[PHC for September 23, 2005: Riding the Ragged Edge]
Rx for Sanity ezine
Volume 4, Issue
12
September
23, 2005
Welcome to the September 2005 edition of P@ssionate
Healthcare! We've just redesigned PHC to make it a faster, fun
read! Please let us know how you like the new look!
To me, it's a
good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around.
That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me a hand?" You
can say, "Sorry, got these sacks." ~Jack Handy,
Deep Thoughts
Only six weeks ago, I put down my sacks, cancelled part of an office day,
and participated in a disaster drill with the Chesapeake Medical Reserve
Corps. Our ‘mission’ was the centralized distribution of mock
Cipro or Flagyl for a mass terrorist exposure of Chesapeake citizens to
the plague. We were to briskly prophylax the masses, while herding out
those exhibiting ‘symptoms’ to express under quarantine to
the local hospital, and not ‘kill’ anyone via anaphylactic
shock. The volunteer victims got into their roles, acting frantic, drunk,
pushy, or whiney. All tried their best to be ungrateful. We passed muster,
and our local Medical Reserve was ready for anything.
There's no disaster
that can't become a blessing, and no blessing that can't become a disaster
~Richard Bach
Fast forward to present.
My Medical Reserve was called up, and I eagerly submitted my papers to
serve in the gulf coast, and yet….nothing. From the reports that
I hear back from the front, they aren’t sure how to house, support,
or utilize the medical manpower, although there are many in acute medical
need. I am tempted to leap into my Prius (great mileage!) with meds and
drive down, just to see if there is anything a gastroenterologist can
do—certainly the hepatitis A, vibrio and dysentery from the foul
water should be peaking at this point.
Everybody talks
about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. ~Mark Twain
I, like many, am disappointed
with the chaotic handling of this medical emergency, and yet impressed
with the local and regional nurses and doctors actions in protecting their
patients to the best of their ability while providing care under onerous
conditions. And I realize that all HCPs bear responsibility to care for
our local community in a crisis, without awaiting central government assistance.
I always tried
to turn every disaster into an opportunity. ~John D. Rockefeller
Use
Katrina as your prod to volunteer for your local medical reserve corps,
so that you can handle your community’s urgent medical needs with
grace, speed, and your existing medical know-how. Be prepared to care.
Want
to share some sanity in your medical newsletter?
Dr Raymond's articles may be freely reprinted. More of Dr. Raymond's most
popular editorials are yours at Rx
For Sanity Articles and at DontJettisonMedicine.com
I had a little polyp
The doctor took it out
It's going to the lab now
I hope no more will sprout
Oh, polyp, polyp, polyp
the doctor took you out
Oh polyp, polyp, polyp
I hope no more will sprout
My polyp it was villous
It spread so far and wide
They cauterized it neatly
They snared from side to side
Oh
polyp, polyp, polyp
It spread so far and wide
Oh polyp, polyp, polyp
They snared from side to side
My polyp it was healthy
The lab said it's benign
And I'll be back in 5 years
To keep me feeling fine
Oh polyp, polyp, polyp
The lab said it's benign
Oh polyp, polyp, polyp
I'll keep feeling fine!
Submitted by:
Ellen Jacobs, RN, Ginny Sodano, RN and Dr. Joel Garsten of The Endoscopy
Unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Waterbury, CT
If
you have any MMM songs, share the lyrics with us at
PLRaymond@RxForSanity.com,
and we'll credit you!
A
‘Pat’ on the Back to…
Pam Nero,
director of Pennsylvania's regional SGNA course held last weekend in
Pittsburgh. Pam stepped up late to the plate to manage the course, and
designed a weekend with impressive content. I returned to my own endo
suite and gave a brief informal synopsis of the electrocautery presentation
-- I had never before heard the information over 16 years of training
and practice. Is your unit taping rings? Are you allowing people to
keep in their piercing studs on occasion? Is your doctor choosing cautery
settings? On what orientation is your pad placed? What are your pacemaker
and defibrillator policies? Beware: The wrong answer can cost your license.
Read more about electrosurgery at: http://www.endonurse.com/articles/1c1feat3.html
The Sanity
Store: Annual "Back to Rectum" Sale:
It's
September so that means it's time for our "Back to Rectum"
sale! I invite you to stock up on Crack U Up books or buttons, and humorously
lead your patients and friends to get their vital and life-saving colonoscopy.
Choose between:
Bulk purchase copies of Colonoscopy:
It’ll Crack U Up, a comprehensive yet pocket-sized
64 page colonoscopy joke anthology featuring the finest in inoffensive
bottom humor. Regularly $5 each, now you may bulk purchase these gems
at only $100 for 40 books - a 50% savings! Great for waiting rooms and
recovery areas as well as a gift!
Buckets
of Crack U Up Lapel Buttons- reminding strangers on the
street to flash their vertical smile for colon cancer screening. Get 100
pins for just $40, 250 pins for $92.50, or 500 pins for $175.
Place
your order online at the
Sanity Store! Simply request the number
of books
or buttons
you need! We’ll recalculate the charges honoring our sale pricing,
add the postage, and send you a corrected invoice!
Bedside
Manners: Put some ICE on it!
In the wake of Katrina and the
daily emergencies we all deal with in the land of medical care, let's
make ICE a standard. You see, paramedics often turn to a victim's cell
phone for clues to that person's identity if not carrying identification.
You can make their job and our own much easier with ICE.
ICE stands for In Case of
Emergency. If you add an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone
under ICE, with the name and phone number of your next of kin/medical
power of attorney, you can save paramedics and medical caregivers a
lot of time in the 'golden hour' of care.
Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it immediately. ICE
the cell phone of your parents, children, and yourself NOW!
A pirate off the coast of England spies a merchant ship in the distance.
“First mate,” he bellowed, “fetch me my red shirt!”
After slipping out of his full-sleeved white shirt into the red shirt,
he issued the order to attack.
Following the successful battle, the first mate timidly enquired, “Captain,
sir, why did you want your red shirt for the battle?”
“Because
I knew we would need to fight hand to hand to win our battle, and if
I was wounded in the battle, and blood stained my white shirt, the men
would lose the heart to fight.”
Later
that week, the timid mate ran to the Captain. “Captain, sir, we
see three British Man-o-War ships veering down upon us! What are we
to do?”
“First
mate,” he replied calmly, “fetch me my brown pants.”
Where's Dr.
Pat? Where
to meet or hear Dr Raymond: When
will she be in your neighborhood?
2005 Dates
Williamsburg VA 10/15
New Jersey 10/15
Honolulu, HA 10/28-11/3
Little Rock, AK 11/14
Norfolk, VA 11/15
Chesapeake VA 12/12
2006 Dates
Tuscon AZ 1/5-1/8
Austin TX 2/18
Tulsa OK 2/25
Rochester NY 3/11
Chesapeake VA 3/14
San Antonio TX 5/22
Chesapeake, VA 8/8
Albany NY (tentative) 10/14
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)!
Attention
Meeting Planners! Already
booking into 2006, 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!
Legal
Lingo: The information contained herein is not intended to serve as
medical diagnosis or a means to dispense medical advice. It is for information,
communication and educational purposes only. It is not to be used as
a substitute for seeking medical treatment or proper medical care.
