Your Twice-Monthly
Dose of Sanity:

Somedays, does it seem that this sign painter moonlights in your health care facility?

Thanks for a Job Well Done

A nursing assistant, floor nurse, and charge nurse from a small community hospital were taking a lunch break in the break room. In walks a lady dressed in silk scarfs and wearing large polished stoned jewelry.

"I am 'Gina the Great'," stated the lady. "I am so pleased with the way you have taken care of my aunt that I will now grant the next three wishes!" With a wave of her hand and a puff of smoke, the room was filled with flowers, fruit and bottles of drink, proving that she did have the power to grant wishes before any of the nurses could think otherwise.

The nurses quickly argued among themselves as to which one would ask for the first wish. Speaking up, the nursing assistant wished first.
"I wish I were on a tropical island beach, with single, well-built men feeding me fruit and tending to my every need." With a puff of smoke, the nursing assistant was gone.

The floor nurse went next."I wish I were rich and retired and spending my days in my own warm cabin at a ski resort with well groomed men feeding me cocoa and doughnuts." With a puff of smoke, she too was gone.

"Now, what is your last wish?" asked the lady.
The charge nurse said," I want those two back on the floor at the end of the lunch break."

Thanks and Credit to Doris Young RN of Doris Young Associates, from her newsletter 'Young Thoughts', available at www.DorisYoungAssociates.com

Get another dose of laughter at RFS' Daily Dose of Sanity or the wild colon humor site ColonoscopyJoke.com

Got a funny medical joke or photo to share? Email it to us, and if we use it here, we'll give you credit!

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By subscription only! Please Send this ezine to any HCP (Health Care Professional) you know who wants to enhance their joy in their career. Then they can sign up for their own subscription, as our gift!

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Passionate HealthCare seeks to resuscitate your passion for your medical career. Your only cost for this prescription? Please comment, complain or educate us twice a year at PLRaymond@RxForSanity.com.

Hello again, HCPs!

It's good to be back in the PHC saddle again with my hectic but enjoyable end of spring travel schedule followed by the MS150. Now it's time to rest on my laurels; too bad my laurels are still a bit sore from riding that bike!

Welcome to the 400+ new members of our passionate community! And don't miss your chance to win a copy of 'Don't Jettison Medicine' in this issues' Weird Websites section!

Pat Raymond M.D. FACP FACG
Chief Enjoyment Officer, Rx For Sanity

 Yes! I want my own subscription to Passionate HealthCare!

Table of Contents:

A 'Pat' on the Back	The Sanity Store
Bedside Manners	Weird Websites
Health News You Can Use	Mock Medical Music
Where to Meet or Hear Dr Raymond

Anatomical Edu-tainment

About a week before I flew to California to speak for Sutter Health, The Virginian Pilot featured an article on the various traveling anatomical art shows. One of them, ‘The Universe Within’, (www.theuniversewithin.org) would be in San Francisco while I was there. I was eager to see this show glorifying the design of the human body as art.

I was prepared to be enchanted.

The room at the Masonic Auditorium was filled with bodies and body parts, not unlike my anatomy lab of yore. But there the difference ended.

All the bodies were small Orientals. Not unusual, I reassured myself, the show originated in China. But the single race show made concerns ping through my mind. I was troubled with the lack of diversity. Would this show be accepted if a different sole race were illustrated? How would I feel, what would it mean, if the bodies on display were all Black, all Middle Eastern, or even all Jewish? What if the show had originated out of Europe’s concentration camps? And then there’s the question of consent; had the previous occupants of these bodies or their families consented to their remains being flown around the world to be gawked at, or had this been a decision by the Chinese government? I was uneasy.

My dis-ease grew. Several of the bodies had been displayed in a manner meant to be whimsical. One body, sans skin and with flayed muscles, rode a bicycle. Another stood, one arm akimbo, with the other hand holding up a hanger on which his entire epidermis hung like a suit of clothes. Morbidly fascinated, I crept closer…eep. They had cut the eyebrows out of the face skin and reattached them above the eyes. In fact, all the artistically dissected corpses still had eyebrows.

When I lived in the Philippines during my Navy father’s assignment, a favorite gift purchase by the military stationed there were sets of taxidermy frogs, displayed engaged in various activities like playing in rock bands. Frogs seated at tiny drum sets, sticks in their hands(?). Frogs standing with miniature electric guitars slung over their shoulders, frozen in a riff. My adolescent mind knew that they were gross.

Today’s anatomy as edu-tainment proved too gross for me. The respect that we were taught for the bodies donated for medical dissection seemed lacking in this venue. Mortified for my part in supporting this desecration of the dead, I scurried out to tour Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf.

