I went to my bosses house for a meeting, it turned out to be much further from our hospital than i thought. it was a full 20 minute walk at full speed but through one of the nicest neighborhoods i’ve seen here in england. the house has been described by a few different people..the markers..old, tudor, gravel driveway, volvo in the drive..
i was, ahem, slightly disappointed…i hate those gravel drives…like walking on rough sand…and noisy!
the door was impressive, the hallway was impressive and so was the kitchen in the middle of renovation looking out onto a lovely garden…i can’t say that what i saw was a good meausre of the entire house as i probably missed the other 20 rooms.
i arrived in time for lunch with the other research nurse and her baby and my bosses wife…a lovely, friendly thai woman.
on the way over i had made up my mind that he would be wearing his standard white shirt, black trousers, black shoes outfit. i was pleasantly surprised that he was wearing blue jeans!!! and a fleece jumper!!! and slipperrrrrrrssss!!!
he and his wife offered me everything under the sun to eat…i declined and in my slightly winded state stuck to a cold glass of orange juice. we talked about vienna and when i said (shhh, don’t tell her) i finally mailed my mom her gifts, my boss asked if she was in chicago -yes- has she been to birmingham -yes- and i proceeded to tell the 27 bus story…the one about the man in the kilt, the singing woman….
when my boss told his wife i am from chicago she said~~~
why are you here???
~~~everyone laughs!
business finished a few hours later, i am amazed that there is a bus right outside bosses house…he does his usual concerned how are you getting home routine but i assure him i will be fine…
i check the times of the bus when i get outside…debating whether i should just walk…it’s due in 7 minutes so i figure i will wait….but 7 mins turns into 10…then 13….when what do i hear???
door opening, gravel crunching….rememeber i am just the sid eof the hedge from my bosses house…who comes around the hedge in his jeans and fleece and a little backpack??? he says..
.oh, you are still here?? i must drive you to the train station….
no, no, the bus will be here in a few minutes, i’m fine…..reeeeeeally!!!!!
he spins round, goes back in the house, comes out with the keys to the volvo….screeching out of the drive…stops in front of me and screeches off…
the traffic is horrendous and he is driving like a maniac…in his usual “get out of my way” style. he hands me his phone and asks me to read a message….we get about halfway to the station and he says…
tracy, i’m sooo sorry…i’ll have to make a U turn here and abandon you…the traffic is so bad i will be stuck for hours
he does just that…pulls in a driveway…assures me the station is just round the corner and drives off….tires screeching, literally!!!!
i just had to laugh, laughing still!
i was really touched at how affectionate and playful he was with his wife…in his jeans~~~it is nice to see that everyone has their human side
tomorrrow i have a meeting shhheduled with my boss…at his house!! i’ve heard tales about the study….the wine cellar….the garden…..
i have a full agenda, he needs my laptop to access the top secret documents we need to review, discuss, amend and approve.
i don’t know what to expect from this kind of meeting…i will be there from 2pm onward so that means i may run into the kids….boy/girl 17 year old twins…which by the way i was disappointed to see only toddler pictures of them in his office…
i may also run into his wife…a librarian at the university…of thai origin…they met when he worked in refugee camps
i have met them all before when they brought us champagne on christmas….
i’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow~~~~~
it was, of course Guy Fawkes AKA bonfire night on thursday…the cats get jumpy but i enjoy it. in 6 years i have yet to go to a big sponsored fireworks display. mr a was telling me about the bonfires of his childhood, sounds like it was great…what’s a few burned drunk bodies for all that fun?
the fireworks have lasted sporadically through the weekend including a brief but intensive episode at my neighbors which nearly sent the cats under the refrigerator.
moving on to the explosion…while that may a bit of an exaggeration at work…you be the judge. i worked a long day saturday on my old unit. i had two patients, the usual punishment for being agency (=£££) i went to break about 10am, absolutely no problems, nothing unusual.
i came back to find one of my patients on a portable monitor pulled out into the middle of the bay.
what’s going on???
your patients bed exploded!
you’re joking???………..right?
they were not!! apparently and this is a little tricky to explain to non medical folks but a bag of fluid was hanging on a hook against the backwall. it’s not exactly an unusual thing and i don’t know of any specific protocol as to what needs to be done/checked but i’m sure there will be in the future. soooooo, this bag of fluid was drip, drip, drip drip drippping on the outlets…the uppermost being where the bed was plugged in.
