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The Health Care Professionals' Lounge: if you've had a bad day, are sick of your job and need to vent, the lounge is open!

284 replies

Jacksmama · 05/05/2009 16:12

On another thread, a few of us who work as health care providers (of any sort) were talking about having days at work that make a career as a waitress or grocery cashier sound very appealing... so, patterned on the One-Child Tea Room (which, btw, is open to anyone regardless of how many children you may have), here is The Health Care Professionals' Lounge.

Being something of a Room of Requirement, The Lounge has squashy sofas, a bar stocked with booze of all kinds, an Aga for tea, coffee or hot choc, and a pantry/ fridge for nibblies or full meals. Calories don't count here, neither does trans-fat, or food allergies, and there are no hangovers the next day.

Come on in and relax. There is only one rule here: no fisticuffs. We are here to vent and talk about the assorted difficulties of our jobs. If you're a patient, please remember that we give large amounts of our time and of ourselves to health care, and work within the limitations and the frustrations of the health care system (wherever we may live). Our jobs are rewarding but also exhausting, and we frequently question not only the system but also ourselves. If you've received bad care, please speak to the person responsible, or start another thread - this is not the place for it. We're here with our hair down (or up in curlers, or slathered in a masque) and our feet up. If necessary, we will borrow Mellors from the Tea Room to have trouble-makers firmly and politely ejected.

Cheers!

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Jacksmama · 23/05/2009 21:08
  • just read on other thread. Pooo.
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thumbwitch · 23/05/2009 23:07

thanks JM - I know, best in the long run I guess but we would have been (as DH put it) absolutely stoked if it had worked out this month! Never mind.

thumbwitch · 27/05/2009 01:00

Another good day today - friend who I had done the "miracle" work on 2 weeks ago came for another sesh today, but she had a new problem - her neck had cricked really badly yesterday and she was stiff as a board.

She had seen the osteo on saturday and I think she might have had an extreme treatment reaction - where the body can't hold it's new position and suddenly snaps back to the old (less good) position, causing pain and anguish as it goes.

Anyway, half an hour intensive work on her neck and aroubd the base of her skull left here feeling pretty much better, although not perfect and I warned her not to push the newly freed neck, in case it pinged again.

Jacksmama · 27/05/2009 05:19

Very cool! You go, girl!

Now, how are you going to feel about not working when you get to Oz? Will you miss it?

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thumbwitch · 28/05/2009 02:32

Hi JM - I don't know if I will miss it per se - I will miss my clients here, because I know them all quite well and we have a good laugh, but not sure I want to start again. Am still taking my massage couch with me though!

This week has been interesting - 3 clients out of 4 so far have had a major neck-crick! So I have been making people happy again by allowing them to move their heads without agonising stabbing pains - yay!

Last 2 clients to go - one tomorrow, one Friday - peculiar feeling if I stop and think about it for too long!

lulalullabye · 28/05/2009 02:55

Hello, can I join ? Previously haggered emergency nurse now working in a little Aussie seaside emergency department. Sighs with satisfaction of drinking tea and sitting on bottom most night shifts !!!

SoNameChanged · 28/05/2009 11:39

Envy Envy Envy

lulalullabye · 28/05/2009 12:04

I am sorry ! I would like to say something to defend my lazy actions but I can't. But let me tell you (as you all already know) I have paid my dues at being spat at, threatened, resuscitating more than one person at once etc etc etc !!! So I can empathise and support all of you ( whilst sitting on my arse, drinking tea)

Jacksmama · 28/05/2009 15:07

{grin] and welcome lula!!
I have a FULL day of patients scheduled today so must get ready - will pop in and chat later!

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Jacksmama · 28/05/2009 18:04

even... Where in Oz are you? Thumb's moving to Oz sometime soon [harrassed packing and list-making emoticon]

I was a nurse a million years ago before I went over to the Dark Side became a chiropractor. When I graduated the health care system where I live was starting to go down the toilet, so no full-time jobs, only part-time casual. I served my time did a stint of that and decided it was Not For Me. But the few weeks I covered for someone in the emergency dep't were pretty interesting. Bit of excitement...

Tea anyone? Or something stronger?

Where is that lazy bugger David, I'd quite like some tea!!!

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lulalullabye · 28/05/2009 22:06

I am in Melbourne, which is now pretty cold . We have only been here since Jan but so far it's great.

Thumbwitch, where are you moving to ?
I am sort of considering doing my midwifery at the moment, but not too sure.

thumbwitch · 29/05/2009 00:14

lula, we are moving to Morisset, NSW. It's about 1.5 hours north of Sydney - and we'll get there in June/July, visa allowing.

I don't think I'll be practising any kind of therapy when I get there though - although I haven't investigated the legal side of pracising complementary therapies as yet. I could always go back to haematology I suppose - I still have my state registration, although iirc the Aussies don't really "accept" our state reg without further training.

lulalullabye · 29/05/2009 05:36

Thumbwitch, are you a nurse, as all I had to do was register with the state board here. A bit of a paperwork trail but easy.

There are an awful lot of naturepaths as they are called out here, so I guess it's easy to do. Are you moving with your dh's job ??

thumbwitch · 29/05/2009 22:31

no, DH is Aussie so we are going back for him really.

