Nice

If you work in a service industry, too often you hear more complaints than thanks. On the night before Thanksgiving, I had the pleasure of taking care of an elderly patient who arrived via ambulance with a complaint of difficulty breathing. Everything appeared routine - we applied oxygen, settled her in and was able to stabilize her fairly quickly.  Within the hour, her two daughters arrived and was able to provide additional medical history that was helpful when treating their mother.

As I was going interacting with their mother, one of the daughters asked me "Do all the nurses here enjoy their work?" I must admit, I was suspicious - was this person setting me up for something? So I replied "I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you that I enjoy what I do." The daughter then proceeded to tell me that they've had great experiences each time they are here in the ER. I thanked her for the compliment.

We admitted her mother to the hospital for observation that night - to ensure that she was indeed stabilized. As transport was moving her mother out of the ER, the daughter approached me and handed me a comment card that we have throughout the ER. I didn't get a chance to read it at first, but when I caught my breath and sat for a moment, I was in for a pleasant surprise. Here is the "Hospital Recognition Gram...." Note: I've used the word "Hospital" instead of the true hospital name in an attempt to keep the patient's identity anonymous.

Dear: (Name of CFO)

Department/Site: ER Department

"This hospital's nurses are the best. Check my mom's records and you will see - we should know. Never have we been treated rudely or unattended. The nurses in ER and Telemetry, no matter the hour or what day, are always kind and caring. The feeling they project is that they all love their job. This hospital must be a wonderful place to work."

My sincere thanks to this family for taking the time out of a stressful day and writing a brief note that was thoughtful and generous. 

12 Days of Thanksgiving...

New year's resolution... (I know it's only Thanksgiving)...blog more. I saw this the other day and I thought it would be fun to share...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

On the First Day..... We give thanks for the fresh turkey feast and its hot trimmings.
On the Second Day..... We bless the cold turkey sandwiches, sloshy cranberry sauce, and hard rolls.
On the Third Day..... We praise the turkey pie and vintage mixed veggies.
On the Fourth Day..... We thank the pilgrims for not serving bison that first time, or we'd be celebrating Thanksgiving until April.
On the Fifth Day..... We gobble up cubed bird casserole and pray for a glimpse of a naked turkey carcass.
On the Sixth Day..... We show gratitude (sort of) to the creative cook who slings cashews at the turkey and calls it Oriental.
On the Seventh Day..... We forgive our forefathers and pass the turkey-nugget pizza.
On the Eighth Day..... The word ''vegetarian'' keeps popping into our heads.
On the Ninth Day..... We check our hair to make sure we're not beginning to sprout feathers.
On the Tenth Day..... We hope that the wing meat kabobs catch fire under the broiler.
On the Eleventh Day..... We smile over the creamed gizzard because the thigh bones are in sight.
On the Twelfth Day..... We apologize for running out of turkey leftovers. And everybody says, "Amen!"