BOOM!
that’s how it was described at least, by all the staff that was there and my 81 year old patient! they pulled the fire alarm and the smell of burning plastic was pretty strong…the plug and the outlet were black and melted…
the firemen arrived and there was a sudden flurry of young nurses needing to go the storeroom at my end and oggle the hot firemen.
the electrician came and okayed everything to be used, changed the plug on the bed in about 30secs and taped off the burnt outlet….
done?? not yet~~~~ this particular patient has a very nervous, unhappy, demanding daughter….she has already insisted on having a list of her mother’s infusions so she can look them up on the internet…..(see what we have to put up with?)
i dreaded her arrival.
luckily her son came first and mum was sitting up in the chair for the first time in days. she called me over and said tell my son what happened this morning…to which he added…so you’re trying to blow up my mum???
i was very reassuring, saying that we are used to dealing with emergencies and everyone responded quickly and it was sorted in less than an hour. he seemed happy and luckily when her fake tanned, too tight jeans, too low cut top and too high heels daughter showed up, mum just looooved me.
i have to say i really worked my tail off for both of my little ladies, it was nice to be a real nurse and feel confident that they both had their best day so far in their recovery.
well done, me!!!
i could file this under typically my boss.
we had a meeting planned for last thursday, just me amd him and the two ethnographers from leicester that have been observing our presentations. they were coming to birmingham to tell us how the presentations went (not very well) and whether the message had come across (it didn’t)
the meeting was set up for his office and knowing his need to play the gracious host and his desire to always have his guests fed and watered (so to speak) i mentioned to his PA that i would pick up some biscuits/fruit for the meeting in case he asked. apparently he didn’t ask her because at 7.30 thursday morning he text me this
would it be possible for you to stop by M&S and pick up some of their best croissants?
i had to laugh because i had stopped at M&S on my way back from london weds and picked up some fruit and little lemon and white chocolate muffins…so i just text him back yes and he politely replied Thanks!.
the really funny part starts when they arrive… they are both really friendly and down to earth…i have to remind myself that they are both “dr’”…as in dr sociology and dr psychology…..
time for the refreshments…my boss has a gaggia coffee machine in his office and always offers to make me some…the ladies are tea drinkers. he flings open his cupboard with high hopes of offering them a choice of tea from his world gathered collection of exotic teas…
they laugh and say no thanks they’ll have “builders” 
and in fact, comments “i’m irish, i don’t do posh teas”
ahhhh the agony as the pin pierces his balloon of an ego and he deflates…
we all have a good laugh as he recovers and asks me if i wouldn’t mind making them each a cup of builders tea,
Builder’s tea is the nickname for a mug of an (usually strong) English Breakfast tea, usually served with milk and, often, one or more sugars. It’s so-named because it has the reputation of being the favourite drink of construction workers and home improvers when taking a break.Back in 1916, the ministry of Munitions’ health committee wrote in a publication called ‘Hours of Work’, ‘an opportunity for tea is regarded as beneficial both to health and output’.
This still holds true today and not just for builders. This style of tea is a mainstay of the office tea break, with many executives enjoying its refreshing qualities.
as if he just can’t bear to…looking at it something like eating spam.
he does make comments about my american tendancy to have sweet things for breakfast….i let him have a little joke but as i commented to mr a it’s funny because i don’t in fact have a sweet tooth at all….and despite expalining to him once already that muffins when i was growing up were more like scones…so dense and dry you had to put buter on them ….and that i think the muffin as it is today is a starbucks phenomenom…
it hasn’t really sunk in…i still have 18 months to show him what a real american is…..
the memories go way back…endless fiddling with the antenna to try to get the UHF channel 11 for the baybeeeeee! my beloved younger brother andy…love this clip
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LETTER “U” and SESAME STREET
today on my way home from my second 12 hour traveling day, i thought i’d steer clear of the chavtastic music and stay on the lower level of the bus~~~
guess who sits down next to me???? the biggest, fattest man you can imagine!!!!!
i haven’t heard anything back from my complaint…may need to rethink my strategy……..
now open for suggestions
just wanted to mention that one year ago….i was waiting very painfully for my ILR…
it is difficult to believe that i could not have taken this job, the job that i love, in my previous immigration status….although i have to believe that my boss would have gone to the wire with the home office for me…
i am now technically eligible for citizenship!! what an accomplishment!!!!
i prefer to spend the money (£800+) on my house but knowing that i could have one of those maroon passports is a weird and wonderful feeling!!!
god save the queen!
maybe it’s just a coincidence…new attitude with a busy week…but i really feel positive. had a great day in manchester!
i have seen a few interesting news articles, interesting in different ways~~i’m posting them in full~~just scroll down if you get bored~~that’s what i do
What Happens to Your Facebook Profile When You Die?
