24- fudgy cocoa no bakes, of course

The theme for June is Schools’ Out and the makes are basically afternoon snacks. These are the snacks that were waiting for you at home to tide you over until dinner. Last week I made fluffer nutter sandwiches. Next week? I haven’t decided yet. But the right after-school snack should be comforting and familiar.

These definitely are.

Today I started a summer session class on Scholarly Writing and I didn’t plan well enough in advance to, you know, actually bake something. Fudgy cocoa no bakes it is.

These are the quintessential after-school snacks. Peanut butter for protein, oats for fiber, and chocolate just because.

I have to lock these in my trunk for the trip to the hospital because they are that easy to have “just one more”.

I’ve made these a million times and I STILL need to look up the ratios. Every time. There is no shame in that. At least, I don’t feel any. I would rather look a billion times than get the ingredients wrong and end up with a gloppy mess. And waste the ingredients?

Heaven forefend.

Tuesday Top of Mind 6/11/24- the vote against the federal right to birth control

Again with this bullshit.

Okay. Back up.

Last week there was a Senate vote on protecting the federal right to birth control. And it failed with only 51 votes to 39. Reminder, The Senate needs 60 votes to pass legislation. That is a different top of mind. There were some Republican yeas (okay TWO) and a couple of Democratic nays and still more people voted by not voting.

But the important thing is that it did not pass.

Even though over 90% of Americans support birth control.

What was to be protected by the bill?

A person’s ability to obtain and use birth control. And a doctor’s ability to prescribe said birth control.

There are mealy-mouthed people who say that the right to birth control is not in danger.

OH REALLY?

Some people said that Roe was settled law. This was very, very recently at their Supreme Court nomination hearings. Remember them? I do.

The right to birth control was settled with the 1965 decision of Griswold v Connecticut. This ruling essentially meant that the Constitution protected marital privacy rights against state restrictions. This has been used for many things, including Roe v Wade. And interracial marriage. This has definitely been mentioned in the last two years, by Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito.

You understand our concern.

Forgive me if I don’t believe them. Any of them.

This is about controlling women.

And controlling child-making.

Which was the reason for Dobbs.

But it is ALWAYS and FOREVER about controlling women.

This is your call to look up and see if your Senators in your state voted yea or nay. If they voted nay make a note on your calendar to call their office monthly to say how disappointed and angry you are. I mean, you are not one of their billionaire handlers but it will make you feel better.

I hope. Let me know if it works.

Post-it Sunday 6/9/24- Don’t be fooled

The gown card reads “Don’t act like you think I’m a moron and I won’t act like you think I’m a moron.”

Look the people who work in the OR and are nurses and doctors are very smart. They have to be. We deal with the intricate workings of the human body. We have to know every part of it, and the mechanism of action of each of it. Not only that, but we have to know all about medications and their actions on every portion of the body.

There is a reason for such a steep learning curve for new OR nurses and techs. There’s a lot to learn. Not only that, you have to learn to anticipate what the surgeon wants. There is a reason that I reassure lap appy patients that if the surgeon falls out (passes out) during surgery the tech and I could band together to finish their surgery while we wait for assistance. It makes them laugh and relax. I once told a surgeon that I tell people this and they laughed and said after 23 years they would hope so.

The point is don’t discount anyone’s intelligence. No one; from the orderly to the circulating nurse.

There is also a soupcon or even a heaping cup of misogyny in there.

There is a prevailing “wisdom” that nurses are nurses because they aren’t smart enough to be doctors. I usually don’t respond to that. Who else is going to carry out the orders and question them when they are inappropriate? Many a life has been saved by a nurse refusing an order as written. Many a license to practice medicine has been saved by the same thing.

Some of us don’t want to be medical doctors and never have wanted to be one. Someone has to watch out for the patients and protect them from everyone else.

Let’s make a deal, you and I.

Don’t act like you think I’m a moron, and I won’t act like I think you are one.

Okay?

I’m glad we’ve had this talk.

