Judges and critics are needed, but they sure are annoying

I'm the kind of person, and I think many of my readers are probably the same way, who likes to go through life happy.  I like to go about my business, doing the things I enjoy doing, or doing things the way I enjoy doing them (which usually involves shortcuts), without having to worry about being judged and criticized.

Surely a little judging and criticism is good (it keeps people like me in line), but it's not good when there is too much of it.  And, yes, a little fear is good.  When you fear people that means you respect them.  However, if you are so afraid of someone, mainly because they are a judge and a critic, that you can't stand them to be around, then this is a problem.

Surely complainers and judges mean well.  They feel they have the solutions.  The point of it is they want things to be done right.  But what they often don't realize is that there are different definitions of "done right," with each person having his or her own definition.  Complainers and judges basically want things done the way they think is right. What they forget is there is more than one way to skin a cat. 

When you get to the point that you are so picky, and so much of a judge and criticizer, that no one wants you to be around, you are the problem not the solution.  It's time for you to mellow out and smell the roses, as opposed to complaining they were over watered.

RT Cave Holiday Schedule sucks

Okay, so enough of the archaic poetry. That's one of the nice things about being writer, publisher and editor of my own blog: I get to change the pace when I want.

Another reason for blogging, aside from educating, is complaining. That's what I feel like doing today. Yes, another change of pace.

Complaining is something that is frowned upon the the greater light, but complaining can also be constructive if done in a professional way. I certainly cannot complain without people thinking I'm a grump, so I usually don't do it.

My wife, on the other hand, is the squeaky wheel who usually gets the grease. As I've written before, she has this disposition where she usually gets what she wants. Well, it certainly helps that she has a better personality than me, and she's far better looking.

When I complain all I get is ugly stares, and people tend to think I'm just a grouch.

I like to look at constructive complaining in this light: I'M NOT COMPLAINING, I'M MERELY STATING THE FACTS.

That's true, but people don't always see it that way. And, most important, most people don't want to hear that they are wrong, stupid, idiotic, and, well, wrong.

As is the case for much hospital policy. We have a policy here at Shoreline where the night before the holiday is considered the holiday. Whereas, Thanksgiving is not the holiday.

Yes, you read that right. According to hosp. policy, we get paid from 7 p.m. of the night before Thanksgiving, and the night of Thanksgiving is not considered the holiday at all.

So this year is my holiday off, and I actually work the holiday. I work Thanksgiving night. Does that sound stupid or what? Yes, I'm complaining. And you can see I'm not very tactful, which is why I don't do this very often.

Thanksgiving actually falls on a day I was regularly scheduled to work, so the boss left me on that day EVEN THOUGH IT'S MY FRICKIN HOLIDAY OFF. So, while every other person is at home having fun with their families, I have to go to work, EVEN THOUGH IT'S MY FRICKIN HOLIDAY OFF.

Christmas works out fine. We get time and a half on Christmas Eve, and that is the time that everyone wants off to be with their family. The 4th of July is the other holiday where our policy does not work.

On the 4th we get paid time and a half to work the 3rd of July 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. The argument for holiday pay the night before, is that it covers more hours of the actual holiday.

My argument is this: PEOPLE SHOULD GET TIME AND A HALF ON THE NIGHTS WHEN NOBODY ELSE WANTS TO WORK, NOT ON THE NIGHT THAT COVERS THE MOST HOLIDAY HOURS.

Think of it this way. Nothing ever happens on July 3rd. There are no fire works, and there is no parades. So, if you are working the holiday on the 3rd, you can go home and sleep until noon, and still make it to the parade, and still go to the fireworks that night. In that sense, it's better to work the holiday of the fourth than have it off.

On the 4th, when everybody is out having fun is the day that should be considered the holiday.

But, for whatever reason, I have been unable to convince my place of employment of this. I am forced to keep my mouth shut. Last Christmas I complained about this, and the boss got mad about me.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I THINK I MIGHT GET OFF NIGHTS AS SOON AS THE OPPORTUNITY IS OFFERED TO ME. Otherwise, I love working nights.

It just seems that the greatest tension of the night shifters comes around holiday time, convincing the bosses that, hey, this is my holiday off, why the heck am I working the holiday?

More tomorrow.

The winners and pinheads of hospital life

Some people are really great, and they make life easier for all of us. They are the winners. However, some people make life worse for all of us, and they are the pinheads. Here is a pithy list.

Winners: Dennis Quaid for not suing the nurse and hospital who overdosed their Twins with Heparin. Yes the nurse screwed up, but the Quaids weren't out to destroy them, nor to seek their money. To me that's a classy act.

Pinheads: Baxter Health care Corp for failure to change the labeling on similar looking bottles but different doses of Heparin, even after three kids died from receiving the wrong dose for this reason.

Winners: The few politicians who seek to to put an end to frivolous medical lawsuits.

Pinheads: Politicians who are more intersted in getting re-elected than doing what's right.

Winners: Prescription drug companies for continuously gambling millions of dollars researching for new medicines for today's many illnesses.

