Horrorscopes

It was a few days early but I called and wished a friend of many years a happy birthday, better early than forget later, and it made me think of horoscopes, because she shared this day with an ex. These two in good and bad ways are different, like those born on my birthday, even in the same year, we are different.
We have all read some form of a horoscope, but most realizing they are just for entertainment, that is why they are located in that part of the paper, and not under news or current events. It's human nature to want to believe the good horoscope or fortune cookie and leave the bad ones on the table. But like life it is how we interpret what is said and our attitude towards it.

You see it in patients all the time, the positive upbeat ones do better than those negative people, this also plays into how they get treated. The Md's, nurses, therapists and all staff just tend to spend less time with those patients who are confrontational, pessimistic and like a bad wound seeping negative energy.
It reminded me of a now d/c'd comic, reminiscent of the Far Side, called Horrorscope. It says a lot into how we interpret events and words both current and past; do you want them to be negative or positive?

My Nursing Diagnosis

You ever catch yourself saying the wrong thing in front of a patient or their family? I have kicked myself for saying something in front of a patient who is unconscious that I would never say if they were even a little conscious. You get busy and stupid, the other day I needed to prep a patient for surgery, a new admission was coming and time management was a good concept at the beginning if the shift.

My nursing diagnosis would be brain deficit R/T neurons not firing secondary to lack of caffeine and time. 

Drug recalls

So many drugs are the next big savior then recalled for serious health concerns, so what future recalled drugs have you given your patients today?
I thought of this as I saw yet another drug warning and a possible recall for Avandia, which I have given to my patients numerous times over the years. They have known about the link to increased heart failure for three years, but did nothing. Kind of like the arthritis drugs Celebrex and Vioxx, that I've given patients, although Merck voluntarily pulled Vioxx. Instead of pulling Celebrex the FDA requires a warning label and many doctors say it is no more effective for most people than Advil. However it makes tons of money for its companies, go figure.

Super Sexy CPR

Almost time to renew my CPR, but my classes were never like this.
Yes it's an ad for lingerie, but on the other side this would be a good recruiting tool to draw more young men into the health care field. Sure beats the construction worker in the videos now.

Oakland Rioters what Exactly is Your Point?

The idiots appeared briefly last evening after a verdict in a trial was decided. Now when I say idiots I do not mean the people who peacefully protest and try to get something done through community organizing or political means.

 No these stupid people break windows of local businesses, spray paint buildings and looted a few stores, do they realize these are the same businesses that employ local people. How are you getting your point across when the businesses you loot are the Foot Locker, a jewelry store and a convenience store? That is plain greed not protesting.
This is the same mentality of people who riot after championship games, large political events or concerts. Watch the World Cup this weekend and see if they do the same kind of thing? (Go Netherlands).

The bad part is Oakland is a large city with some nice areas; it was iconic that the news showed kids playing in the park only blocks from these protesters. Within close proximity you can visit areas like Lake Merritt or Koreatown, then UC Berkeley and Pixar studios border the city on the north on the north side. Sad that a couple bad apples ruin it for others.

Loyalty Cards, Enough Already.

Loyalty cards, Club Cards, Point Cards, Reward Cards.
Running around doing errands yesterday and what is it with everybody wanting a card? First Hallmark asked if I had my card so I can earn points? Then to Ace Hardware and they asked if I had their card, the same thing at CVS, then Safeway's card club. (I do use Safeway's) However enough already, is there any chain store who does not have a card? Where do you want me to keep all these cards? There must be billions floating around out there.
It is so bad I do remember seeing an ad about a store bragging that it does not have a card, they just mark their prices low to start with.