Oh, and leave the patronization at the door, will you.

It just clutters up the workspace.

School Me Saturday 6/8/24- Giving yourself advice

In the 1951 animated feature Alice in Wonderland, Alice gives herself a musical pep talk when she is lost in the wilderness that is Wonderland. She begins to sing to herself that she gives herself good advice, but never follows it. That her problem is that she is curious and impatient and knows that there will be consequences.

And she weeps. All the wildlife that has surrounded her to listen weep as well.

These tears flood the surroundings and she has to swim for it. She meets a friendly mouse along the way. All is not lost. But this scene is beautiful in the movie and speaks to the student in all of us.

You see when you are in college classes and there is so much going on, it is hard to keep things like assignment due dates, and even assignments themselves, and testing dates front and center in your brain. Things can be missed or turned in late for a penalty.

We know what we have to do, but, like Alice, it is often hard to take our own advice.

I know that I should be reviewing all I’ve learned over the past 2 years, and I do a fair amount of rereading, but I also want to read ALL the books.

As a known procrastinator, this is something that I work on daily.

To track due dates I have them written in

my calendar app
on my dining room wall
on a Post-it on my desk

Why three? Because I know myself and my ways and I will belt and suspender and belt this for all I’m worth.

Last week I wrote about the Blue Caterpillar and his very opening query of Alice. Who are you?

Through school you will get to know yourself intimately. All the vices and the virtues. Pay attention to them so you can turn things in on time.

And, like Alice, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Alice never went alone in Wonderland. We don’t have to either.

It is okay to give ourselves advice. Just be careful to follow it, huh?

Cookie Thursday 6/6/24- Schools’ Out

Do you remember the first giddy days of summer? When the temperature was hot but still endurable? When you did not have to get up early to go to school? When you got to stay up as late as you want, 10 pm even?

There is no comparable time when you are an adult. Except, maybe, vacations or retirement.

The June theme for Cookie Thursday is a Thing is Schools’ Out. These are the after school delights that you ate until you got sick of them.

The first make of the month is the fluffernutter.

In my memory, I never had these growing up. It is peanut butter and marshmallow fluff on white bread. It is about as basic as can be. In fact, the entire back took me less than 15 minutes.

I mean, I could have gone full Elvis and made banana, bacon, peanut butter sandwiches. But I will save that one for another month.

Time to remember how it was to be a kid. And try not to feel jealous of having no responsibilities, no job, no bills. It’s funny how much we want to be grown-ups until we are.

These delicious little makes should spark nostalgia. At least, I hope.

There will be a companion theme for September. And I can’t wait for that one!

Something lighter today, I think

I will be writing about something lighter today. Saturdays seem to be the only day that I write about the lighter side of things. Today I will be writing about the lighter side of the operating room.

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Crickets.
Crickets who?
Who let the crickets in the sterile core?

Yeah, don’t quit my night job.

There is a difference between jokes between coworkers and pranks. I have pranks and I think they have no business being in a workplace. Especially not a workplace as serious as the OR.

In California, I worked with a tech who would routinely prank new doctors. I warned them this was not a good look for us, but especially not a good look for them. They continued to put KY in the biogel gloves and cut up gown cards into confetti to fold into their gowns. They did that so there would be an explosion of confetti when the gown was snap unfolded. Hey, someone has to pick that confetti up.

However, one of my favorite dad jokes came from one of my favorite orthopedic surgeons.

What is the last thing that goes through a bug’s mind when he hits the windshield? His teeny tiny butt. His 6 year-old son told him that one.

And then there is the very old joke about how orthopedic surgeons only know one antibiotic. Or how orthopedic surgeons are strong as an ox and twice as dumb.

But my favorite favorite joke was one that a patient told me.

