2025- Scammy Scamerton called Trump Rx

Let me get this straight:
The president shakes down the pharmaceutical companies, like a mob boss.
The president simultaneously hikes tariffs on medications brought in to the country to triple digits.
The president then announces Eurka! Drug prices will now be falling, no one has ever seen drug prices fall four digits before!
The president then announces that one of the pharmaceutical companies has bit and will be lowering THEIR drug prices.
The president then delays the triple-digit tariffs to allow for “bargaining” time. This is another name for a shakedown.
The president announces a Trump Rx. This is where you give him all of your very personal information, including diagnoses, and current medications, and upcoming prescriptions. This is so your prescriptions, from this one company, are cheaper.

but think what it will cost you in the future.

You are denied a promotion because you are deemed too fat. At least the president thinks so.

The prescription that you need is only $2 less. But hey, the government can have your privileged information. And it use it to line their own pockets.

The prescription that you need now has you on a governmental list. What is the list for? Shh, spoilers.

The prescription that you need is available at the “most favored nation price”. You see little difference between the the price on Good Rx, and that on Trump Rx.

This is so fucking dangerous. I want to see how the website is built to make sure that any information I give up, willingly remember, is protected. If the information is protected this might be adequate. But that is a very high bar.

I am not sure that I am willing to trust the government, this current iteration of the government, to hold my handbag while I am changing clothes.

Perhaps this announcement was rushed out too soon. Before the website is built as a distraction.

Distraction from what, Kate?

Any number of things. The Republican caused government shut down because they won’t protect American’s medical insurance prices. Perhaps it is the Epstein files that they are death gripping. The rising inflation rate. The rising jobless rate. The lowering opinion of the world about America.

I’m stumped as to the reason.

To be clear, this is SARCASM.

Not the very real fear you should have over handing your personal information to the government to be exploited for cash money. That will go to line billionaires’ pockets. Billionaires like the president who has made over a billion after taking office.

Because you know that there is money to be made somewhere. And not by us, the American public.

School Me Saturday 10/4/25- New mantra has entered the chat

I’ve written before about the importance of a mantra.

According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary, a mantra is a mystical formula or incantation. The word comes from Sanskrit and is a sacred counsel that comes from the phrase meaning “he thinks”. Maybe Rene Descartes knew Sanskrit when he came out with “I think therefore I am”.

To me, a mantra is a phrase that you repeat to yourself when times are tough. Say you’re on mile 5 of a planned 8 mile run, you repeat to yourself “The only way out is through.” This is also good for school situations. Take a semester- the only way out is through. Take a degree- the only way out is through. Take a nursing shift- the only way out is through.

Another mantra might be “At least there’s [blank]”. The blank could be anything. A cookie. A kitten. A puppy. Your favorite food. This is good imagery to carry you through the hard time. To get you to the other side.

My personal nursing mantra is “Do no harm, take no shit”. This reminds me that I have a voice that can help the helpless. It also reminds me that I have a voice to help myself. This is useful in the event of a bullying surgeon. Especially if I have more years of experience in the trenches of healthcare.

My new mantra, the one that I decided I will be using to deal with the lawlessness of the administration and the frustration that I feel on the daily.

The new mantra is “Remember who the fuck you are!”

This has applications to so many of the world’s dumpster fires.

I look forward to using it.

FFS Friday 10/3/25- The right is lying to you, to your face. Again, and again and again

Who are you gonna believe? Your republican senator/congressman/”news” outlet who had to come clean that they are an entertainment company and not a news company even if it is in their company name? Those who would lie to you to gain imaginary political favor with their king?

Or your own eyes as you read the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PQRWORA) that states that undocumented immigrants and those immigrants without permanent status like DACA recipients, temporary protected status (TPS) holders, or nonimmigrant visa holder are BARRED from access to most federal benefits, including health care programs and assistance, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This is taken verbatim from the Immigrant Migration Forum. And a check of healthcare.gov states that people in the groups that can get coverage are United States Citizens, U.S. nationals, lawfully present immigrant.

