i'm covered in beeeees!

this was yet another interesting week at University Medical Center. for example ...

today i was standing at one of the nurses' stations on 3 NE. i didn't realize this particular station was directly across from a stairwell entrance until suddenly the door opened and out swarmed a team of very tall, very official looking doctors and medical residents. dressed identically in white lab coats, non descript pants and comfortable shoes and emerging with the frightening suddenness of a swarm of deadly insects their unexpected presence momentarily stunned me into inaction. all i could do was watch in fascination as these healers of the sick and damaged buzzed off.

i think the hospital would be a good place for my sister to work ... there are many, many metaphors (and an occasional simile). she would have a field day with it!! in her absence, i will continue to do my best to live up to her standards.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

october 11

well, it's still the 11th is some parts of the country (it's also still 90 degrees in those parts ...) and i just wanted to wish everyone a happy National Coming Out Day. i've been thinking a lot today about secrets and when and why we chose to share them. i try to live my life as openly as possible and i feel like i've benefited in so many ways by giving people a chance to be accepting. i am so often so pleased with the responses i get from people. and not just about being a lesbian, but about other differences. i always have to explain to people what it's like to be a twin, to be colorblind or to be muslim. what have i learned? strength comes in many forms and in suprising places. when you look out for the good you will find it. everyone deserves a second chance and third and fourth. elizabeth was right when she told me to keep my rudder in the water and let god direct the boat. there are some losses you never stop grieving. life is rarely simple, black and white or easy: if it is you're probably missing something. and friendshp might be more important than chocolate, but the best is when friends bring chocolate.

thanks for listening.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

beating patients

do you know they beat patients at the hospital?!?! regularly.

ok ... so that's not exactly the enire story. 3NE has a lot of people with cystic fybrosis. c.f. is a chronic disease where somone's lungs aren't able to clear themselves of the icky stuff that builds up. so they need help to clear their lungs. and it seems back punding is the way to go. it's only a little creepy when you're new on the floor and hear a rythmic pounding coming from one of the rooms. though we had a woman who was in very bad shape and really at the end of her life last week. and she moaned for hours. that was worse because it was really sad. i don't think she was in pain because they do a very good job of taking care of patients (the nurses we work with are incredible! they have a ration of 4 patients to 1 nurse, so everyone gets a lot of attention) and she clearly wasn't coherent. she was admitted to hospice and a nursing home.

this week at the hospital went well for me. i continue to learn a lot every day, both from jeff and the other social workers. i watched dolores do a psychosocial eval on one of the psych patients on tuesday. she was a private practice therapist for 20ish years before coming to the hospital, so her experience and way of relating to the patient was very different from jeff's. i hope i have the opportunity to follow her on another occasion. i also went with katie to the dietition's office where she learned how a pt could purchase ensure for a significantly reduced price. this pt was in the process of waiting for a bone marrow donor and was facing the possibility that there wouldn't be one available. katie was trying her best to help the person remain healthy as long as possible, but she wasn't optimistic about the outocme. katie is just such a positive person; she was thrilled to be able to do that much for the pt.

the one thing all the social workers and RN case managers i've met have in common is the desire to help the pts with whatever they need. but also to help them do for themselves. tho it's hard to really "empower" people in a hospital setting because we have such a short time to see people. jeff runs a group on 2E (psych unit) once a week for people who are still in the unit. i was really interested in how a group like that works because it's only once/week and the composition changes so quickly. you can't really develop a group cohesiveness which is really the benefit of group therapy. but jeff said the goal of the group sn't really to do therapy or to address the reason they're in the unit. his goal is the same as it is on the other floor: what are you going to do when you leave the safety of the hospital. he sees his job as helping people recognize what tools they need to lead a better life and to help them in their immediate future out of the hospital.

well ... i could prolly keep going, but i should do some homework today. mid-terms start next week.

Friday, October 06, 2006

anyone need a superhero??

You Are Wonder Woman

A true goddess, you have the strength and skills to rule the world. You're one sexy amazon... all of the superhero guys are fighting over you!

What Superhero Are You?