My brain is starting to show the effects of learning so many new things. I'm starting to see the patterns, and notice when it's wrong. One of my colleagues has been effusive in her praise for my picking up on, and continuing to pick at, an anomaly. Specifically because the mistake made would have been a blow to patient care if not caught early. I still think her handling of it had more effect, but I let the positive reinforcement work on me.
I'm finding ways to double check that make sense to me.
Got four surgeries scheduled yesterday. I'll get another one or two tomorrow, and possibly catch up on the waitlist a bit by next week. Booked out to May for shoulders, and into April for hands. We need another couple of surgeons, our new hand surgeon starts this month. And our new shoulder surgeon should be here by fall. Until then, we make do.
Gods, we need Universal Health Care. But within that, we also need specific Veteran care, because they are a particular population with their own peculiar needs. Lots of substance abuse, lots of homelessness and unstable home lives, lots of mental health issues - and not all combat related PTSD. The VA is actually equipped to deal with in, in a way that non-VA hospitals are not. We keep surgical patients as long as they need, when other hospitals would send them home that day or the next day. None of our patients will ever lose their house because of a hospital bill. Most of our Vets really appreciate how they are cared for here.
Of course some don't - mostly because they want something that isn't what they need. Patients who seem to think surgery is magic and will take away all their pain. The ones who think our top notch shoulder surgeon doesn't know what he is talking about when he says that further surgery would be a phenomenally bad idea. The grumpy guy who blames everyone else for him not checking his mail or calling before driving in from Podunk, UT. I suspect they are what would once have been called malingerers. One in every platoon, I think I know what they were like in Basic.
And I love that I have that experience, that commonality, that urge to yell "Airborn!" when something is dropped and breaks.
If you know, you know. If you don't - it's not really possible to explain. The experience, the feeling of it.
And now, this work, this duty. It's sort of the same, first wallowing and nearly drowning, and finally floating in it. Like marching with 32 women and making hardly a sound.
4 comments:
Getting there!
Teamwork. It's one of my favorite things about being a working person. When it's good it's great.
I'll say this again, with much gratitude. All you wrote is what I sensed from VA staff at the Palo Alto VA where R received care in the last days of his life. Compassion and competence. Good to picture you and the team you work with doing the work that needs doing here and now.
I had to laugh at your posting about hand surgeons and shoulder surgeons and I expect hip and knee and foot surgeons too. I'm laughing because my wife has been going to see an orthopedic doctor for several years and he only does shoulders and knees. And he will only deal with one shoulder or one knee per visit because of Medicare rules apparently. When she tried to tell him about her back pain he told her she had to talk to her GP about that and for her hip pains she'd have to see his colleague who only deals with hips. Seems to us that medicine has become too specialized. But we're not complaining. We're just thankful they're (all of them) there when we need them.
Post a Comment