Oh, you’re being hung up on the word immigrant and ignoring the lawfully present part. These are the people with green cards. According to HealthCare.gov lawfully present people are people who have qualified non-citizen immigration status, humanitarian status, valid non-immigrant visas, legal status conferred by other laws.

To hear that “news” program call it the current government shutdown is caused by Democrats who want to extend medical care such as Medicaid to all the groups who don’t qualify for government health care assistance.

This is a fucking, disgusting lie.

The Democrats want the ACA tax credits that made healthcare affordable for millions of LEGAL AMERICANS to be extended. Without the tax credits the cost of healthcare will double at a minimum for those who are cannot afford it. This has a trickle down affect on anyone else’s health insurance rates to go up as well.

I am going to hold your hand when I tell you that it is a good thing for people to have health insurance.

People who don’t have health insurance don’t get regular check ups or preventative health care.

People who don’t have health insurance use the emergency room as their primary care doctor.

Without it, ERs will be over-run, more than they already are. People will ignore symptoms until they cannot be ignored anymore, far longer than what would have happened if they had access to healthcare. The patients in the hospital will be sicker. The patients in the operating rooms will be sicker.

This is because of another federal rule known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This act mandated that anyone who presented to an emergency room be treated. End of story. Because of this act, the ER does not care if you are female, non-binary, male, immigrant, naturalized citizen, citizen, everyone must be treated.

But what do I know?

I’ve just been training in how to research for 10 years (through the BSN, MSN, and now PhD). I’m just a nurse who has over 24 years experience.

I’m just a woman who gives a damn.

Do those who you are listening to you care about you? Or do they care about lying to you? Consider that.

Call secrets of the OR 10/1/25- Participating in PACU games

When I started the call shift, almost 4 years ago now, I was asked if I could be the second nurse in PACU. Because I liked learning and shit. And so they wouldn’t have to call in their second PACU nurse.

I like learning and shit so I agreed. Every opportunity to learn is a good opportunity in my books.

Not every call nurse does this. I know this.

However it is a good avenue to learn about what happens after the drapes go down.

But what if there is another case? And only the call PACU nurse is there?

Well, you get the details of the second case. You give them the standard time. I have gotten some push back here. “Aren’t you already there?”

Yes, but the second PACU nurse isn’t. The first step is to call the second PACU nurse in.

The next thing you do is call the anesthesia team and give them a heads up. And then you coordinate with the scrub tech to pick the case and prepare the room.

And you schedule the case.

This is when you ask the CRNA to wait in PACU and be the second nurse while you get the patient from the ER. If they cannot (OB), you call the nursing supervisor and ask for them to come down and be the second nurse or send someone from the floor.

I mean you could put in transport but you know that there is limited transport at night. And the OR is never first priority.

It seems like a lot but it really isn’t. It is basically all the steps that you do when a call case is scheduled. Plus a second nurse in the PACU who is caring for their own patient. The second case is just stacked on the first case.

A second nurse has been obtained. You get report from the ER nurse and you go to the ER to pick up the patient. It takes less than 5 minutes usually.

This is where the 2 back to back cases blend into each other. This is normal.

The only thing you have to remember to do is bring the patient and their family member to the other side of the PACU.

Privacy reasons, you know?

The second nurse is dismissed.

You prep patient number 2. This is also familiar to you because you do it every call case. Anesthesia is alerted to the patient in the PACU, the surgeon pops in (if it is the same surgeon, but that doesn’t always happen that way). Consents are signed, pre-op checklist is completed and the Quick Prep that you always use to prep a patient is completed.

And just as you are finishing, the second PACU nurse arrives.

You hand over the patient’s family to the second PACU nurse and they take them to the waiting room. But not before you mention again the instructions to pick up the waiting room phone if it rings.

In truth it takes about 20 minutes to prep on a more standard day. This is just a little wrinkle.

But both PACU nurses are now in PACU, the second patient is in the OR, and the first patient is still waking up.

If the surgeon complains about the thirty to thirty-five minutes it took to get the second patient on the table kindly remind them that back to back call cases at night are not the usual. But next time they could go get the second patient from the ER. Or they could sling a mop and turnover the room.

