The post-it note from today is ‘how do you fly? you need a happy thought and a sprinkle of pixie dust.’

These are the instructions in how to fly in Peter Pan.

You need a happy thought.

And a sprinkle of pixie dust.

I am currently involved in the training of the day shift charge.

I have not had a lot to say on here about this situation.

My mother said that if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.

Okay, my mom didn’t say that.

It is what I think is a southern mama’s truism.

Kind of like bless your heart.

The situation is tenuous at best.

And some of my coworkers read this blog.

So, the less said about that the better.

Until I completely lose it.

Stay tuned.

One of the things that they said to me is that I admired because I always think on the positive side.

And I seem to fly through the shift.

With nothing bothering me.

Not true.

However, I am way more zen than this person.

And I do not internalize stress.

Some of this can be attributed to my upbringing in Northern California, one of most chill places in the country.

Northern California is definitely where I developed my idea about conserving energy.

I think that a person is given only so much energy a day.

And you can either feed the energy and stay energetic by having positive thoughts and working hard.

Or you can sap the energy by having mean, or uncharitable thoughts, or playing the blame game.

‘This person didn’t do this, so I’m not going to do that’ kind of nonsense.

It is your choice, really.

Do you get the symbolism here?

A happy thought is a positive thought.

Which feeds the energy.

Which allows me to will the cases to be over at certain times.

Of course, a little checking in and verbal agreements with the MDs doesn’t hurt.

Where does the pixie dust come from?

Hell if I know.

I got an email on the winners of the posters for the AORN conference.

I was not chosen as a winner.

I did not think I was going to be chosen.

I have stumbled onto poster making.

For the fall to do, I will learn how to make posters that are relatable and interesting.

I was told when I started making posters that I needed to have a hook in the title.

But all the winning posters did not have a hook.

All of their titles were dry.

And factual.

The difference was that my title was not dry, although it was factual.

I will be spending a lot of time in the poster gallery when I go the conference next month.

Learning what it is that is a winning formula.

It is something to strive for.

I still think that if I’d gotten the data earlier than the day the poster was due I could have crunched the numbers and proved that the changes that we made to the immediate use steam sterilization proved to be statistically significant or not.

Oh, well.

Cookie Thursday is a Thing for Thursday July 22 is a continuation of the Red, White, and Blue theme.

I created an oatmeal cookie dough base to which I added raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

To self, must learn to mix cookie dough with stand mixer.

This dough was thick.

At the last moment I added dark chocolate slab chips.

To give the cookies even more oomph.

I popped a cookie in my mouth prior to donning my mask to enter the hospital.

Not bad.

But next time I will add peanut butter.

And re-brand the cookie as a PB&J.

I am starting August No Heat Month early on 7/22.

One of the nurses in the department is due on August 13.

And she really wants to try the edible cookie dough week.

I handed her a stack of recipes and told her the week would be early.

Be wary of the suddenly easier path.

Especially when the surgeon is tapping in a total hip prosthesis.

The surgeon saying quietly, ‘wow, that just got easier.’

And you are already on the phone with radiology, arranging for a tech to come out with the c-arm, and directing the tech in the hallway to go get the dall miles cables for the femur.

Because a suddenly easier path.

While banging on the new implant for the femur?

Means the surgeon broke the femur.

My poster is back from the printer!

Of course, I got the data I need to do a proper statistical analysis on the same day I sent it to the printer.

This leaves me in a quandary.

Do I do the statistical analysis, rework the results section, and have it reprinted?

Or do I use the data in my talking points when I am at the meet and greet?

Or do I do both and use the poster and abstract at other conferences that are coming up in the fall?

Cost could be a consideration.

It did not break the bank at $42 for the first printing.

And it came super fast.

As in ordered on Monday, got it on Thursday fast.

I will have to think on this one.

I will be writing up the abstract and submitting it to the nursing leadership group in the state for their autumn conference.

It is due next Sunday.

In other research news, the enneagram project that I’ve been working on with leadership for nearly 2 years is ready to launch.

I present it to leadership in a dry run this week or the next.

However, I think there is good data to be had.

To figure out if knowing your coworker’s enneagram will aid in communication.

I am working on a before and after questionnaire for the participants.

I will be working with the nurse scientist in the hospital system.

I am very excited about this one.

And, lastly, strictly for the clinical ladder and for the practice, I will be working on a grant request.

It is worth 7 points on the clinical ladder.

And if a clinical ladder 5 needs 38 points and I have 23 between my degrees, certification, CEUs, unit education, 7 point is nearly half of the remaining points to maintain my clinical ladder 5.

I would not need to get the grant, just apply for it.

This could be valuable knowledge for the future.

