♪ ooo ooo ooo ooo Stayin' Alive ♪

They were talking about this on the radio this morning...

perfect theme song for saving a life!

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From About.com: First Aid:

The University of Illinois medical school studied the effect the song had on keeping time during CPR. Five weeks after practicing CPR with the song playing on an iPod, doctors at the medical school were able to hum along without the music and keep time just a little bit faster than 100 per minute, which is perfectly fine when we're talking about chest compressions.

Stayin' alive,

Stayin' alive,

Ha...ah...ah...ah

(this part is exactly 100 beats per minute)

Stayin' a-li-ive

This tip helps rescuers keep the proper rate while doing CPR. Going too slow doesn't generate enough blood flow, and going too fast doesn't allow the heart to fill properly between compressions. Humming along with the Bee Gees is one way to stay on track.

For those of you less optimistic folks, Queen's classic, Another One Bites the Dust, also has the proper beat.

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I think that while you're performing CPR you should sing it to them too...you know, encouragement to...well...stay alive :-)

This song has been in my head all morning.
So in case you're craving a little disco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCAjmuA1HDk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mepFmJNqsus&feature=related

Bust a move with a little chair dance at your desk :-)

Creepy Crawlies Give Me the Heeby Jeebies

So I was an inpatient tech yesterday, all day. I had several patients on different floors with varying issues, and more than one patient in "Isolation Precautions". Isolation provides protection either for the patient (whose immune system is compromised due to cancer, transplant, etc.) or for those in contact with the patient (nurses, techs, etc.)--specifically so we won't spread infection to other patients who may be immunosupressed. For isolation patients, we go beyond the standard precautions of washing hands, donning gloves and wiping down the machines with cavicide. We also get to wear these fashionable yellow synthetic material gowns that tie in the back--some of them have pinstripes which is all the rage right now. Straight off the runway for sure. About half of the time, depending on the reason for isolation, we also wear a mask with an eye-shield. So very attractive. And I'm still single...go figure.

~

I was on my last patient before lunch, stomach growling, ready to sit down. My body was still over-heated from the prior exam, which was in an isolation room with the heat cranked up to 85 degrees. Post-exam body weight was 5lbs less than pre-exam, if you catch my drift. Scanning in a plastic gown will do that for you! You can imagine my dismay to see an isolation cart oustide this next patient's room when I arrived. *sigh* With resignation I put on the gown, gloves, mask with eye-shield and prepared to lose another 5lbs (which was the good part of course). Just then, the nurse emerged from the room and during the interaction she told me the reason for special precautions isolation: Scabies.

~

Poor patient...I felt guilty for being creeped out when I wasn't the one having to deal with it...But eeeeewwwww. Halfway through the exam I felt an intense itch on my forehead. Can they leap from one place to the next? It was an internal battle to focus on the exam when all I could think about was that scene from Monsters Inc. when one of the scarers was "contaminated" by a child's sock: they tackled him, shaved him clean, showered him and coated him with an anti-something powder and topped off the treatment with one of those Elizabethan collars like they put on pets who are sick. The itch became increasingly worse...is it spreading?

~

This is what I found when I googled "scabies":

Post-exam: So far so good. No itching. Unless I think about it. Like now. I'm so thankful to be spared from things like that...and thankful for those yellow gowns. Can I have some booties to go with it?
~
What really started me thinking was: How is it that I can waltz into an isolation room all suited up and scan a patient who has a "superbug" (MRSA, VRE, etc) and not get the willies when this treatable issue makes me shudder? MRSA is way worse than scabies when you think about it! What's wrong with me? One good thing about working in a hospital is that my immune system is so strong and (to some extent, while I remain healthy) resistant to a lot of these things going around.
~
So it's all good. Just don't think about it. And don't even let me get started on bedbugs.

"Code 199..."

So I am sitting here at the front desk "watching the phones". I'm bored. No exam reports to type, not able to work on projects because I'm not at my desk. The phone isn't ringing and all patients have checked in...

Most of the time, we all just tune out the overhead pages. There are a lot of them: "Mr. Smith, Mr. David Smith, please return to the 3rd floor information desk." They say each announcement twice. "Attention please all medical center staff, Attention please. Employee health is conducting its routine drop-in TB testing...blah blah blah...All staff who need to update their TB testing are requested to attend." Repeat. Every hour. All week.

The ones that get me are: "Will the family of John Smith please return to the OR waiting area." Or "Will the family of Susie Smith please return to 5SE." Ahh. So in the era of HIPAA compliance and the extreme measures we take for patient confidentiality, how is this okay? When I greet a patient in the waiting room to escort them back for the ultrasound exam, I cannot address them using their last name. I must say "John"... It's rare for more than one person to stand up, but if they do, I try and narrow it down with "Last name initial S." And if that's not helping, "Birthdate in June". When we get through the doors into a more private area, I have them verify their last name and full birthdate. All of that runaround, and they page overhead enough information for me to think: "Susie Smith is having surgery today." Uh huh.

My ears are tuned in to pick up "Code 199..." At this hospital, this is a Code Blue, or medical emergency. I'm just a vascular tech, so there's not a whole lot I can do to help...only pray for them. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping more than scanning a patient in the ICU who goes into distress. Yikes.

Here are some that make you go "doh!":
"Code 199...
- 3rd floor patient smoking area, behind the gift shop.
- Plaza Cafe lobby, near the back exit.
- Triangle parking garage cashier kiyosk.
- Valet parking main entrance.

There was one just outside our reception area in the Surgery Pavillion lobby the other day. When we got there, she was sitting on the floor talking...had just briefly passed out. So basically they call a "Code 199" for anone who becomes unresponsive. Which is probably a good plan.

"All available staff please report to 8NE." That's another good one. Essentially it means that a patient or visitor is escalated, generally angry or upset and acting in a threatening manner. All staff who are availble and in the area just go and provide assistance and a "show of force" which typically calms the person down pretty quickly. I don't go to those...I think I'd be going for the wrong reasons...not that I'm an ambulance chaser or anything. My buddy Watson (fellow tech) goes to them any chance he can get, which of course we tease him about...mercilessly.

What I'd like to hear is: "Attention please all medical center staff: Mandatory paid-vacation will begin today at 3pm, and continue until further notice. All staff who are experiencing stress are requested to comply."