So, I’ve been doing a lot of Zoom meetings each week. And working from home, I have to remember to fix my hair, put on make-up, a nice top … But I sometimes forget to put on pants. No, I’m not in my underwear, but I might have on cargo shorts or pajama bottoms or something non-business attire.
The problem is, when that Zoom meeting goes on for like two hours and you need to stand, you have to remember, you can’t stand up. Trust me, your coworkers will NEVER let you forget.
Or like if you have a raccoon in your chimney. I mean, you can’t forget about that but you have to remember how to get rid of them. So, when this happened a couple of years ago, I called animal control and they said they couldn’t remove it unless it was injured.
Obviously, I asked, “How do you injure a raccoon? Will emotional injury work? Guilt? Can I guilt it because I know all about that — I’m a mom?” I mean, I didn’t want to actually physically injure that nasty thing with those scary demon hands. The woman hung-up on me. I still don’t remember how to get rid of it, so I moved … to another state!
So where in the world am I going with this rant? OK, here it is: Why does everyone forget to check their electronic medical record dashboard? Those things are marvels of modern medicine. If someone’s blood pressure is off kilter, it alerts you. If someone has lost weight, it alerts you. If someone hasn’t pooped in three days, it tells you that too. It’s right there in front of your eyes. You just have to remember to look. (Oh, and then do something about it!)
Come on nurses, just remember to look twice a shift. It’s so easy. I swear, people, you’re going to be the death of me. (Does that mean animal control will come to remove me?)
Just keeping it real,
Nurse Jackie
The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, Senior Director of Clinical Innovation and Education for Mission Health Communities, LLC and an APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real-life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.