What do you think? I don’t regard myself as either squeamish or prissy. However, I’m also a bit grossed out that Roy Rogers stuffed Trigger --which to me is only acceptable if Roy made arrangements for he himself to be stuffed later and mounted in the saddle. Does this sort of show enhance the anatomical education of the masses, with the end justifying the means? If you’ve viewed this or another such show, how did you react? Email me at PLRaymond@RxForSanity.com with your comments.

Do you want another dose of Dr Raymond?
If you do, you'll need my book Don't Jettison Medicine, available at RxForSanity.com and Amazon.com.
Want to share some sanity in your medical newsletter? Dr Raymond's articles may be freely reprinted (see details at the bottom), and more of Dr. Raymond's most popular editorials are yours at Rx For Sanity Articles and at DontJettisonMedicine.com

Do you know someone who would enjoy this edition of Passionate HealthCare? We encourage you to Send it to a friend or colleague!

A ‘Pat’ on the back to…

You and your support! I recently rode the MS 150 on Virginia's Eastern Shore, and with your support, collected over $1200 for the National MS Society. It was a blast! Check out my official ride photo of me doing 72 miles, or you can still send donations to the National MS Society for a limited time at my e-pledge link. What are you doing to to enjoy the summer as you support those in need? Get off your duff and do it!

We failed to properly credit the notice about your opportunity to become a 'Miracle Worker' on ABC Television/Dreamworks health-makeover-reality show in last month's issue of PHC. Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH, Executive Director, The Center for Nursing Advocacy, who was the source of our notice, recommends that you check out more details on the opportunity at the Center's website, where you can also sign up for their fabulous newsletter on the role of media image in the public's perception of the nursing field-- highly recommended! You can find additional great info at www.NursingAdvocacy.org.

If you were in Sacramento, San Francisco, or Minneapolis, welcome to our community! Unfortunately, some ninety of your colleagues are waiting in vain for this newsletter, as , frankly, the handwriting of their own email address left something to be desired, and their enrollment bounced. Please help them out by Sending your colleagues this edition, so that they can directly subscribe. We appreciate your help!

Thanks for the feedback, all! Let's grow our passionate community- Send this fun newsletter to five of your colleagues so that they can be passionate about healthcare this summer!

The Sanity Store: Here's the summer self-care read you need!

"... as I finished I realized I was smiling and feeling good. I guess that reaction to a book 'says it all'."

Are you making the mistake of giving your all to medicine, and have little left over for yourself or your family?

Protect yourself against “compassion fatigue”. You’ll love the results you get when you enjoy Don’t Jettison Medicine, Dr. Raymond’s acclaimed workbook of thirty fun and practical exercises to prioritize your life challenges, achieve health and financial freedom, and refocus your caregiving passion. The book goes way beyond her core presentation of Rx For Sanity: Triage, Love and Laughter!

"Your book made me think (that's a good thing). Your book made me reflect and ask myself some personal and career questions (That's a very good thing). Mostly, however, your book made me smile and laugh out loud (an excellent Rx For Sanity). More importantly, the strategies were realistic and achieveable." ~Lynn Perry

How much is just one good idea worth to you? The cure can be in your hands for only $18.95.

Yes! Send mine now!

Bedside manners: Happy hospital hydration

D. Robinson of Cox South Springfield Mo. writes: "I work at Cox South, where we have a group of fabulous, team player, intelligent RN's, PCA's and Unit Secretaries, many of us a bit chubby. For three years we have intermittently had a water race at work, making marks on our cups for each 16 oz cup polished off. It was easy to drink the water when at the desk, but hard to find time for refills, so we waxed and waned in the race. Unable to exercise enough in the last year to actually lose weight and inches, I decided to drink large quantities of water. Then I found a wonderful 74 oz blue water jug to take to work." Ms Robinson describes how over the next week, her envious unit team members got their own colored jugs, christened the jugs with names like "Blue Bunny", "Firewater", and "Pink Passion", and became passionate about the water race on the unit. She laughs, "Of course we are all running for the bathroom... thank goodness there are two really close. We tease, laugh, work hard, walk fast alot, what could be better than that! I have not lost weight, but the upward trend has stopped, so I rejoice!" (edited for length)

What could be better? Team banter, laughter, and hydration all rolled into one! So what does your unit do to promote health and laughter? Email us at PLRaymond@RxForSanity.com.

Weird websites: Word puzzle maker- win big!

Can't get enough wordfind or crossword puzzles? Need a fun educational tool for your health team or patients? Check out www.WorldVillage.com, where I constructed this nifty 15 x 15 letter puzzle with 23 colonoscopy-related words embedded in it. You'll need to write it out so that the columns work (beyond my ability with this computer program).

