I told Jesse that I am making him famous on the internet, and he enjoyed that.  He told me that he simply wouldn't cover shifts for people he didn't like. While that's his way of expressing his limits, there's a great deal to be gained by knowing what our limits are. If we have a co-worker that grates on our nerves intentionally or not, ...

BERLIN- ERS President Leonardo Fabbri, MD, spoke with me today about his experience at the conference this year and his thoughts on Mayor Michael Bloomberg challenging doctors worldwide to stop smoking. ''His speech was an excellent amplifier of lung health prevention,'' he explained. ''His program is the most impressive available ...

Sure, this has been in the works for years and reported in the print magazine's pages.  But now that Medicare set the legislative wheels in motion other insurers will surely do the same. Are you worried about this? And should Medicare consider VAP a ''never event?'' ''Starting today, Medicare will slash hospital payments for ...

What are the odds?  If you've come back to the blog with some experiences in mind, put aside the 50/50 rule and ask yourself what your odds are of saying ''yes.'' For every ten times you're asked to cover for someone, how many times do you agree, and why? You may have such a good track record for accepting shifts that you get a lot of ...

Trees are slowly starting to show their fall colors, my yard hasn’t been mowed in weeks, and football has thankfully returned to prime time TV. It must be fall! With fall, comes that preparation period for managers to figure out how they will staff their departments through the winter. Running scenarios of illnesses effecting staffing, the ...

It really takes a special person to work in pediatrics. We get to see the best of the best and the worst of the worst. It's one of those things that you either love or you hate.  I never thought I would love it, but I do. No other specialty allows me to work with cystic fibrosis, former preemies and asthmatics all in the same day. I see the ...

Before I ever got into the health care field, I was languishing in mediocrity, unsure of what I wanted my future to hold. The one thing I took solace in was sitting down at night, and enjoying my medical dramas/comedies (particularly Scrubs). Luckily, it didn't take me too long to put two and two together and have an epiphany: Do what ...

Personal lives and shift obligations may collide more often than not in your department.  As a new therapist, I found myself in situations where my vivid social life would have to be filmed in black and white, due to my work schedule.  I also encountered the reverse, where I was asked to come to the rescue. Very early in my career, a ...

I hear this all the time.  I was meeting a neighbor the other day when we discovered that she was also an RT, had been doing adult critical care her whole career.  Those were her exact words to me. I felt the same way once upon a time.  Let me give you a little background on how I went from ''there is no way I can work with kids'' ...

Two weeks is standard notice.  You can offer a month, a week, or none, depending on the circumstances.  Be honest and creative in your exit so you can leave room to return if you choose to.  Many things can happen in your time away.  The facility can be bought out and filled with people you'll want to work with.  Dorothy ...