When I go back to school.

The post-it for this Sunday reads

‘I just love spending all of the spare time volunteering to give vaccine.’

I remember this. This was in April when I was volunteering weekly, sometimes twice at the vaccination site.

Back when people were excited about being vaccinated.

I was being sarcastic to someone who was denying that they needed the vaccine.

That their immune system was strong.

So I shot back that I just loved spending all of my limited spare time volunteering to give people shots so they could have a little bit of peace of mind and, you know, immunity from the virus.

He just shrugged and restated that the vaccine was not for him.

And followed up with, ‘but hey, at least you get paid for all the hours you are giving shots.’

I know that he was not paying attention to my words.

I know that because he thought I was being paid for my hours.

I because he either was ignoring or didn’t know what it means to use the word volunteer.

Of course I wasn’t getting paid for giving my time to give people shots.

That is what the word volunteer means.

It means that I give of myself to another cause that I do not have direct benefit from.

I had been fully vaccinated for 4 months; my husband had received his first shot.

If they still needed me I would volunteer on all my days off that I could.

Because vaccination is so very necessary.

If the second week and the 3rd week of the month coincide it means a very meeting heavy week for me.

I have meeting I lead/co-lead on the 2nd Wednesday of the month which was this past Wednesday.

I have a meeting that I lead on the 3rd Thursday of the month, which was this past Thursday.

Each of these meetings necessitate an agenda, and meeting requests to the people who will be speaking.

Plus minutes from the last meeting need to be reviewed.

Plus actually being awake at these meetings, which are morning to midmorning.

Even if you have worked hard the night before or late the nights before.

Which happened.

Twice.

And I had to finalize and submit my poster for judging for AORN.

By Monday night at midnight.

I worked extremely early on Sunday night/Monday morning.

And slept 3 hours Sunday night.

And Monday night.

And Tuesday night.

And Wednesday night I left work at 0100 and had to be back at 0500 to prep for a case.

And I’m pretty sure I was not all that coherent at the Thursday meeting I lead.

I do not even want to look at my time sheet.

I am pretty sure I broke rules this week.

shrugs.

Red, White and Blue month marches on.

This week I wanted to do something completely different.

I had found a recipe for lemon cooler cookie and was going to use it for citrus month but never did.

As I was looking at red or blue fruits I thought about the watermelon.

What is more summer like than a water melon?

However, the fruit holds too much water and I think it would ruin a cookie.

Instead, I ordered watermelon extract.

I thought about using watermelon leather from Trader Joe’s but then I realized that the local store sells watermelon and there is always some flavored water at the bottom of the container.

And I had bought watermelon jelly when I saw it at Trader Joe’s.

And the watermelon cooler was born.

Of course I didn’t coat it with powdered sugar like you’re supposed to for a cooler.

Nobody has time for that.

Last week was my birthday.

As I’ve been a nurse for 20 years I am sure you can do the math.

I’m over 40.

We have an evening housekeeper who terminally cleans the rooms most evenings.

She is sharp.

She is efficient.

She always comes to me with any problems with the rooms.

She is awesome.

And I tell her so.

I also tell her that I miss her when she has a day off.

We commiserate about working too much.

Seriously, she’s awesome.

In my department they post the birthdays at the desk.

She noticed that it was my birthday last week and wished me a happy birthday last week.

I took my actual birthday off.

None of this birthday week nonsense for me.

When I saw her the next day she said that she had missed me.

And happy birthday again.

I thanked her.

We went back to work.

Near the end of our respective shifts she came rushing to the OR desk, bearing cupcakes and a vase of flowers.

I must admit I almost cried.

She said that she wanted to celebrate my birthday in some way.

And I thanked her, and thanked her.

I’m not a hugger and, you know, pandemic but it was heartfelt.

It certainly put a much needed smile on my face.

The evening had been rough.

But that is a story for another time.

Once upon a time before I used this platform, I wrote little OR stories.

I guess I should say that I still do.

These little OR stories are parodies of children’s books.

I write them mainly for my mother, and had them bound at a little shop that was local.

This little shop is no more.

And I haven’t been inspired for a bit.

This ends next week.

Over the past two weeks, ever since the I can’t find a clamp debacle, I have been taking pictures of clamps when I find them, where I find them.

Kind of like going on a safari.

These will be the Where’s Clampy little OR book.

And last Sunday, as I was called in to do laser on someone already on the table, cheers to that person, I sketched out the plot of another, song related little OR story.

This one will be based on the Devil Went Down to Georgia, by the Charlie Daniel’s Band.

I’m still working on counting the cadence and making it fit what I want to do.

There has to be a reason that doctor and devil each have 2 beats.

Right?