Here's two to start with- diverticulosis is along the left side, where we usually find it, and you'll find hemorrhoids at the bottom, their natural habitat. The first person or unit (based on time stamp on email) to email me the correct 23 words (Subject Line: Colonoscopy Puzzle) will get a free autographed copy of Don't Jettison Medicine. Happy hunting!

D W Z E P O C S O N O L O C L
I I E M O R N A X A D Q O A F
V N V Q D A E I N Z Z N T Y D
E S P E R I D P A C S C S J J
R U Y E R N G R A T E P C D R
T F L O E T T I I R O R I R C
I F O P T S I P T I A A V M E
C L P O U S A C B A R T R G S
U A G A M T A K U R L I I L R
L T H D I U R B H L F S M O U
O I V O T I B E V Z I Z M V N
S O N E L L A T C G A T A E T
I N R L E N I T S E T N I G Q
S Y I B X U A B D O M E N S B
C V H E M O R R H O I D P Z C

If you enjoyed this edition, please Send it to a friend or colleague!

Health news you can use: Laugh your way to thinness

And here I thought, after surreptitiously watching 'America's Next Top Model', that they were all humorless twigs. However, inside they're all Mel Brooks. A study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Athens reports that genuine laughter burns calories. Based on observations of 45 pairs of friends, 17 pairs of females, 7 pairs of males, and 21 opposite-sex pairs, researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, found that the pairs burned more calories when laughing, compared with not laughing. The study pairs were fitted with individual heart rate monitors, isolated in a room designed so the scientists could measure how much oxygen the volunteers inhaled and how much carbon dioxide they exhaled, and shown 10-minute comedy clips interspersed with 5-minute intervals of grazing sheep. Noting the differences in oxygen and carbon dioxide before and during laughter, the study authors were able to discern a 20% increase in calories burned, or about 50 calories for an individual laughing for ten minutes. (from AMWA news)

Do the math- if you laugh ten minutes every day, you could be five pounds lighter by the end of a year! I wonder how much weight you can lose if you laugh while exercising?(USA Today 6/4/05)

 Please start sending my own subscription to Passionate HealthCare

Mock medical music

Want to eat better this summer? Trying to be compliant with the new confusing food pyramid? Sing along with Leo Jay's "Consider Your Health! (A Vegan's Plea)", a gem from the Am I Right song parody website:

If you have any MMM songs, share the lyrics with us at PLRaymond@RxForSanity.com, and we'll credit you!

If you enjoyed this edition, we encourage you to Send it to a friend or colleague!

It's time to go!

Gastroenterologist, broadcaster, speaker, and writer Patricia L. Raymond MD FACP FACG of Rx For Sanity is author of "Don't Jettison Medicine! Resuscitate Your Passion For The Career You Loved". DJM is a joyous workbook of thirty exercises that will help to resuscitate your passion for caregiving. It's available, along with her unique joke anthology "Colonoscopy: It'll Crack U Up!" at the Sanity Store at www.RxForSanity.com or at Amazon.com.

She is a frequent speaker and workshop leader at national and international conventions, teaching medical caregivers techniques of self-care. As host of NPR's regional live radio program, "Housecalls", she encourages our patients to step up and accept responsibility for their own health, every Friday at noon (EST). You can tune in for live streaming audio!

Attention Meeting Planners! Filling her schedule in 2005, but still available for winter holiday parties, Dr. Raymond brings her passionate message to "Health Yourself" to conventions, regional meetings and Grand Rounds. Keep her in mind- even if you have a last minute cancellation. Dr. Pat Raymond delivers high-content, interactive programs that are lots of fun. She gives away great door prizes. And, most importantly, she will make you look good. Call 757-547-0368, write PLRaymond@RxForSanity.com or visit www.RxForSanity.com for details on her programs!

Where to meet or hear Dr Raymond: When will she be in your neighborhood?

Atlanta GA 07/09-12 Pittsburg PA 09/11 Teleconference on EMR 09/13 Little Rock AR 09/17 Baltimore MD 09/28

Virginia Beach VA 10/01 New Jersey 10/15 (second hold NY) Honolulu, HA 10/28-11/3 Suffolk VA 11/14 Norfolk VA 11/??

Email for information on how to attend, or to 'piggy-back' your presentation into Dr. Raymond's travel plans, or even to take her to lunch or dinner (you drive, she'll buy)!

Tell a friend about our nifty main website, Rx For Sanity.com!	Or give your friends the whole poop about colonoscopy at ColonoscopyJoke.com!

What're you waiting for? Get Passionate HealthCare now!