Shut it off at the door

Interestingly, I find it best to show absurdity by being absurd than by complaining. If you click on the "Doctor's Creed" link above you will have some good examples of this. Although, sometimes there is nothing better than a good old complaint session

Now, there is not a day that goes by that I work, when I do not say, "Lord, grant me the strength to not complain today." 

And so I enter the workplace with the full intent to be nothing but a non-complaining person. And, for the most part, when I am around the bosses, this is how I am. You are around your bosses, you lie up your ying yang. Every breathing treatment we do is useful and helpful. All of our patients come here because they are legitimately sick, when you know that's not true. Everything is good. Everything is great.

How are you doing today, your boss says. Your line is always: "I feel great."

And this is the same with your patients. You shut it off at the door. One of the first things we learn as respiratory therapists is that you SHUT IT OFF AT THE DOOR.  This mean that, whatever is bothering you, it does not bother you once you open the door to the patient's room. You will smile. You will love and care for that patient. You will talk about only happy things. You will educate. You will care. 

But, once your patients are cared for, and your boss is stuffed in his office with his stack of papers (or, in today's world, sitting in front of a computer or talking on the phone to his wife or otherwise out of your way, you can get on your way dealing with your job. And, Lord knows, a bunch of what we do is just plain, well, not productive. 

I had a friend once who said that all the senseless orders accomplish nothing more than keeping us in shape. And then, once we have a full workload in, we have another senseless order to complete. And this continues on and on until our feet hurt, our brain is dead, and we slop our burned out bodies into a chair to give report at the end of a long shift. 

So, turn it off at the door. So, you got a divorce. Your wife hates you. Your husband hates you. The world is going to shit. You may feel like shit, or not. Still, regardless how you feel, you turn it off at the door. 

And, if you are unhappy, write satire. Use satire. Have fun with it. That way you spin it in a positive way.