out experience.

BMC has started a blog and I may contribute things to it here and there.

Uganda Heath Care

Being a nurse, I am very interested in observing health care in other nations - especially third world countries. Since we have done most of the visiting and distributing supplies among the villages, I have been able to visually assess the obvious sickness and disease rampant in especially the children, and yet much of it can be prevented by educating and implementing basic personal hygiene and proper nutrition. I also had the opportunity to today to visit the local hospital and a few of the outpatient clinics in town. I am so used to HIPPA regulations in the US that I intentionally left my camera at home and unfortunately didn’t capture any visual explanation of what I experienced. (There is no such thing as HIPPA here, btw. I could have taken pictures.)


Paul explained to me as we entered the hospital grounds that each building (known as a ward) houses specific disease states. For example, there is a TB unit, HIV / Aids Units, Labor and Delivery, Pediatric, Theater (Surgery), etc. They are long rectangular cinder block buildings. I didn’t count, but I would guesstamate around 10-15 of them. Most had multiple rooms that contained 6-8 beds. I learned that the patient had to provide their own bedding, often their own mattress, their own meals, and their own nursing care. There are nurses around that may administer medications and there is a doctor that makes rounds, but there is no dietician, social services, etc. During my visit, the sidewalks and grounds surrounding the buildings had many people sitting around, sleeping, eating, preparing meals, and doing laundry. These are the patients’ family members who come to live at the hospital to care for their loved ones.

The nursing staff at the hospital greeted and welcomed us and inviting us to tour the grounds unaccompanied. They were a breath of fresh air in an otherwise less than hygienic environment. I believe they genuinely care for people and have the desire to improve the care and quality of their facility.

We walked through the L & D ward where I was struck by the vast difference to what I am accustomed to in the US. There were two large rooms filled with pregnant women whose sagging bellies were only matched by the sagging mattresses. Most were laying in the beds, some with IV’s, some with newborns, most with family members sitting at the end of the bed, on the floors, or even napping in the bed with the patient. The water in the basins was dirty, the IV’s lacked IV poles, dirty dishes were laying around. I don’t really know what protocol is in place, I just know I am far away from home and I wouldn’t want to have a baby here, or get stitches, or even receive an injection.

We visited an outpatient clinic where they test and treat malaria - which is the biggest killer in Uganda, along with HIV. This clinic was clean and seemed to have a decent lab, but I was again astounded when I watched the lab techs draw and test blood without wearing gloves. I have the understanding that they wear gloves when gloves available - but that is not the norm. I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Uganda is such a high risk area - HIV, Ebola, Hepatitis, malaria, etc, and yet they don’t even have access to some of the most simple things proven to help stop the spread of disease. My purpose in sharing my experience is not to expose anyone, just to bring to reality what people are dealing with in third world countries.

"You Know You're a Nurse When...."

Ok, I didn't come up with these but received it as a forwarded email. I laughed sooooo hard!

You know you're a nurse when..

1) the front of your scrubs reads "Nurses... here to save your ass, not kiss it!"
2) you occasionally park in the space with the "physicians only" sign...and knock it over.
3) you believe some patients are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
4) you recognize that you can't cure stupid.
5) you own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications on them.
6) you believe there's a special place in hell for the inventor of thecall light.
7) you believe that saying "it can't get any worse" causes it to get worse just to show you it can.
8) you wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom.
9) you believe that any job where you can drive to work in your pajamas is a cool one.
10) you consider a tongue depressor an eating utensil.
11) eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.
12) you've been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of birth control.
13) you've ever heard a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring, and twelve earrings say "I'm afraid of shots."
14) you've ever placed a bet on someone's blood alcohol level.
15) you've told a confused patient that your name is that of a coworker and to call if they need help.
16) your bladder can expand to the size of a winnebago's water tank.
17) you have seen more penises than any prostitute could dream of.
18) you believe that not all patients are annoying...some are unconscious.
19) your family and friends refuse to watch medical sitcoms with you because you spend the whole time correcting everyone and pointing out upside down x-rays.
20) you don't get excited about blood, unless it's your own.