In an Oct. 26 (Become a fan of TIME on Facebook.)
The company decided to publicize the policy because of a backlash caused by a new version of the site’s homepage that was rolled out on Oct. 23, which includes automatically generated “suggestions” of people to “reconnect” with. Within days of the launch, Twitter users and bloggers from across the Web complained that some of these suggestions were for friends who had died. “Would that I could,” complained a user on Twitter before ending her tweet with the hash tag #MassiveFacebookFail.
”We understand how difficult it can be for people to be reminded of those who are no longer with them, which is why it’s important when someone passes away that their friends or family contact Facebook to request that a profile be memorialized,” Kelly said in the post. To discourage pranksters, Facebook does require proof before sending a profile down the digital river Styx. Family or friends must fill out a form, providing a link to an obituary or other information confirming a user’s death, before the profile is officially memorialized. Once that is completed, the user will cease showing up in Facebook’s suggestions, and information like status updates won’t show up in Facebook’s news feed, the stream of real-time user updates that is the site’s centerpiece. If relatives prefer not to have the profile stand as an online memorial, Facebook says it will remove the account altogether. (Read: “How to Manage Your Online Life When You’re Dead.”)
Better publicizing memorialized profiles is an attempt by Facebook to answer lingering privacy concerns. Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart investigated the company in July and issued a report that asked Facebook to explain certain areas of its privacy policy, including policies regarding the profiles of deceased users. In response, the company promised to issue a new privacy policy that better articulates how user information is treated postmortem and offered the commissioner an outline of its memorializing policy, nearly three months before the blog post explained it to users. Spokeswoman Anne-Marie Hayden says the privacy commissioner was “quite pleased” with Facebook’s response to the office’s concerns and says the commissioner will review the detailed version of the site’s new policy, expected in late October. (See what happens when parents join Facebook.)
Facebook’s attempt to clearly state its policy is prudent, as other social-networking sites have struggled with the question of users’ deaths. MySpace in particular has had a difficult time with digital rubbernecking – during the site’s heyday, a handful of well-trafficked blogs specialized in matching MySpace profiles directly to obituaries and posting the pairings online for all to see. By sealing profiles to family and friends and removing profiles from search results, Facebook assuages users’ fears that they’ll be fodder for online voyeurs in the event of their untimely demise – hopefully putting the issue to rest.
let’s face it, ”social networking” is part of life now……
Study Says Chronically Ill May be Happier If They Give Up Hope
Released: 11/2/2009 12:05 AM EST
Source: University of Michigan Health SystemNewswise — Holding on to hope may not make patients happier as they deal with chronic illness or diseases, according to a new study by University of Michigan Health System researchers.
“Hope is an important part of happiness,” said Peter A. Ubel, M.D., director of the U-M Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine and one of the authors of the happily hopeless study, “but there’s a dark side of hope. Sometimes, if hope makes people put off getting on with their life, it can get in the way of happiness.”
The results showed that people do not adapt well to situations if they are believed to be short-term. Ubel and his co-authors – both from U-M and Carnegie Mellon University — studied patients who had new colostomies: their colons were removed and they had to have bowel movements in a pouch that lies outside their body.
At the time they received their colostomy, some patients were told that the colostomy was reversible — that they would undergo a second operation to reconnect their bowels after several months. Others were told that the colostomy was permanent and that they would never have normal bowel function again. The second group – the one without hope — reported being happier over the next six months than those with reversible colostomies.
“We think they were happier because they got on with their lives. They realized the cards they were dealt, and recognized that they had no choice but to play with those cards,” says Ubel, who is also a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.
“The other group was waiting for their colostomy to be reversed,” he added. “They contrasted their current life with the life they hoped to lead, and didn’t make the best of their current situation.”
The research was published in this month’s edition of Health Psychology.
Ubel was joined in the research by Dylan M. Smith, Ph.D., a research specialist at the Ann Arbor VA Health Services Research and Development Center and a U-M psychologist; Aleksandra Jankovic, of U-M’s Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine and George Loewenstein, professor in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.Loewenstein said these results also may explain why people who lose a spouse to death often recover better emotionally over time than those who get divorced.