OR call is all about managing the expectations of the surgeon, the anesthesia team, the scrub tech, and hoping there is a bed. Plus thinking about all the possibilities and ensuring you have what you need to answer them. It is a matter of perspective.

Tuesday Top of Mind 9/30/25- Check on your local planned parenthood, the fight goes on

State by state Planned Parenthood is announcing that they will no longer provide any health services for Medicaid patients.

It wasn’t enough that in NINETEEN SEVENTY SIX the Hyde amendment blocked the use of federal dollars for abortion care.

It wasn’t enough that abortion care only comprised 4% of Planned Parenthood services. That, again, federal money has not been used to provide for 49 years. Are you with me?

In 2024 Planned Parenthood cared for over 2 million patients. This was 9.4 million services that were provided in birth control information and services, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment services, and cancer screenings and prevention services. Not to mention all the education for women on all of these things.

This included birth control information and services. Another naughty no no word by this federal government. After all, the president made a very clumsy analogy to birth control and IUDs being an abortifacient. This means that they cause abortion. Which anyone with a working MD license or a nursing license will assure you that birth control and IUDs do not.

Planned Parenthood also educated a lot of women. Education of women on their rights and their bodies is also a naughty no no word by this administration.

You know what else Planned Parenthood does? It tests for sexually transmitted diseases and gives treatment when appropriate. You guessed it! Another naughty no no word by this administration. Never mind that pregnancy is sexually transmitted.

Planned Parenthood also did over 400,000 cancer screenings and prevention services. These can be your mammograms and your pap smears. I like my grandma not dying of a preventable/treatable cancer, don’t you?

Different states have attempted to push through defunding Planned Parenthood. Yes, mostly red states. (Insert eye roll here)

The “big beautiful bill” that was signed into law on July 4th, 2025 defunded Planned Parenthood. This also significantly cut federal Medicaid funding of all programs. Reminder, again, that no federal money go to abortions and haven’t for 49 years.

Planned Parenthood used the courts to fight back. and there was a pause was ordered. Guess what? The federal government appealed and got a stay on the pause while the case is working its way through the courts.

Of course.

The Planned Parenthood in North Carolina has an announcement on their website that they can’t accept Medicaid patients. They are quick to reassure patients that there are options for payment outside of Medicaid.

Planned Parenthood, the Weebles of healthcare.

Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.

Why?

Because they care about women.

Unlike some people I could name.

They really do hate us, don’t they? They want us in their neat little boxes and heaven forbid if we step out of the path that the men have decided for us.

School Me Saturday 9/27/25- AI tattles

A tell is something during a game, usually of cards, that indicates what is in your hand. Good or bad. Physical change or behavioral change. It encompasses a lot.

The use of AI, especially in a education setting, has tells as well.

There is the direct copy and paste of the output of a prompt. Warts and all. This is a glaring red flag to the people grading the assignment.

Try a little and reword some of the output.

But this is also a trap. You really should understand what the output says before you throw yourself on the mercy of the thesaurus.

Above all, know the difference in usage between lie and lay and lied and lain. Can’t forget their, they’re, and there. These three little words have forever stymied English speakers, native or not.

And is a giant AI tattle.

3 years into this AI game, universities and colleges are learning how to recognize and grade you accordingly. The university I go to has announced that any AI usage has to be on the university site. I imagine this is so they can keep on eye on who is doing what with what AI generator.

Publishing has also gotten wise to the AI slop that is out there. I have seen the stamp they are putting on some books. It proclaims that the book is “Human Authored”. I think this is smart but also vulnerable to copycat. The seal does have a seal number on it. I am not sure but I bet the numbered seals are searchable on the Writers’ Guild site. Nope, I just checked. They are not easily searchable.

The point is that if you cheat, someone, somehow is going to figure it out. That beggars the question Why cheat? in the first place. It is only your reputation and your admission to the university/college that is at stake.

Darn, I guess you’re just gonna have to do the assignment. With your own brain and your own fingers typing on the keyboard.

Darn.

FFS 9/26/25- Fearmongering

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, fearmongering is the act of “intentionally trying to make people afraid of something when this is not necessary or reasonable”.

