Monkey

This little pot is a survivor. Not a pretty one, an early effort. But for some reason it has survived. The whole phrase on it says, You get what everyone gets. You get a lifetime.

A few weeks ago, a rep was standing in the core with a look on his face that I get working with the surgeon he was working with that day. He was stressed and exasperated, being brave. I stopped, patted his shoulder, commiserated. Looked at him again, and decided he needed a hug. He was very touched, and it seemed to help a bit.

"I'm not usually a hugger, but you really looked like you needed it."

He agreed. He made a point to thank me later in the week when he was back (with a less frustrating surgeon.)

I'm not averse to hugs, I like hugs, but I don't like them forced on me. At all. Nor do I make a big deal of hugging other people. But once in a while, I give in to my instincts to reach out.

When I started at the current job, they used a term that grated on me to describe the "resource" assignment. A scrub and a nurse, usually, were responsible for making sure everyone gets lunch relief and breaks, and are available to turn over rooms, get supplies, whatever is needed. Done well, it is wonderful to have an extra pair of hands all day. Done lazily, it's a huge waste. Thankfully, most of the folks I work with are attentive, effective people. Most ORs and PACU's keep a spare person as a resource. But the term was Co-ho. As in Core Whore. Ok, meant to be funny, but it never struck me as such. So, I would refer to myself as Lunch Lady, or Floater instead. The last few weeks I came up with Core Monkey, and this term is being picked up. My hope is that it will replace the cruder, older word.

I do think words matter. But we all knew that.