Pinheads: Any politician who's out to punish prescription companies for making a profit when they do succeed. They do this sometimes by proposing price controls. This may give the poor cheaper drugs right now, but it would stymie the incentive to risk further money on new drugs, especially considering the cost of a new drug reaching commercialization are 6000 to 1, & costs 10-20 years of research and $15-20 billion.

Winners: Medical workers who keep up on their research.

Pinheads: Medical workers who don't keep up on their research.

Winners: The people who do medical research.

Pinheads: Doctors who believe every study out there, especially the ones done by pharmaceutical companies on their own new drugs. Xopenex rings a bell here. Does it really have fewer side effects as Albuterol. Some new studies say no.

Winners: The makers of Xopenex. Hey, it's a new option, and options are good.

Pinheads: The makers of Xoponex for getting us foolish RTs and DRs to buy their product by way of our stomachs and fancy restaurants.

Winners: Hospitals who give Christmas bonuses.

Pinheads: Hospitals that are cheap at Christmas time.

Winners: RTs who volunteer to work overtime to make life easier for everyone else.

Pinheads: RTs who only help out when it's convenient for themselves.

Winners: People who do the scheduling and put up with all the whiners.

Pinheads: Bosses that require mandatory overtime. I refuse to work for them.

Winners: Volunteers

Pinheads: Greedy bosses

Winners: Fun to work with people.

Pinheads: Complainers.

Winners: Dr's for writing Doctor's orders. You guys are awesome.

Pinheads: Dr's for writing doctors orders. Some of these orders are just plain quacky.

Respiratory Therapy School: What you need to know about complainers inside the RT Cave

I'm going to expound here on RT complainers, however, it's hard to talk about complainers without sounding like one myself. Likewise, it's hard to discern between constructive complaining and non-constructive complaining.
I've had to rewrite this a few times with that in mind.

Before you read the following, I want you to know that I really do like my job as a respiratory therapist. And, I think this is an excellent job for people to go into, especially if you want to take care and treat patients with respiratory illnesses.

It's a really great job. At times it can be challenging. At times your adrenaline will be rushing especially when you have a critical patient, and what you do or don't do could determine whether or not that person lives or moves on to meet his maker.

Many times you will be able to work with doctors determining what route to take in caring for a patient. And, of course, sometimes doctors might not want your help. Okay, so it's that way with any job.

I think the job of RT is a great job for anyone who wants a job and needs to start working right away. That's why I chose this field. You get to start working as soon as you start school. Then, as you become certified and registered, you get your pay raises.

This is an ideal job for people who want to use RT as a stepping stone to moving onto other medical related fields, such as PA or DR. To be honest, I think all doctors should be RTs first. This is an ideal job for former stay at home mom's, construction workers or others who want an easier life, and asthmatics who want to work in a clean environment.

Basically, this is a great job for anyone who wants to start a career later in life and wants a guaranteed return on his investment. This is a great job for anyone who wants a career you can take with you no matter where in the world you live.

When you start working you may meet the complainers. I was lucky and didn't meet them until my third student rotation. I later found out that they often go into hiding when RT students are around.

You know them, because they are abounding in every profession. Don't let them get you down. Because you know that your job is what you make it.

You also should know that if they really hated their jobs they could easily get another one. You might tell them that at some point, but then they'd complain about you too. The truth is, they don't want to change careers. They are content with what they are doing, they simply find release in complaining.

They do not want to change jobs for reasons I stated earlier, that this is probably their third chosen career, they are getting up in age and don't want the stress of changing careers again, or they have families and don't have the resources or time to go back to school. Those are the most common reasons.

Herewith, I am going to make an attempt at explaining the RT complainer to you, because they are different from complainers of other career paths. Your teachers in RT school will not tell you any of this, so I am.

I've read a few posts this past week about RTs complaining too much about their jobs. In the post I linked to above I stated that about 60% of RTs are complainers, and someone corrected me by stating that she thinks it's more like 80%. Either way, they are abounding.

One of the biggest complaints I hear is: "What's the point of increasing my RT knowledge when doctors don't let me use it?" This is what I will focus mostly on in this post. I will not delve into "the hospital admins make decisions regarding us without consulting us," or "you'd think at a hospital they'd at least have good health insurance." I won't go there.

We'll focus on RT knowledge. As I stated above, greatest complaint regarding RTs is the result of them being over educated for the job.

Of course, you know why you should always try to increase your knowledge, because if the opportunity presents itself you want to be prepared. If a doctor is looking for ideas about what to do for a patient, you can say, "Hey, I read somewhere that..." He will be impressed with you.

The biggest advantage to improving your education is that if the career opportunity presents itself, and you are prepared and ready for it, you can apply. Now I've never had such opportunity, but if it ever comes up I will be ready.

But what's the deal with this "what's the point of learning" complaining?

The bottom line here is this: Most of us RTs feel that we are overqualified for our jobs. We have 2-plus years of education plus whatever experience we've accumulated on the job plus knowledge we obtain through continued education, all of this making us specialists in the respiratory diseases and how to fix them.

And yet, in many hospitals, we are not allowed to use this knowledge because many doctors do not want to give away any of their autonomy.

I will give you a few examples from my own personal experience.

