Image: Jochen Sands | Digital Vision | Thinkstock

There’s a new internet based tool that is supposed to help patients curb wait times by allowing them to see if their doctor is running late. You know, kind of like checking to see if your plane is on time. If your plane is running late, you know you can have another drink at the airport bar! But since you (hopefully) aren’t drinking, driving and going to your doctor’s appointments, I suppose this is the next best thing. Just in case your doctor isn’t part of this program, here are a few other ideas to keep you entertained while waiting for your doctor’s appointment:

1. If you have an iPhone I highly recommend playing “Words With Friends.” This is a hybrid of texting and Scrabble. So addictive.
2. Grab one of those Highlights magazines and see if you really can find the differences in the pictures. I guarantee you are better at this than you were when you were a kid.
3. Count how many times the receptionist rolls her eyes. Sorry to stereotype doctor’s office receptionists here but…
4. Another iPhone app that I enjoy is by an ER MD and is called “Think Twice” and it covers many varied topics about how to avoid a trip to the ER. If you think waiting in your doctor’s office is long…the ER is usually even worse.
5. A deck of cards is always entertaining. Worst case scenario you can play Solitaire. Best case scenario, you start a Texas Hold ‘Em game with all the other patients who are waiting and make enough money to cover your deductible for the entire year.
6. Update your Facebook status, like, every ten seconds. See if you can make your updates as annoying as Farmville.
7. Here’s hoping you read this before you have your next doctor’s appointment: bring a good ol’ fashioned book. Something thrilling that really passes the time so you might actually get annoyed to put down when they finally call you in for your appointment.
8. If all else fails, meditate or bring a neck pillow and take a nap. Just don’t start snoring. Seriously.

Image: Nuno Santos | Veer

I don’t know how much emphasis your hospital places on patient satisfaction scores, but the government sure is starting to weight in heavily. In fact, soon reimbursement will be partially tied into what’s called your HCAHPS score.

This stands for Hospital Care Quality Information from the Consumer Perspective. The goal of the HCAHPS instrument is to be able to compare hospitals on the same playing field.

The survey has 27 questions about perspectives on care and patient rating items that include eight key topics. These topics include communication with nurses and doctors, pain management, information, cleanliness and more.

At my hospital, this is becoming a big deal…improving patient satisfaction scores is a hot topic on everyone’s mind. I agree that we should always strive to have high patient/customer satisfaction but this burden shouldn’t just fall on the hospital’s shoulders. What about satisfaction scores for insurance companies or employers’ benefit packages?

If we are all in this health care boat together, then we should all get surveyed and rated together! Many patient dissatisfiers are out of our control like insurance reimbursement and approved medications. But the patients don’t always see it from this point of view and blame the front line staff which includes, of course, nurses and doctors.

If you are curious how your hospital compares to others in your area, check out

http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/.

Let me know what you guys think about this topic, I think it’s the next big health care debate!

But a related field (firefighter, police officer, etc.) is nice as well because they know just enough to sympathize with your day but not too much that they cease to be amazed with your vast scientific nursing knowledge.  Sometimes it can be hard to not take out your frustrations on your spouse or family or significant other. We tend to be the harshest with those who are closest to us. We can’t take it out on our patients and we shouldn’t take it out on our family and friends, but sometimes the emotional dumpster is full and we need to release the trash!

This is where finding a therapeutic outlet like exercise or meditation or whatever is a fine idea to protect those around us who love us. When someone really understands or can truly empathize with what a “bad” day means for us at work, it is truly a gift. A bad day for us can be witnessing the deaths of multiple people, children, tragedies, assault, weary bones, yelling nurse managers, and well—I’m sure you can think of a million more examples.

Look around at the people you love and who love you and give them an extra hug today. Behind every great nurse is a great support system!

Image: iStockphoto | Thinkstock

This year I actually had if off and we went down to a friend’s house by the beach. We had a fantastic dinner and then traipsed down to the park to watch the fireworks.

I found myself people watching and appreciating all the things that could go wrong but don’t. There were teenage boys throwing fireworks at each other (hello ocular injuries!), kids sitting on skate boards flying down the hill into throngs of people, intoxicated people running down uneven pavement. And then of course, there were so many people (many of whom had been drinking all day) that I was waiting for a fight (none occurred, everyone was on their best behavior). I did not actually witness any injuries (thank goodness!) but I found myself ‘night dreaming’…I wonder what my ER pals are doing…

Maybe next year I should just work the Fourth of July…

But then there are all those choices, cold lunch or hot? Salad or soup? Frozen entree or home made delight? Then, certainly, you have to take into account the dreaded microwave no-nos. The following items should NEVER be microwaved at work (I don’t care who you are): fish, shrimp, or brocolli. I get so nauseated when people heat these things up and then the entire department smells like a, well, you know. Something super gross and not appealing to the appetite.

If anyone has a favorite work meal or easy snack that borders more on the healthy than unhealthy to share with me…please do so! I am having a serious lunch time food block!

Until next time, happy snacking and may your lunches be long and savory.

