Coming back
"You keep coming back."
It's what a patient told me once before, and it was something they told me they appreciated about me. "It may not seem like much, but it means a lot to me." It just makes me wonder; are we really as busy as we say we are? I've heard it before, and I've worked with people in the past who are "too busy" to talk to a patient who has a bunch of questions, or are "too busy" to talk to a family member on the phone when they have a bunch of questions, or are "too busy" to help a co worker who's drowning in a bunch of work and has asked for a helping hand.
Because I've been both. I've been the co worker who is "too busy" to help out or answer questions, but I've also been the one who has received the "I'm too busy" response when I've asked for help. And I get it; sometimes we really are busy and don't have time to pee but will go get your patient that 50th PRN medication or 3rd bottle of Gatorade that they've asked for. Sometimes the acuity is just through the freaking roof that it is literally slammed crazy from the time you arrive until the time you clock out. I get it. I've been there; I've had those days before, and they suck! But the way I see it is this; am I really being totally inconvenienced by talking to that family member on the phone or talking to my patient who has boat loads of questions about medications or rehab places or about bipolar disorder? 9 times out of 10, the answer is no; the truth of the matter is sometimes I'm in a groove and I don't want anyone or anything disrupting my flow of things. But the other truth is, this thought process is a fantasy and I don't work in a perfect world and life and people happen on a daily basis.
Nearly every time I walk out onto the unit, I ask the patients if they need anything, even if they're not "my" patient. Because that's why I do what I do; I go to work to take care of patients. I'm not there for myself, sitting on planet me doing everything for me all off by myself. If that's what I do then I'm totally missing the point. So this is a reminder for me as much as it is for anyone; keep coming back. Your co workers, patients, whoever you serve and work for and with will thank and most certainly appreciate you.
It's what a patient told me once before, and it was something they told me they appreciated about me. "It may not seem like much, but it means a lot to me." It just makes me wonder; are we really as busy as we say we are? I've heard it before, and I've worked with people in the past who are "too busy" to talk to a patient who has a bunch of questions, or are "too busy" to talk to a family member on the phone when they have a bunch of questions, or are "too busy" to help a co worker who's drowning in a bunch of work and has asked for a helping hand.
Because I've been both. I've been the co worker who is "too busy" to help out or answer questions, but I've also been the one who has received the "I'm too busy" response when I've asked for help. And I get it; sometimes we really are busy and don't have time to pee but will go get your patient that 50th PRN medication or 3rd bottle of Gatorade that they've asked for. Sometimes the acuity is just through the freaking roof that it is literally slammed crazy from the time you arrive until the time you clock out. I get it. I've been there; I've had those days before, and they suck! But the way I see it is this; am I really being totally inconvenienced by talking to that family member on the phone or talking to my patient who has boat loads of questions about medications or rehab places or about bipolar disorder? 9 times out of 10, the answer is no; the truth of the matter is sometimes I'm in a groove and I don't want anyone or anything disrupting my flow of things. But the other truth is, this thought process is a fantasy and I don't work in a perfect world and life and people happen on a daily basis.
Nearly every time I walk out onto the unit, I ask the patients if they need anything, even if they're not "my" patient. Because that's why I do what I do; I go to work to take care of patients. I'm not there for myself, sitting on planet me doing everything for me all off by myself. If that's what I do then I'm totally missing the point. So this is a reminder for me as much as it is for anyone; keep coming back. Your co workers, patients, whoever you serve and work for and with will thank and most certainly appreciate you.
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