Nurse Ratched’s Place

It’s been almost a month since my last post and I want to thank everyone for their comments and emails. You helped me over the first major hurdle of my new life. I’ve been getting a lot of advice from my friends and family about how to move on and find happiness again. Some of my coworkers are telling me I should start dating. I don’t think so, but I told them to feel free to give my name and phone number out to any military general that they happen to know. I have standards, but I’m not totally picky. I’d go out with a Lt. General just as long as he looks like General Wesley Clark. Others have suggested that I take a long vacation. One of my readers, who is a nurse from my home state of Iowa, sent me this post card from her last travel destination. Bonnie, thank you for thinking about me while you were on your trip.

Meet the nurses of the Glore Psychiatric Museum, St. Joseph, Missouri. According to their website, the museum chronicles the 130-year history of what was once known as the “State Lunatic Asylum No. 2.” It sounds exciting doesn’t it? Trust me, it does if you’re a psychiatric nurse. The picture is from the early 1900s and shows what psych nurses were wearing back then. The armband signifies that they worked for the State Hospital No. 2, in St. Joseph. Dear Lord! I can’t imagine struggling with patients while wearing that get up. I’d be exhausted. No wonder it looks like those nurses are holding each other up.

Bonnie also sent me a nursing job description dated 1887. In addition to caring for fifty patients, nurses had to perform these tasks:

Sweep the floors of your ward daily. Dust the furniture and windowsills.

Maintain an even temperature in your ward by bringing in a scuttle of coal at the beginning of each workday.

Light is important for observing the patient’s condition. Therefore each day fill the kerosene lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks.

Wash all ward windows once a week.

The nurse’s notes are important to the physician. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to your individual taste.

Day duty nurses will report every day at 7 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. except on Sunday on which day you will be off from 12 noon until 2 p.m.

Graduate nurses in good standing with the Director of Nurses will be rewarded with an evening off each week for courting purposes, or two evenings, if you regularly go to church.

Each nurse should lay aside from her wages a goodly sum of her earnings. This is for her benefit during her declining years so she will not become a burden. For example, if you earn thirty dollars a month, you should save fifteen.

Any nurse who smokes, uses rouge, uses liquor in any form, gets her hair done at a beauty parlor, frequents dance halls, or who engages in levity on Sunday, will give the Director Nurses good reason to suspect her worth, intentions, and integrity. If her misconduct in such an unseemly and unladylike manner is brought to the attention of the Hospital Administration, she will be asked for her resignation.

The nurse who performs her labors, serves her patients and doctors faithfully and without fault for five years, will be rewarded by the Hospital Administration with a 5 cent pay day increase, proving there are no hospital debts that are outstanding.

Free soap is provided for personal cleanliness. Its use is mandatory.

This post begins with an ending. On February 27th, 2010 my beloved husband died in his sleep. His life ended and, in a way, mine did, too. Widowhood is a lonely word with a dark meaning, but life goes on. A new life begins when your old one ends.

Sorry I’ve been away so long. I missed my blog but I just didn’t know where to begin. I feel like I’ve just moved onto a new planet called Widowhood. Everything is different here. I’m walking on a landscape where everything is out of place. I’m filling out unfamiliar legal forms almost everyday, and I have to carry David’s death certificate in my handbag everywhere I go. Daily tasks are overwhelming. Cooking? What’s that? David cooked all of our meals at home so now I’m eating out. I feel insecure and that’s just not me. I don’t like living on this planet.

Then there’s the whole thing about going back to work. I was really nervous about that part because I’m a mental health nurse and it’s not good form to fall apart in front of your patients. I went back to work five days after David’s death. My boss and coworkers were very supportive. No one pressured me into coming back to work so soon, but it’s helping me feel normal again.

I want to thank my friends and family members for their love and support during my transition to planet Widowhood. I especially want to thank my coworkers. They are working with a menopausal nurse who is in mourning. Good luck and God speed guys. I’ll try not to be a pain in your backside.

I wonder why these nursing students are smiling. They are hanging out in their room at the nurses’ dormitory. Don’t they look sweet and demure? That’s probably because the housemother was standing in the room. I bet these ladies could tell you some intriguing stories about what it’s like to live in the dormitory, but there are some things best left unsaid. Silence is golden, especially when your housemother is within earshot.

I lived in a nursing dormitory while I attended a three year nursing school in the Midwest. I won’t tell you what state it was in because I don’t want to incriminate anyone. Every resident was expected to follow the dormitory rules. The number one rule was that no man could step foot in the inner sanctum of the dormitory. That meant that no males could go past the housemother’s desk. Suitors and other male visitors were only allowed to visit in the parlor under the watchful eye of the housemother. She was a tough chaperon. There was to be no hanky panky when young men came calling. Few males were ever allowed past the housemother’s desk. Exceptions were made when a girl needed help carrying heavy objects, like suitcases, up the staircase. The housemother walked the gentleman up the steps and yelled, “MAN ON THE FLOOR” when they reached the top of the staircase. Then she escorted him to the girl’s room, and then back down the steps again. In three years my father and my brother were the only men who ever saw the inside of my room.

