There have been times that I have absolutely loved my job. I've loved it so much in the past that I felt guilty when anyone else talked negatively about their jobs. I have spoken to graduate classes at UT and A&M about Organization Development and what I did in my job and have had people approach me after and say, "I want a job just like yours." You might have noticed the past tense? Yeah, I don't love my job so much at the moment. I don't hate it and sometimes I feel guilty cause so many people don't have jobs - including a bunch of people I had to lay off during cuts over the last three years. Oh hell, maybe I just feel guilty no matter what...but that's a topic for a different day.
Today I had a bunch of tests run at Austin Heart Hospital. Routine for me cause I had a cardiac episode 13 years ago. A cardiac episode is like a heart attack but without damage to the heart (yes, I felt guilty then too!). But I don't want to talk about that in this blog. I want to talk about a medical professional today who loves her job.
I met her at 7:00 AM when she started my IV (I hate needles). She did it relatively painlessly and after the nuclear technician came in and put me on a treadmill just to get a setting for the scan she checked it to make sure that it was working by pumping in some saline solution before the nuclear guy returned to pump some kind of radioactive dye into me. I was sent off to drink a cup and a half of water as fast as possible and wait for them to call me back. As I was walking out for water patient number two was coming in for the same set-up. When he came out to get water I was called back to start stage 2 and patient number three was called back to get his IV. You get the picture - there were about five of us in the cycle and we were efficiently moved through the process. In the middle of the test there is a 90 minute break for us patients to get some breakfast and I guess let the dye spread some more before the last scan but the technicians don't break - they start the next group of IVs...and so it goes.
After spending 15 minutes under a machine taking 360 degree photos of slices of my heart, I got on a treadmill for a regular treadmill stress test but with the addition of more radioactive stuff pumped in and then a scan while my heart rate was at 80% of its maximum. Before the dye when I was just walking on the treadmill I asked the technician how many of these tests they do in a day...
Her: 11
Me: Every day?
Her: Yes, 5 days a week. 11 nuclear scans a day.
Me: Does it get boring?
Her: No - it gets confusing sometimes because I have to say the same things over and over so that the patients know what is coming. Sometimes I can't remember who I've told what.
Me: But never bored?
Her: No, I'm loving this job. I love starting IVs because each person is different - you might not think so but there are an infinite number of vein configurations, skin thickness, fat or muscle, rolling veins, etc. I find that really exciting and I start 11 of those a day so I strive to have 11 successes where the IV is not only comfortable but when I remove it there's no bruise or hematoma just a tiny red dot. I love that feeling of success.
Me: Well I tend to be a real baby about needles and you did a great job. So you're telling me that when you take it out I'm not going to have a big bruise.
Her: That's what I strive for so I'll be really happy if that's the way it goes.
Me: And you'll have a happy customer - IF you think of us as customers.
Her: Well, I really don't. I think of you guys as people who need me and need the skills that I have - more like a friend who trusts me than a customer who's paying me.
Me: Cool. (Okay I was getting a little winded at this point so one word responses were called for!)
Her: The other thing that I love is when one of you does better on the treadmill than I thought you would do. You know we need 9 full minutes of EKG to have the best results and a lot of people I see look like they won't be able to do that long. Especially when they reach their target heart rate quickly like in a minute or two and that means six or seven minutes at a maximum heart rate - difficult for anyone. I set a goal in my head for each person and if they do better than that I feel really successful and really happy for them. It makes me love the job because my friends who came to me because I have skills they need achieved better than either of us thought they could.
Me: (Breathlessly) How much longer?
Her: You are two beats away from target.
After she removed the IV (tiny, barely visible dot) I was pondering that I need my butt kicked. If she can find that much satisfaction in that role I should look for ways to get excited about mine. I have that slight guilty feeling again...I'm just saying...
Today I had a bunch of tests run at Austin Heart Hospital. Routine for me cause I had a cardiac episode 13 years ago. A cardiac episode is like a heart attack but without damage to the heart (yes, I felt guilty then too!). But I don't want to talk about that in this blog. I want to talk about a medical professional today who loves her job.
I met her at 7:00 AM when she started my IV (I hate needles). She did it relatively painlessly and after the nuclear technician came in and put me on a treadmill just to get a setting for the scan she checked it to make sure that it was working by pumping in some saline solution before the nuclear guy returned to pump some kind of radioactive dye into me. I was sent off to drink a cup and a half of water as fast as possible and wait for them to call me back. As I was walking out for water patient number two was coming in for the same set-up. When he came out to get water I was called back to start stage 2 and patient number three was called back to get his IV. You get the picture - there were about five of us in the cycle and we were efficiently moved through the process. In the middle of the test there is a 90 minute break for us patients to get some breakfast and I guess let the dye spread some more before the last scan but the technicians don't break - they start the next group of IVs...and so it goes.
After spending 15 minutes under a machine taking 360 degree photos of slices of my heart, I got on a treadmill for a regular treadmill stress test but with the addition of more radioactive stuff pumped in and then a scan while my heart rate was at 80% of its maximum. Before the dye when I was just walking on the treadmill I asked the technician how many of these tests they do in a day...
Her: 11
Me: Every day?
Her: Yes, 5 days a week. 11 nuclear scans a day.
Me: Does it get boring?
Her: No - it gets confusing sometimes because I have to say the same things over and over so that the patients know what is coming. Sometimes I can't remember who I've told what.
Me: But never bored?
Her: No, I'm loving this job. I love starting IVs because each person is different - you might not think so but there are an infinite number of vein configurations, skin thickness, fat or muscle, rolling veins, etc. I find that really exciting and I start 11 of those a day so I strive to have 11 successes where the IV is not only comfortable but when I remove it there's no bruise or hematoma just a tiny red dot. I love that feeling of success.
Me: Well I tend to be a real baby about needles and you did a great job. So you're telling me that when you take it out I'm not going to have a big bruise.
Her: That's what I strive for so I'll be really happy if that's the way it goes.
Me: And you'll have a happy customer - IF you think of us as customers.
Her: Well, I really don't. I think of you guys as people who need me and need the skills that I have - more like a friend who trusts me than a customer who's paying me.
Me: Cool. (Okay I was getting a little winded at this point so one word responses were called for!)
Her: The other thing that I love is when one of you does better on the treadmill than I thought you would do. You know we need 9 full minutes of EKG to have the best results and a lot of people I see look like they won't be able to do that long. Especially when they reach their target heart rate quickly like in a minute or two and that means six or seven minutes at a maximum heart rate - difficult for anyone. I set a goal in my head for each person and if they do better than that I feel really successful and really happy for them. It makes me love the job because my friends who came to me because I have skills they need achieved better than either of us thought they could.
Me: (Breathlessly) How much longer?
Her: You are two beats away from target.
After she removed the IV (tiny, barely visible dot) I was pondering that I need my butt kicked. If she can find that much satisfaction in that role I should look for ways to get excited about mine. I have that slight guilty feeling again...I'm just saying...
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