Some Monday Miscellany

Not gonna lie, I did a killer job of preparing for the last week’s schedule craziness.

I menu-planned, I scheduled blog posts ahead of time, I did all my laundry and shopping and cleaning…and I did get through those six days very well.

But now I’m looking at the upcoming week with absolutely nothing planned or prepped. Ha.

So, for today we’re going with some miscellany because that’s all my tired brain can probably come up with.

I have discovered: I am really good with difficult patients

A large percentage of my hospitalized patients are easy to work with. But sometimes I get a patient who is rather…prickly.

(Which is understandable, especially because no one is at their best when they’re in pain or they’ve been in the hospital for weeks!)

 

One school of thought is to approach someone like that with the same energy they’re giving out; sort of a take-no-crap attitude, get the job done, and get in and out of the room as fast as possible. And I can see the efficiency of that.

I have found, though, that if I go in with a different energy than the patient has and spend a little time building rapport, I have a nearly 100% success rate at lowering the spiciness and that sets the tone for a day of cooperation between me and the patient.

Also, a little bit of extra kindness, like lotion on dry skin, an offer to bring some hot tea, or just some empathy goes such a long way, especially if this patient’s behavior usually pushes people away.

Not only is this a kind way to treat a patient, it also usually results in an easier shift for me. I get my work done, I feel good, the patient feels good, and I’m not wasting time fighting an uphill battle.

Lotsa wins there.

I know this will not always work with every patient over the course of my career, but I feel really happy to know I have this skill in my tool belt.

It’s one more of those things that makes nursing feel like a satisfying fit for me. I think I was built for this.

Is that a compliment or a roast?

On Halloween, a little trick-or-treater surveyed my yard and said, with all sincerity, “You have a lovely leaf pile here!”

Heh.

You too could achieve this look by avoiding yard work all semester. 😉

I’m not gonna lie, I do kind of like the way my yard looks covered in a leaf carpet. It’s not like there’s a carefully manicured lawn under there so the leaves actually look better than the patchy weeds/moss/ground they’re covering.

This is definitely not the culprit who knocked a plant over

That’s the face of innocence right there.

Chickpea, chickpea, chickpea, kidney?

I think the bean-packing plant made a little error.

Maybe I should make some cheese chips

One of my cousins told me about these; they’re just baked cheese and are surprisingly high in protein. Definitely a better option than cheetos if you want a cheesy snack.

My frugal brain is telling me I should try some of the DIY options out there (you just bake shredded cheese, apparently?), but perhaps that should wait until school is over. 🙂

However, if you have a good method for these that you can recommend, I’m open.

Inspiration from plants

Often when I go for walks, I see plants or trees that are growing despite improbable odds. For instance, on my water-side trail, there’s a sorta dilapidated railing that has all sorts of little plants and grasses that grow out of it.

 

Plants amaze me with their ability to grow where they land.

And I always think that is a metaphor for life…that even if you land in a spot that is not ideal, you might still be able to grow into something beautiful. 🙂

I also sometimes see trees that have nearly fallen, then adjusted and grown upward anyway.

And I really like that as a metaphor for life; that you can get a hard knock, make the best of your new circumstances, and grow up toward the sun.

Got some miscellany to share? Feel free to join me in the comments!

(Or of course, if you wanna chat about anything I shared, that’s fair game too.)