Apparently there has been a car accident right in front of the hospital. Two of the hospital employees are dying and are organ donors. One is a nurse and one is a surgeon. There was a patient on the floor who needed a brain transplant for whatever reason. His wife was asked which brain was best. She said, I don’t know, is it expensive? The transplant doctor said that the surgeons brain was $750 and the nurse brain would be $300. The wife looked at the transplant doctor and asked about the difference in price. The transplant doctor said that it was because the nurse’s brain was used.

Badum-tiss.

I’ll see myself out.

Maybe next time I’ll write about kittens and puppies.

Tuesday Top of Mind 6/4/24- Ally in Pride Month

Despite certain people’s best efforts, Pride Month is to be celebrated in June.

Yes, you know who I mean. And shame on them.

But it is not just in June that differences in lifestyle need to be recognized. Love is love is love is love. How others might choose to love is none of my business and none of my concern. Why? Because it doesn’t impact me or my worldview.

Here’s the thing, people want to control EVERYTHING. They want to control what people wear, how people think, what people can do with their bodies, and who they love and marry.

ALL OF IT.

During the month of June corporations, in particular, like to pretend like they are not interested in the control. Of course, they are interested in control. But they are more interested in the money that pretending to care about LGBTQIA+ makes them. Corporations are interested in the money and less interested in control so there’s that. They would strip their CEO naked and paint them purple and parade them in front of the world if there was a month dedicated to stripping their CEO naked, paint them purple and parade them in front of the world. Corporations are interested in all the money.

If you cut them, they would bleed green.

When July rolls around, they will no longer pretend that they are interested in the LGBTQIA+ and instead, they are interested in the red, white, and blue. And then it will be back to school and then it will be Halloween and then it will be Christmas, with a little Thanksgiving thrown in.

Wash, repeat.

For the monies, you know?

Those of us who are Allies support the LGBTQIA+ year-round and are active in our pocketbook politics. This is what being an Ally means. You show up for the group no matter the month.

So, yes, I will be extra vocal this month. But then, I’m vocal every month. But my support doesn’t end on June 30th at 2359. Those who need a shoulder, or an ear, can always call me. This is Allyship.

Yes, I am an Ally. I have the tee shirt! Well, several tee shirts. I am me, after all.

Post-it Sunday 6/2/24- doing things the hard way

The gown card reads “So long people/nurses have done hard things the hard way because that’s the way it’s always been done.”

In the OR this is known as a sacred cow.

This means that this is the way things are done, not sure why, but it is important that we still do everything the same. Forever and ever and ever and ever.

And ever!

Um.

Simple question-why?

Think about that. Why do anything the same way because that is the way it has always been done? Do we not have brains to think of perhaps a better way?

Or is doing things the hard way a comfort moment? You know how to do a specific thing a certain way and you KNOW how to do it this way. Nothing anyone can say will change your mind. This is the way and this is the way it has to be.

Forever.

That’s circular thinking. And it is a trap.

I’ve been thinking about my parent’s generation. If they didn’t adapt to changing technology as it happened, they got left behind. And, boy howdy, has technology changed a lot! And the changes are coming faster and faster. In just my lifetime we’ve gone from tapes to CDs to streaming. Not to mention how the computers have changed; from large room-sized computers to palm-sized ones that we routinely carry in our pocket.

Imagine if any of the creators of technology had decided not to push out and dream about what is possible, instead focusing only on how it has been done forever.

What is next for medicine and healthcare? I know people would say artificial intelligence. Well, that is here and already disrupting the pond. And some people don’t like it. Let’s be real, some people are using it to cheat. I’ll be writing about that on School Me Saturday soon.

How are you going to disrupt the pond? How will you challenge those who say it can only be done one way? Granted, they might have a point and other ways have been tried and tried and put aside. They might know the things that have been tried. Maybe listen to them too.

Both things can be true at the same time.

But doing things the same way because that is the way it has always been done is not a good answer.

When you are doing rote tasks at work, ask yourself why are these tasks done this way? That might be the question you need to disrupt the pond.

