Free-association, mind-wandering, existential worries, and Yoda’s gender

Is the recession upon us? What I think about my tortoise, what do they think about me?

Safety netting – to net or not?

Sure, some readers will think, ‘Honestly, this isn’t nannyworld, people have some responsibility, they should use their common sense.’

Bob Ross, Happy and Unhappy accidents (healthcare and filler-TV)

I brought-up Bob when explaining to my colleagues the meaning of ‘happy accident’ – I was being flippant although the context was not.

Thinking mindful – geriatrician asks his followers to ‘get high’

My mind has been in a Japanese meta-reality rather than on Wong Lane

It’s worse than it’s ever been. Just kidding… Not.

‘When will I receive my Covid booster?’ Asks patient Annie, 98, unable to leave her house for the past three years.

‘We are working-our way round,’ Says the doctor.

Metrodome Part 2 – agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. (Words and the complex nature of a problem)

You will note this is the opposite of ‘There is no bus to Upton, you are 93, you have dementia, you are in hospital’ approach, which is likely only to worsen the anxiety.

Purposeful Practice and an agreement to disagree

Richard Feynman – a physicist considered amongst the greatest minds of his generation (also a crazy bongo-player, linguist and lock-picker)

Mind wandering & etc.

Earlier today, I was writing about High Definition TV and my thoughts relating to the potential harm it is doing to our senses. Within that blog I mentioned nostalgia. (Here is a separate blog specifically on that subject). The day before I referred to the title of a book of poems by Jack Kerouac –Continue reading “Mind wandering & etc.”

My medical record…

I still haven’t accepted the standard of not writing clinic or outpatient letters to patients, or at the very least copying them into the correspondence. e.g. Dear Mr J, Thank you for attending my clinic this afternoon. It was a pleasure to meet you and… Here is an example: Dear Dr Mulberry I saw yourContinue reading “My medical record…”

What did yesterday teach me?

Well, a few things; probably. Lesson one: This first one won’t apply to everyone, although, if like me you are in middle-age clutter, at times overwhelmed by too much, consider daily reduction. Every day get rid of one thing, item of clothing, utensil, book you no longer need – reduce, reuse and recycle. This shouldContinue reading “What did yesterday teach me?”

Bread

I’ve written before about our local pond; mostly my observations about ducks and their offspring, oh, and there was the slightly ungainly goose I named Ewan. There isn’t much to it; a round of tired concrete, a few benches with surrounding cherry and sycamores. Old folk sit, the ice-cream man visits at weekends when theContinue reading “Bread”

Mindless medicine

It is the way we teach people to blindly follow protocols, pathways and guidance; it is what makes the nurse challenge my wearing a watch but miss all the dirt on the floor or the nurses not washing their hands; it is, to quote Master Lee, staring at the finger and missing the heavenly glory.

Immature

Now, this is going to be a tricky one. This is because, it is part confession, with a little pre and post-hoc rationalisation. Are you intrigued? I may as well just jump-in, like you do at the Lido, head-first, only concern that your heart might stop. Now, I feel it is OK to come-clean aboutContinue reading “Immature”

Watch it…

(When was the last time anyone checked the dirt level of an NHS keyboard)(Oops, should have said that – the snap response there is sometimes keyboard-condom rather than ‘clean the thing’ the former making touch-typing a nightmare)(when you do get to type, rather than write, which is a mixed-methods form of data collection, common in the health service).

Blogs, Poems, etc 2017

Rod’s Blogs, Poems, etc.  Table of Contents I search for meaning. 6 ‘Behavioural’ 8 10 Years. 10 10 years. 11 99+. 13 1559 days. 15 A response to Henry. 17 A tale of two times?. 18 Acute. 20 Advance Care Plan, Human Rights & I want what I want 23 alea iacta est 25 AllContinue reading “Blogs, Poems, etc 2017”

Why are you here?

Leaving blue-tits to one side and, getting back to my main focus… A frequent question I ask my patients, usually when trying to establish their orientation, but also to clarify their understanding of the situation, is, ‘Do you know why you are here?’ I leave the question purposefully vague – ‘here’ – where is here?Continue reading “Why are you here?”

Speed

Everyone accepts that things happen fast nowadays. Yet, some aspects of life can’t be sped-up; indeed, any attempt to cut-corners or accelerate the process usually has negative consequences… hangry, tired, listless – readmission. No matter the speed, the turning-over of activity, there is a certain bandwidth that is constant; walking, driving, peeing. The media –Continue reading “Speed”

Medically fit – today and tomorrow (3)

You hear this term all the time nowadays, at least, if you work in an NHS hospital, are an inpatient or carer or relative of someone who is occupying a hospital bed. Most often… Are they medically fit? When will they be medically fit? If they are medically fit, have you done the take-home medicines?Continue reading “Medically fit – today and tomorrow (3)”

Acute

You can’t lie in the same hospital bed for more than the average length of stay which in your case, for your disease, disorder or condition is 3.76 days.

The Perfect Patient Pathway?*

On Friday, I attended an event where I learned about the Perfect Patient Pathway – I will call it PPP, or perhaps 3P for short, as it is a little bit of a mouthful, although entertaining in an alliterative sort of way. The event, run by the Good Things Foundation focused on examining the waysContinue reading “The Perfect Patient Pathway?*”

You made a mistake, dare I say…

Today I gained a further insight into the workings of hierarchy and patient safety. On the ward-round we were discussing a variety of topics; From this, as often happens we talked about one of my recent blogs, in fact, the one about the two old men, who yesterday became one, when Len (not his realContinue reading “You made a mistake, dare I say…”

The Death of Stalin

I thought it an odd way for someone to explain, ‘This is how we do it,’ but, there you go – within a short few years that person had become a victim of the system themselves.

What we know/humility

If you look back on a century ago, or moving further, a millennium, it is incredible to consider the changes in society. I realised yesterday that it is nearly 100 years since the October Revolution. If you subtract 1000 years, you are in 1017 – the Battle of Hastings was yet to come. And, whatContinue reading “What we know/humility”

Do you, or don’t you? (for dog walkers)

It would have been yesterday were it not for the bank holiday. Out with Maisie; Black bins and green boxes lining the streets ready for collection. My own black bag, morning gift from doggie; do I or don’t I? fortnightly when the men come to take away our stuff – rubbish, detritus, waste, I encounterContinue reading “Do you, or don’t you? (for dog walkers)”

Obese appendix

Now… I was ear-wigging this morning. I know it is a bad habit, but sometimes you just can’t help yourself. I had been called to see a patient on the surgical ward – an old woman & when I say ‘old’ (rather than ‘older’) – I am justified this time; she was 100. I wasContinue reading “Obese appendix”