We weren’t angels. Sometimes we broke the rules when the housemother wasn’t looking. On one occasion a young man made it all the way up into a girl’s room. He crawled in a third story window via the fire escape on a dark and snowy night. The boy was half way up the fire escape when he slipped on a patch of ice. He started to fall and then, from out of no where, a beam of light guided him up the rest of the steps. A hospital security guard who was watching the escapade switched on his flashlight when the boy slipped. He told the young suitor to get out of his girlfriend’s room before the housemother woke up in the morning.

Maybe that’s why those three nursing students are smiling. There’s a man under their bed.

Google has an identity disorder. They think that they are God. Some of you may remember how Google ripped me off. Words cannot express my feelings about the event, but this video can. Up yours, Google.

The ritual circle at change of shift. It’s called “giving report.” A photographer captured this image of student nurses standing at attention as they receive report from the off going shift. They are receiving report under the watchful eye of their instructor. Trust me. The students were quizzed about their patients after report. What the camera didn’t capture was the stampede of nurses running towards the elevator after their shift was over. It’s amazing how nurses catch their second wind when it’s time to go home.

Giving report to the next shift is an art and it can take years to acquire the proper technique. Giving report requires good communication skills, diplomacy, and a sense of humor. Unit comedians deliver the best report. They use their witty sense of humor to keep the listeners’ attention. Diplomacy is essential. You can’t tell it from this picture, but things get really loud in the report room. Nurses eat and drink during report. They also gossip while you are trying to talk, and professionalism dictates that you cannot tell chattering nurses to “shut the hell up.” Then there’s the blame game. People get steamed when the off going shift passes things off to the next shift. This is known as dumping. Things get contentious when there is even a hint of dumping. Chill out people. Nursing is 24-7, but here’s a word of warning: God help the nurse who continually passes his or her work off to the next shift. Nurses are brutal.

I hope the teacher in this picture gave her students a heads up about the realities of nursing report. Things look too calm and orderly. This picture was staged.

Dr. Val Jones from Better Health is making an announcement. She, Dr. Mike Sevilla (AKA: Dr. Anonymous), and
Dr. Nick Genes will be offering live coverage of the biggest tech conference: HIMSS in Atlanta, March 1-4. This conference is huge. Thirty thousand people are going to be there, and you can follow along. Dr. Val and her Better Health team members will interview over 40 different exhibitors and stream their interviews live via UStream. Have a question? Send it to Dr. Val during the event. Dr. Val will also be reporting for ABC News, DC via Skype from the convention floor on Wednesday, March 3rd at 10:50. Let’s get this party started! Here’s a sneak peak:

Here’s the scoop: Stay tuned to the Better Health blog for more information about HIMSS coverage… Or meet Dr. Val at HIMSS during her “Meet The Bloggers” panel discussion.

Your social media guide to HIMSS:

1. Watch live interviews of exhibitors, conducted by physicians on UStream. Tune in to Dr. Val’s UStream coverage (beginning at 9:30am each morning at HIMSS, March 1, 2, and 3rd). Click here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-from-himss-what-s-hot-in-health-it

2. Participate in real time via Twitter. Follow @drval and tweet your questions to her during the interviews. She may ask the interviewees YOUR questions LIVE. To follow Dr. Val, go to: http://www.twitter.com/drval or follow the Twitter hashtag #HIMSS10 during the event to see tweets from UStream attendees and others.

3. Meet the bloggers at HIMSS. There will be a special panel discussion with Dr. Val and other popular health IT bloggers scheduled in the HIMSS Social Media Center. Check here for times: http://www.himssconference.org/education/socialmedia.aspx

4. Watch Dr. Val Reporting from HIMSS on ABC News (DC only): Tune in to News Channel 8 at 10:50am, Wednesday March 3rd to get Dr. Val’s take on the hottest technology presented at HIMSS. Dr. Val will join ABC News’ Dave Lucas via Skype.

5. Follow the Better Health blog team. Better Health contributors – nurses, doctors, and health writers – will offer feedback via their blogs on HIMSS events, speakers, and exhibitors. You’ll see their blog posts on their individual blogs and also at Better Health. Flip cam clips of HIMSS events (captured by one of the Better Health MDs at HIMSS) will be featured as well.

6. Blog Talk Radio: HIMSS Wrap Up With Dr. Val and Dr. Anonymous. Tune in to the Dr. Anonymous show at 8pm ET, Wednesday, March 3rd to hear final impressions about the show. Call in to discuss the event with hosts, or join the chat room. Find the show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctoranonymous

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Better Health’s UStream interviewee line up will be published on the Better Health blog on Friday, February 26th. Requests for interview are scheduled by Dr. Val Jones through the HIMSS media list – which is distributed to exhibitors at HIMSS. Most interview slots have already been booked, availability is limited.