1. Non-constructive complaining:

I feel absolutely stupid going into a room of a post-op patient with no signs of respiratory distress and telling that person I have to give a breathing treatment. There is no reason for it, and it's frustrating.

Many RTs bicker about this. It's best to keep your mouth shut.

2. Non-constructive complaining:

When I have a ton of therapies, and 70% of them are not indicated, and I still have to do every one of the non-indicated treatments while making sure my treatments on my SOB patients are never late, while still taking care of ER and STAT therapies, this can be taxing on me. It can cause unnecessary burnout.

I describe this in a recent post, "R. By the time I got to work I was already burned out, and I took it out on my co-worker. Not a good idea.

We all have our opinions, and the chronic complainers will let us know about them on a regular basis. But when I complain, it's usually when I'm burned out.

3. Constructive complaining and non-constructive complaining combined:

What if we have one patient who is SOB, and I know I have the cure for his ailments right in my pocket, but I have to wait a half hour for the doctor to respond. I have to stand idly by while my patient suffers. As a fellow asthmatic, I can't stand this part of the job.

I think I am justified in not being happy about this.

I find myself grumbling and griping, "Why hasn't the doctor called back yet?"

My solution to this problem is what I call my "Act now and apologize later protocol." I have never been written up for doing this. Never. So that solves that complaint. However, isn't this something that should be complained about.

This example could possible by non-constructive, if I grumble and gripe too much.

4. Constructive complaint:

In "Grumpiness stays in the RT cave" I detail another complaint that's really not a bad thing to complain about. I write about a nurse who called for a treatment on a patient when the treatment really wasn't indicated.

While most times I keep my mouth shut and just do the treatment, sometimes I like to take the time to educate the nurses. While most times they want to learn, sometimes they take it as a complaint. And, if I'm burned out, I probably come across as I'm complaining. So, I've learned it's best just to keep my mouth shut even in these situation.

5. Non-constructive complaint:

Using the above example, we know that educating is not complaining. However, when you have to do this on a daily basis, particularly over and over to the same nurse, it can become frustrating and can lead to non-constructive complaining. Most nurses, however, want to learn and will listen.

If the nurse is really busy, she might not want to hear it. This can get frustrating in itself. More than likely in this case, she just want you to make sure you take care of the patient, regardless of whether the treatment is needed or not. And, many times, RNs and doctors determine that giving a treatment is better than doing nothing, even when it's not needed.

In cases like this, I've learned to keep my mouth shut as, I'd presume, most RTs have.

6. Non-constructive complaining:

I will use all the above examples here. While RT complainers excel at this, all other RTs will complain about just about anything from time to time. It can't be helped and it's a fact of life. (If a content does this, you know you're in trouble.)

7. Constructive complaining:

I always tell my friends that I'm not complaining, I'm simply stating a fact. And, when I show people my list of 'olins (listed at bottom of blog), or I tell them some of my RT humor (plastered all over my blog), I think this is the best way to complain. Just by thinking of all this stuff we have to be learning something. So long as we don't go overboard, I think this is the best way to let off steam.

Well, at least I think so.

I can probably think of more types of complaining, but my mind is strapped at this time.

Overall, the greatest complain is regarding non-indicated breathing treatments. If you are a true professional, you would understand explaining them away like this:

When doctors and nurses call me for therapies I feel are not indicated, I like to think they simply want an RT to be assessing the patient QID or Q4 just to be on the safe side. That's not such a bad thing, is it? (It is if it leads to burnout.)

If you're still not content with non-indicated therapies, I suppose Taylor on Kid Nation says it best: "Deal with it."

The best way of dealing with the grumbling and griping is to continue to work toward impressing doctors and nurses by generating respect with them by always staying on the cutting edge of knowledge.

Likewise, if we do not have protocols already, we must study the protocols of other hospitals, continue the education process (as we do on these blogs), and work, slowly and patiently if needed, to get them implemented. Will this get rid of all non-indicated therapies, probably not.

By continuously working to better ourselves, we strain away our desire to complain. Most important, we know that by our complaining we only cause other professionals (Drs, nurses) to stray further away from us. They hate complainers. This is the best way to not make progress, as you can read about at Snotjockey's Revisited.

And you will be reminded many times that "the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence."

You will find complainers everywhere you work. I was a journalist once, and they were there; 80% of them. I was a hotel desk clerk once, and they were there; 80% of them. I worked in the fast food business once, and they were there; 80% of them. It never ends.

Still, if you've set foot in any RT Cave, you know that RT complainers are not interested in making the RT Cave a better place, because deep down they are simply content to keep things the way they are. For reasons I listed above, they know they will be trapped in the RT Cave for the rest of their working lives.

To make themselves feel better, they gripe and groan. The rest of us are forced to take the brunt of it.

However, if you can stand to listen to a complainer, they are very intelligent people. As you know, they complain mostly because they are overqualified for the job. I really think that's true. I've obtained tons of material for this site by listening to complainers. They are up on their knowledge.

It's just too bad they don't use all that energy and focus it in on progress.

Here's a thought before I end for the day: "If it weren't for complainers, nothing would ever get accomplished in this world." I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "The squeaky wheel always gets the grease."