School Me Saturday 6/1/24- destination unknown

Before I started this post, lyrics flashed into my brain. Something, something, something, destination unknown. I quickly searched for those lyrics to no avail. I texted my friend who has an encyclopedic knowledge of songs and asked for their help. They returned with an answer Golden Earring by the band Twilight Zone. Instead of being satisfied, I queued up the song, and listening to it jarred my memory loose. The song does contain the destination unknown lyrics but it is not the exact song my brain wanted me to remember.

You see, my brain has a military bent when it comes to writing this blog. I know it, you know it, the blog knows it. When I used to exercise in the early mornings with the Army while I was at Creighton, cadence was discussed as a motivational partner. Cadence is the military song that is often used during running to keep the runners on beat. I am sure that readers will have seen this in movies or TV shows. The military cadence memory that was jarred loose during the conversation with my friend was C-130 Rolling Down the Strip. The lyrics I couldn’t remember were “Mission uncertain, Destination unknown.”

Long story short, this satisfied the question in my brain, even if it did set me up for a cadence earworm. I will let you know when it finally leaves me.

After this rabbit hole, I was ready to write. Remember, this is very appropriate because School Me Saturday is doing an Alice in Wonderland and the adult learner theme.

Here’s the thing about starting education as an adult learner, it is important to at least have an idea of where you are going. To have an end goal in mind. It might change. That is okay, but it is better to know something about what you want to do.

Not to mention that it is the best use of your resources to have a goal in mind. But at the very beginning, it is all general education that everyone has to take. This is why some people start adult learning at community colleges. For the bang for your buck.

It is absolutely okay not to have an end goal in mind at the beginning of your education. That might come later. And your end goal might change a bunch of times as you settle into the degree that you want.

After all, the Chesire Cat said “If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there.”

Any road will take you to the end. The question is how much you are willing to do and how many classes you are willing to take before you have the answer to what is your end game. Exploring is good and healthy.

But, be warned, don’t get lost. As I’ve discussed, it is okay not to have an end game in mind. For a while but eventually, you will have to settle onto something. If only for your wallet.

To make a big circle back to the destination unknown lyrics, your mission in college is to end up with some sort of degree. Hopefully, one that can be used in your career, but that is not necessary. Even as you step onto campus the roads open up to you.

Choose a good one. One that will serve you best. And if you decide that the road you’re on isn’t the right one, pick another. But there will be consequences to changing in the middle of the stream. Time, money, and adulthood tasks that you feel are important.

Life is a trade-off, the roads are not always clearly marked. But don’t get lost.

Cookie Thursday 5/30/24- war on women’s bodily autonomy

I mean would I be writing about the healthcare battlefield without touching on the war on women’s bodily autonomy during War Cookie Month? I mean, who am I if I don’t?

The Cookie Thursday is a Thing theme for May is War Cookies. Appropriately this is also the month of Memorial Day and was completely unplanned when I decided to do this theme. Apparently, my brain is smarter than my fingers.

This is the 5th Thursday of the month and I am making basic chocolate chipless cookies for the week. This is chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips. Kind of a vanilla sugar cookie vibe.

Since this is War Cookie Month I would be remiss if I missed a chance to beat on the drum of women’s rights. Yes, again. They keep attacking us, keep whittling away at the rights they do deign to “gift” us. Since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v Wade, there has been a slow drip of rights being taken away. And then they realized that they could get away with more and the ripping away of women’s rights became faster and faster.

My tee shirt of the day is “They Won’t Stop at Roe.”

They aren’t even hiding the end game anymore.

Am I still mad as hell about the Dobbs decision? Fuck yes.

Will I still write about it in an unceasing drumbeat? Again, yes.

Am I alone in this? Absolutely not.

Are people not paying attention because it doesn’t affect them? Absolutely.

Vote in November. Remember what has been taken from women. And those who will be women when they grow up. And those who would be women because it is the best fit for them and that is truly who they are under the skin.

All of us are under attack.

Man the battle stations!

My next tee shirt will be a Ruth Bader Ginsberg one that says I am Tired of Listening to Old White Men.