To me this is the default setting of much of the bullshit that is coming out of Washington these days. After all, a fearful public is one that cleaves to the familiar and allows atrocities to happen, thanking their stars that they are not the ones the atrocities are happening to.

Fearmongering was the word that immediately comes to mind when people who 1) are not research trained and 2) talk bout of their ass in hopes of convincing you that the sky is bright purple with screaming yellow spots.

This has trying to confuse women who are pregnant into NOT taking one of the only medications they can during pregnancy all over it.

It is not the Tylenol. It is not the acetaminophen. It is not the paramecatol.

Above all, it is not the women.

Autism has been around for generations.

These medications have been around for less than 80 years. Genetic rewiring has been around for as long as people have existed.

Blaming women for pretty much everything has been around for generations.

When is enough going to be enough?

We are so sorry that you as a male are unable to create life.

We are sorry that you as a male want to blame the women for something genetic that happens with a child. Did you forget that half of the genetics of the child are yours?

Stop the fearmongering.

Stop panicking because you feel the control over women slipping.

Just stop.

PS. the sky is not bright purple with yellow screaming spots. Please adjust your viewfinder.

Cookie Thursday 9/25/25- French Toast Cookies

This week concludes the Cookies for Breakfast September 2025 theme.

There have been a lot of hits. As in all of them.

The month started off strong with a cinnamon pop-tart, which some people missed and were sad about it.

The second week was the cornflake cookie. This one was surprising. Not only for the solid cookie but also for the scandalous past of the cornflake and breakfast cereal.

The third week was the not so surprising hit. This was a crescent roll topped with bacon and maple syrup. Everything is better with bacon, right?

This Thursday I made French toast cookies. Well, I say cookies. More like French toast baby muffins.

The best part of it was that I used stale hamburger buns. I read a couple of other recipes and decided to just wing it. I know how to make French toast but I have made toast sticks in the past and cut them up. I wanted something more special and more cohesive.

I decided to mash together two recipes that are well known to me. French toast and bread pudding. The modified bread pudding would give the little muffins more structure and the French toast basic recipe that I follow would give it the flavor.

Success!

And someone already asked me for the recipe!

October is always my favorite CTIAT month. Stay tuned for the spooky times.

Call secrets of the OR- Wanna trade? Or how to get last minute days off

Unfortunately we are bound by the schedule guidelines when it comes time to take a day off.

I have been with the company for 19 years, 11 months, 3 days. With longevity comes a healthy PTO accrual. I make an embarrassing amount each pay period, 52 pay checks a year. Fine. It can ride. Until they put a cap on that that works out to about 3 months of PTO.

I work, or don’t work, to keep myself under the cap. Because if you are over the cap you no longer accrue PTO and I am not working for free. I will take my benefits please.

But what if the schedule just started and you need to take a little day off. This might be because of a sudden doctor’s appointment, or a pageant day at the little one’s school, or just needing a mental day, No judgement here.

Because you are within the bound of the schedule, you have to trade days with someone to get the day that you need off. Or call in sick. Again, no judgement but that also comes with a trade-off that counts against you, somehow.

You trade.

It is very much Khajit has wares if you have coin. This is a reference to The Entertainment System. AKA TES. AKA Nintendo platform. It is very much a gaming in-joke that has been used by a lot of people. Even people who don’t play computer games.

If you need a giggle google the phrase and look at images. All those cats hard at work.

However, you suddenly need next Thursday off and you’ve been told it is within the current schedule.

You start asking people to trade.

You start begging people to trade.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

It works best if there is a workaholic in the department. Or someone who wants to work extra to buy something, or save for vacation, or all sorts of things. I used to pick up shifts to earn race money. Running races, that is.

Not every department has a workaholic.

This is when you can turn in the favor coins you have earned. You earn these by doing favors for your coworkers.

In the rare occasion, you can even trade with your boss. If they need coverage on the Friday and no one has agreed to work it, you can offer to work the Friday, if you get Tuesday off.

This is a not very well known rule of healthcare. Someone will have your back and trade with you. They might complain. But it magically happens.