Demon

It was bound to happen; one of Satan's minor devils needed a Cardiac Cath. It has been some time since I last wrestled with a demon, and although I survived, I was injured. Any nurse that works in patient care, will at some time or other, have to look a devil in the eye......touch their lucky talisman, and pray they live to see the next sunrise.

Demon

Evil demon

One might comment, “Of course”,

Slugging away at us caregivers

Without any remorse,

There is no excuse

For behavior such as this,

I didn't go to work today

Expecting a demon's kiss.

Malevolent devil

Imagine being betrothed to that one,

Said he has been married for 14 years

I suppose at one time he must have been fun,

Now he is Beelzebub's brother

Tormenting his compassionate wife,

And as he threatens and fights us

She cries out, as if stabbed with a knife.

Two of us were injured

And now I'm in pain,

I'll have a few weeks of light-duty

Physical Therapy, so I can face it again,

The chance opportunity

To meet up

With one of Satan's dominion,

But I'll just smile and wave, boys

And later post my opinion.

Fibril_late;

8/29/13

Leadership

Leadership

Reported my injury

And the Manager's Coordinator,

Said, you should have called for help

But we had to move him now, and not later,

Mr. Demon couldn't wait

For any handy lift device,

Gasping, cussing and fighting

And we paid the price.

What kind of leadership person

Points a finger, as if to blame,

Not showing concern for the injured

What kind of dysfunctional game,

Causes a person to harp on and on

About why I had 30 minutes of overtime,

Two days ago on the day I was injured....

Her management skills aren't worth a dime.

I love my job

But this Assistant Manager is an ass,

The worst I have ever encountered

Thirty years, since Nursing class,

And this will never be resolved

As long as she remains on the job,

It's laughable, that she believes

She is a worthy leader for our mob.

In hindsight, she said

You could have used the right tools,

Me, I thought the guy was going to code

Then they would have called us fools,

For calling a Transporter to find equipment

While the devil's heartbeat raced beyond 150,

It's not like the equipment we need is on hand

Oh, to work in such a dream hospital, sure would be nifty.

I think the right tools would include

Captains, who care about their team,

I have a wonderful job

And a sergeant, that makes me scream.

Fibril_late;

8/29/13

Painful

Recently we were shown a new pain assessment tool. It fills an entire computer screen with about 42 different numbers, adjectives, identifiers, what makes it better or worse, how often,....amazing, since I began using it, all of my patients have no pain. It is indeed, a miraculous tool. And of course, a new document means something new to be audited about.

Painful

An overemphasis on pain

By calling it a vital sign,

It's a normal response

And quite often benign,

But as a Medical provider

It's the first thing we ask,

There will be an audit reprimand

If we don't perform the task.

My wife thinks it's too stupid

When she has a medical visit,

They ask, “Do you have any pain

The number, what is it?”

Because for her, pain is not the reason

For the appointment with her Physician,

She thinks that's a perfect example

Of their stupidity condition.

Is it any wonder

Addiction is out of control?

Medical care, created this problem

Asking if you have pain

As if it's the whole,

Summation of your existence

From the moment birth arrived,

By putting that first, we foster an industry

A painful diagnosis, neatly contrived.

So, we under-treated pain

In the young and the old,

The sick and infirm

The hot and the cold,

Until we offered Oxycontin

And created a nation of thieves,

Where we now ask about your pain

But which one of us believes,

When you say it is a “10”

Watching TV with your brother Hank,

A ten, is like having a baby

Or being run over by a tank.

We are supposed to record what number you choose

And apply future treatment, on this arbitrary measure,

You can be as stupid as a fence post and figure this out

It's pretty damn easy to read the map to this treasure,

The golden prescription, to your favorite drugs

We made it so easy and fostered your addiction,

And now upper-management, wants to audit my assessment

Did I document exactly, triggers, therapy and restriction.

If we were to follow this pattern of describing in excess

With every medical discipline invited to play,

There would be no time to perform our procedures

Physical assessments would rule our entire day,

So, who is the driver of this fancy new boat

The Captain, who audits my charting,

I didn't describe pain with the 42 adjectives

And now they threaten me with early departing.

Fibril_late;

8/12/13