“If your husband or wife dies, you have closure. There aren’t any lingering possibilities for reconciliation,” Loewenstein said.Ubel said health professionals find it easier to deliver optimistic news to patients even when they believe the prognosis is unfavorable, justifying it by assuming that holding on to hope was better for the patient.
Said Loewenstein: “It may be easier for a doctor to deliver a hopeful message to a patient, even when there isn’t much objective reason for hope, but it may not be best for the patient.”
“Hopeful messages may not be in the best interests of the patient and may interfere with the patient’s emotional adaptation,” Ubel says. “I don’t think we should take hope away. But I think we have to be careful about building up people’s hope so much that they put off living their lives.”
The research was funded by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development. Smith was supported by a career development award from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
i think we all do that to some degree….put life on hold waiting for this, that …..or the other thing to happen so life can begin…..
this last article is directly related to the prject i am working on…once again today my boss alluded to what could be the outcome of this project….going beyond the previous research, getting published and influencing other projects worldwide….
Making operations smoother and safer
Health reporter, BBC News
Lists are better run under the new systemAt first sight an airline pilot, a car plant worker and a hospital surgeon would appear to have little in common.
But the NHS is learning from the aviation and automotive industries as it introduces new safety protocols to reduce the risk of accidents in the operating theatre.
Whether it is hitting a tropical storm at 36,000 feet or negotiating an expected emergency in the middle of open-heart surgery, advance planning and a calm and ordered environment can make all the difference.
It is a message NHS chiefs are keen to disseminate across the health service, and they have made a start with a new scheme from The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement called ‘The Productive Operating Theatre’.
Good results
The early results from the six trial hospitals have been positive.
Trevor Dale, a retired airline pilot, who helped advise the test sites, said even little changes could make a big difference.
One 5-6 minute briefing could save us up to an hour a day
Janet Henry“If we knew we would be flying through turbulence we could plan for that in advance,” he said.
“We could then brief the cabin crew in advance, rather than waiting until they had the trolleys ready to serve the drinks and meals.”
He said that operating staff could ensure they were similarly prepared.
“Things such as getting equipment ready and making sure that if a procedure means there is likely to be significant blood loss that there are cross-matched supplies ready in advance.”
These simple things seem obvious to outsiders, but health workers admit that without an overview little things such as extra blood, ensuring patients are given anti-blood clot stockings and blood thinning drugs can slip through the net.
Professor Lord Darzi, the former health minister, said Productive Theatre, launched across the NHS in England in September, offered much.
“As a surgeon I know how vital a role a well organised operating theatre plays in ensuring a calm setting in a high pressurised working environment,” he said.
“The operating theatre is a place where lives are transformed and saved and by taking simple steps to optimise the working environment, and where staff can continuously improve the quality of patient care.”
Learning from industry
Health workers found simple things like holding a briefing meeting each day before operations start – and a de-brief at their end – can make a real difference.
Some have also implemented a check list system for each individual patient.
And in some hospitals the time taken to get patients to and from theatre has been sharpened up.
Janet Henry, theatre manger/matron at the West Middlesex University Hospital Trust, said her hospital had noticed considerable time savings.
“One 5-6 minute briefing could save us up to an hour a day,” she said.
She said staff focused on making little changes, such as juggling lists to ensure the right equipment was ready for each operation.
“We had equipment for keyhole surgery, but because of the increase in this type of surgery there was increase in pressure on it.
“So we discussed who had priority over the equipment and changed the list, rather than waiting until the patient was on the operating theatre and then realising there were going to be delays.”
Hugh Rogers, a consultant urologist and a senior associate at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, said he too had noticed great improvements.
He said the fact that the health professionals involved in a patient’s care came together to talk things through was a real step forward.
“We did not really do that before, but now everyone knows what is going on,” he said.
“Everyone is on the same page. As a result everything runs really smoothly and there are no surprises.”
For instance, a group meeting previewing one morning’s schedule for surgery revealed that a particularly complicated procedure was due up first.
By juggling the list around the team was able to slot in another case while the anaesthesia was prepared for the longer procedure.
Production line
Mr Rogers said his team had been particularly inspired by the concept key to any good motor industry – the smooth production line.
But instead of putting car components together, his team was focused on getting patients to and from theatre in the most effective fashion.
“We try to avoid the risk of cancelling the operations because of overruns,” he said.