These young ladies are prancing back to their nursing dormitory after a snowstorm. They look really happy to finally make their exit from the hospital. I identify with these girls because I got snowed in at my hospital for eight days last week. It was tedious, but I used my time constructively. I studied human nature.

People go through three phases when a snowstorm starts bearing down. The first phase is giddiness. I saw at lot of people become gleeful when the first snowflakes started hitting the sidewalk. They became delusional and said things like, “Look at the snow. It’s so beautiful!” People, snow is NOT beautiful. It is wet and cold. No one enjoys digging their car out from a five-foot snowdrift. The next phase of a snowstorm involves a strange survival instinct that compels people to rush to their local grocery store and buy copious amounts of milk, toilet paper, and comfort food like corn chips. I’ve never been about to understand this phenomenon, but I’m sure that grocery store chains love it. Panic in the air indicates that people are entering into the final phase of their snowstorm response. The snowstorm is in full gear and everyone wants to leave work and go home. The walls start closing in, and those with a lesser constitution make a break for the door. I understand that some people can’t deal with their claustrophobia, but please don’t yell, “You can reach me on my Blackberry,” as you run out the door. That’s just makes you look pathetic.

Trust me, it’s no fun getting stuck at work. Here are some snowstorm survival tips that I’ve learned over the years:

Pack a big suitcase, and bring in laundry detergent in case you run out of clean clothes.

Bring your pillows and blankets from home. Some hospitals expect stranded healthcare workers to sleep on army cots. Sleeping with comfy cozy items will make the experience more bearable.

Pack your cell phone charger. I packed my iPhone charger and someone was always using it.

Bring cash! Not every hospital gives free food to their staff, and don’t forget to bring change for the vending machines.

Pack comfort foods like corn chips. Hopefully your hospital won’t run out of toilet paper.

Portrait by Ansel Adams, 1943
My mother told me to never talk about religion or politics in public. She said it is impolite, but I have to speak up. The woman in this picture is Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi. Look at her closely. Nurse Hamaguchi is the face of racial profiling.

Nurse Hamaguchi was born in Long Beach, California, and lived in Los Angeles and Redondo Beach. She completed two years at Los Angeles City College majoring in pre-nursing. She then completed her nursing education at Los Angeles General Hospital. Her ambition was to become a public health nurse. She told Ansel Adams, the famous photographer who took her picture, that she was interested in human beings. She enjoyed bridge, tennis, horseback riding, and reading. Then, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese Americans were uprooted from their homes and sent from Los Angeles to Manzanar relocation center in northeastern California. Adams met Nurse Hamaguchi at Manzanor. She told him, “Only after evacuation have I come to realize the false sense of security I enjoyed prior to the war.” Eventually, thousands of Japanese Americans were forced into ten relocation centers in Califonia, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas.

Fast forward to the 21st Century. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) announced to the Senate Armed Services Committee that he believes in racial and ethnic profiling. He’s not alone. A new Gallup World Religion Survey found that Muslims face more bias in the United States compared to other religions. According to the survey, Americans are more than twice as likely to express prejudice against Muslims than they are against Christians, Jews or Buddhists, and nearly two-thirds of Americans say they have little or no knowledge of Islam. Still, just like Sen. Inhofe, a majority of Americans dislike the Muslim faith. I understand why this is happening, but racial and ethnic profiling is morally wrong. It hurts innocent people, and it won’t keep us safe. U.S. Muslims who feel alienated are more vulnerable to radical ideas.

Nurse Hamaguchi was viewed as a potential terrorist in 1943. Look at her again. Her ghost haunts us. I hope our country can learn the lessons from the past.

This nurse looks like she’s charting, but she might be fooling you. Perhaps she’s writing down her New Year’s resolutions. I’ve noticed a lot of nurses doing that around this time of the year when they are at work. The number one resolution during a bad shift is “get a new job now!” Too bad this nurse doesn’t have a computer to help her with her job search. My web guy, Shane, gave me a heads up about what’s happening at All Health Jobs and All Nursing Jobs. Shane has created a coupon code just for Nurses Ratched’s Place that anyone can use to post jobs for free on All Health Jobs and All Nursing Jobs through the end of this week to jumpstart their 2010 hiring. Just enter coupon code NurseRatched at checkout, and post as many jobs as you like. And if you are sick and tired of your old job, go look for a new one at All Health Jobs and All Nursing Jobs.

Personally, I’m really happy with my job, but I’m thinking about doing something wild and crazy for the new year. Did you know that there are job opportunities overseas for American nurses? I’m thinking about transferring to a hospital in Europe for a couple of years. I’ve never been out of the United States before, and I’m not getting any younger. Seriously, I think it’s now or never. Time to get a passport before I change my mind. I’ll keep you posted.

I found this video over at Diary of a Trauma Nurse. The video was done at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Put your dancing shoes on. It’s time to boogie!