Image: Noel Hendrickson | Photodisc | Thinkstock

I firmly believe that one of the major perks of this nursing gig is the ability to take vacations. I mean, think about it. You really only have to work three days a week and you can take a four day mini-vacay every week! Granted, most people don’t have the money to do that but still, isn’t that a great perk?

I write this as I sit by the Colorado River on my favorite vacation of the year–our annual camping trip. I am only about ten feet from the water with a nice cool breeze and nothing to do but read books and write my blog! Part of the reason that I can go on this trip every year is because of my flexible work schedule. I know of lots of other nurses as well who are constantly traveling … working hard and playing harder. So tell me, what’s your favorite vacation?

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However, here are my stipulations. I don’t really want to go through the academy, I probably shouldn’t be given a gun (I have terrible aim) and the only thing I want to do is give out tickets to people who are on their cell phones while driving—talking or texting. If it is not the legal law in your state it should be the common sense law at the very least. Even Oprah has jumped on the ‘anti distracted driving’ band wagon.

I was driving to work the other day and there was a car going about 55 mph in the fast lane (that’s about 10 miles too slow for those of you who don’t live in California and 15 miles too slow for the lead footed.) The day was Sunday so I thought maybe it was a little old lady scared to be on the highway, being extra cautious. Nope! It was a twenty-ish gentleman texting or checking email or something on his blackberry. INFURIATING! And completely unsafe. Do you remember that song ‘nobody walks in LA’? Well, nobody should walk in LA because you might get hit by a distracted driver or be the distracted pedestrian. I have taken care of so many trauma patients who were either hit by distracted drivers or were walking across the street distracted and texting. Even if you have the right of way as a pedestrian, the satisfaction of having the right of way is not going to take the pain away from your fractured femur when you get hit by a monster SUV.

Please, do us all a favor and put your cell phone down while driving, walking, biking, roller blading, or in any kind of motion. Since I will probably never actually give up nursing, this is as close as I can get to giving the world a ticket for distracted driving. Be safe out there people!!

image: istockphoto | Thinkstock

I watched a Dateline special last night about  Dr. Andrew Wakefield, you know the doctor who started the whole vaccine MMR causes autism fiasco. I’m not here to pick sides on the autism debate but rather to give you all a few tips on how to look at research critically. First, always look at who funded the study. If I am a researcher who is paid by Ajax to research which cleaning agent is the best, chances are if I want to keep my funding, I’m going to make sure that Ajax comes out on top. And believe me, there are a million different ways to “lie with statistics” to make that happen. A great quote attributed to Mark Twain is “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” My second favorite is from Mr. W. Edwards Deming, “In God we trust, all others bring data.”

Second, beware of studies that “prove” anything. You can never prove anything with a hundred percent accuracy. Just because the sun has risen every single morning you’ve been alive doesn’t mean it will rise tomorrow. So when research studies say A definitely causes B, beware! And if a study says that A almost always causes B, look at the sample size. The sample size should be really big and really diverse to come to any definitive conclusions. We are not all forty year old white males or eight year old kids so if those are the majority of the subjects, the results will not apply to you.

These are just a couple tips to look at research critically, especially the kind the news likes to report, so that you aren’t fooled into buying the wrong detergent!

Image: iStockphoto | Thinkstock

I don’t know about any of you all, but not every single one of my friends hail from the nursing profession. So sometimes, I get a little weirded out about what people do in the name of medicine, science, or child care. A couple examples:

My Dad (Sorry Dad) had a weird toe fungus. He had been to his doctor and was given some anti-fungal cream that he used for the better part of a year. Apparently, it was not working. At all. So my bonus mom (aka step mom) who is an equine expert decided to try some horse remedy on my Dad’s foot that involved soaking it every night in a strange and toxic concoction. My Dad told me he was doing this and I was truly skeptical. But after two weeks, you know what? It actually worked. I will keep you posted if his foot falls off anytime soon.

Another example, I was talking to a new mom who has a six week old baby at the time. She was telling me that she hates getting up in the middle of the night so she puts the baby in bed with her to sleep. TRYING TO KEEP MY JAW FROM FALLING LOUDLY TO THE GROUND…my mind is racing trying to think of the nicest and least freaked out way to tell her that this is quite possibly, the worst idea ever. Having taken care of two full arrest victims in the past couple years alone who arrested because of this very scenario, I did not think this was a good idea. Not in the least. I also didn’t want to seem like an alarmist or a freak so I gently told her that this is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and perhaps she should invest in a co-sleeper or something like that.

I’m not saying I have all the answers, but sometimes, just sometimes, I’m surprised the majority of the population makes it through the day alive!

The point is, sometimes it is refreshing to get out there and mingle with your colleagues and peers. So often if we aren’t getting paid for it or the class is not a job requirement, we have no interest. But I challenge you to try out a conference soon, at least once a year. Sometimes the speakers are awe-inspiring and sometimes they are just awful. Either way, you get to participate in health care at a fundamental educational level. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, it can be painful to get up so early to go to “school” (reminiscent of hospital orientation or college) but make it an excuse to get your fancy latte and stretch those neurons.

If any of you have any experiences with great conferences, I would love to hear about them! Oh, and by the way, a perk to attending job related conferences? It can be a tax write off too!!!