“For instance, in orthopaedics we have found that the best time to send for the patient is the minute they start to close the wound.”
Claire Bradford is theatre matron at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, another of the pilot sites.
She said the introduction of individual patient checks had had a transformative effect on the working day.
“Everybody now expects it to happen and we are prepared for every eventuality,” she said.
“It does make the day go better and we have avoided error.”
i apologize for this being long with too much reading but i hope you find one or more of these articles interesting…comments???
please comment!!!!!
wellllll, i didn’t actually get to the gym today, i did have my clothes in my bag when i went to an early meeting with my boss. we had a long list of things to discuss and everything went really well. i planned to go to the gym after the meeting but i was copied into email that needed to be answered and my current chaotic internet connections required me to go home to answer them.
i have to rethink this gym thing…i used to go to the ymca in berwyn and then oak park for years even here in swindon i went to a posh marriott but finally it occurred to that i walked or drove home afterwards…all red and sweaty…now i will have to take the bus home. i may not look great but after i workout i look pretty frightening…so the question is…do i take a towel, my workout clothes…shampoo, hairbrush….all that stuff??? see not as easy you thought~~~
saying all that…i did have a great day today…was active and motivated. i even got off the bus and went to wickes to buy lightbulbs!!
i’m still buzzing around trying to figure out this gym thing….
oh yeah…i went into town to buy some clothes for work…now there’s a big change! on the bus ride in…i was serenaded my some idiot blasting ghetto music…not content to sit at the back of the bus he actually moved up and sat two efffffffing rows behind me!!! 40 fucking minutes!!! i swear if i had a gun…you’d be writing to me in jail….
rose sent me this…it’s music (?) based in birmingham, they use all the post codes to identify themselves..B21, B13 etc…..this clip is 54 seconds….try listening to it 40 times~~~
on the way back i had a weird experience, a chinese man sat right in front of me, he had a chat with his mate on his phone and i was relieved no chavs were on board….ahhhh, nice quiet journey…..no….nope….he feels obligated to broadcast chinese music!!! can you believe it???? not nearly as offensive and slightly catchy but c’mon……chinese music?????
i complained~~to the bus company~~
I would like to ask what travel west midlands is going to do about people who listen to their music on the bus without headphones. it happens on a regular basis and today as I rode towards the city centre (40 MINUTES!!) I was forced to listen to music played by someone sitting two rows behind me.
I pay my fare and deserve to have an undisturbed journey, I don’t think the current situation is acceptable. if passengers were vomiting on the bus with the same frequency as they are playing offensive music, I’m sure that something would be done!!
I feel that a “no music playing” policy should be put into effect and enforced with random checks. all the rest of the passengers ask is that everyone use headphones, how smple is that??
the current situation encourages young people to feel they have the right to intimidate other passengers, they need to be taught that public transportation is just that…PUBLIC. we all have to make accomodation for other passengers, if you want to ride on public transportation you must be considerate of other passengers.
I do not intend to let this rest as I am a frequent bus passenger and feel that there are many other passengers who would join me in demanding a “no music playing” rule be put into effect.
yep, i’m back!!!
a long time ago, i went to my doctor with similiar complaints that i have now…i’m always tired, everything is a struggle….did he put me on anti depressants?? write me a sick note for stress?? nope, he told me….
the more you do, the more you can do
i admit to feeling flat and black and unmotivated for the last few weeks…despite being outwardly at the top of my game.
today is november 1st, a real nothing day but i am planning to make some new years type resolutions.
- i am going to start visiting the fitness centre at work~~~even if its only to stop in and check out the locker room! no, definitely need to increase my activity level!
- we are going to get going on this house, we have two quotes to get the electric wiring sorted out and its not nearly as bad as i’d been warned. …..after that painting, wood floors etc then have a few par-tays!
- continue to be supportive to my friends, i went to a lunch with the benetton group (me being the token 1st world white person) from work for kim’s pre baby lunch. i had to force myself to go but it was such a great time…i laughed soooo hard! my friends have become so important to me and i have finally learned the girlfriend lesson. …..better late than never
- most important though is my family, i’ll be making plans for matt to visit me, me to attend rose’s graduation and then there’s a certain big birthday in august. whatever it takes…extra shifts…selling tamiflu from work….selling the big issue….
going back to my new (old) motto…the more you do, the more you can do
after a few months, i should be absolutely bursting with creative energy…
well, that’s the plan…yep that’s the next 12 months…