Am not a nurse - was a Biomedical Scientist in haematology and blood transfusion. I know that in the past we have refused to acknowledge their state reg and made fully qualified BMSs start as trainees again; and I'm pretty sure they do the same to us. Ditto South Africa. Silly but there you go. Mind you it is nearly 10 years since I had anything to do with any overseas BMSs so it might have changed by now!

Am not really up for qualifying as a naturopath - too much extra work to do and I aven't really got the inclination for it.[lazy emoticon]

Jacksmama · 30/05/2009 16:37

Must share this story.

As I've said before I really like about 90% of my patients. Absolutely adore around 5 % of them. Dislike mildly around 4.5% and actively despise about 0.5%. That translates to about 4 or 5. Or so.

One of the latter group was in for a treatment on Thursday. I think of him as The Twatmeister General. Intrusive nosy opinionated sod. He likes to earwig on conversations as I'm billing people out and then quiz me on them. Fuckhead. So Thursday he comes in, and says to me "has that Dieffenbachia always been here in the waiting room?" I say, yes, for at least the last six months. So then he proceeds to tell me that his family had a Dieffenbachia, his wife killed it and their kids were so upset that they had a funeral for the bloody thing. That story might me mildly amusing in a " you're a weirdo" kind of way from someone I like, but it's not remotely funny from this man. So I didn't really comment, other than to roll my eyes inwardly. So he says, "don't you think that's funny??" in a mortally offended tone. I say "I guess" in a "can we please get on with it" sort of tone. At the end of his treatment as he's leaving he says to me "Dr. Jacksmama, I'm really disappointed that you didn't think my story about the plant funeral was funny" in a you-stole-my-rubber-ducky sort of tone. Seriously, all I could do was look at him and shake my head. I ended up saying "I guess we have a different sense of humour", to which he says, "well, I'm really disappointed in you".

WTF???????

Anyway - sad to say, being disappointed in me probably won't stop him from coming back.

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thumbwitch · 31/05/2009 00:23

ah well - he was probably trying to engage with you on a different level and failing dismally - perhaps he feels your antipathy?

How DO you treat someone you really don't like? I had one client once, who actively blackmailed me into taking him on - he was having reflexology and liked to vary his therapist (why, I don't know - it's not that kind of therapy) but in our clinic, we had an informal policy of not "nicking" another therapist's clients. Anyway, he told the receptionist that if he couldn't have an appt with me, then he wouldn't bother coming back to see the other reflexologist, who he had already been treated by - so she got onto me and begged me to see him![shock'

I was so antipathic to him before we even started (wtf were any of us thinking, that I ended up being forced into treating someone? ) and it must have been the worst treatment imaginable! Anyway, we never saw him again so that was the end of it. No bother to me, I have to say!

Jacksmama · 31/05/2009 05:06

The sad thing about this man is that I treat him, his wife and their daughter. And I don't like any of them. I least mind the daughter - she's so busy being twenty-three and self-absorbed that it would never occur to her to ask prying questions about my personal life. The wife, however, asks after Jackbaby in a manner that reminds me of a teacher requesting a progress report and it annoys me almost past endurance. I have taken to answering in monosyllables and changing the subject, but am this close to simply coming right out with it and telling her that my personal life is off limits. She was in today, telling the tale of her bodily sufferings in that Dying Swan voice that I hate so much... gahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! But as far as how I treat them - I still do my best. I can't do otherwise. I resent every minute of it, especially when I have a cancellation list going and could be treating someone I like, but I still do my best for them.

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JonAndHate · 09/06/2009 18:48

Don't know if you've all disappeared because you're too stressed out, but here's something to lift your mood:

if you work in the NHS

if you're undervalued

if people think what you do is gross

Jacksmama · 09/06/2009 20:13

OMG!!!!!! That is hilarious!! I love it.

I'm so glad my thread isn't dead after all... it took off like gangbusters but then sort of petered out... maybe because it's summer and everyone's on vacation?

Thanks JonAndHate, you've cheered me up no end!!

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JonAndHate · 09/06/2009 20:44

by the way, don't worry, it looks like winter is back

Jacksmama · 09/06/2009 23:19

Oh - for you - not here though, it's sunny and hot.

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JonAndHate · 09/06/2009 23:38

Was going to confess that this was actually on the tube strikers thread but now can't talk for

thumbwitch · 10/06/2009 17:22

JonAndHate, those are brilliant!! Absolutely pmsl. DH thinks I've lost the plot!

Jacksmama · 10/06/2009 23:36

Sorry JonAndHate but you'd have to emigrate to the West Coast of Canada to get our weather...

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lulalullabye · 15/06/2009 07:48

Hello. Haven't been on for a while !! I really need to vent about my nice job in the litlle biggoted emergency department in Aus !! Background info...... band 7 for 7 yrs in London inner city A&E departments. Pregnant, moved from london to Yorkshire, two children later move to Aus and go to work part time in said department. So, now am realising that according to those who know, I really don't know what I am doing and apparantly not allowed to do triage, not enough experience and can't work in resus cause can't work the knobs on the ventilater !!!!

Feeling very homesick and haveing watched the anaesthetic guys video, thoroughly missing uk humour and the rest !!!

Sorry for the rant !! Hope you are all well.

Wine, that is what I need It is 5pm here !

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