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JOIN THE INTROVERTNATION MOVEMENT

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Every intention sets energy into motion, whether you are conscious of it or not.

Gary Zukav (via fuckyeahyoga)

Love this!!

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John Lloyd Young @CaféCarlyle, NYC

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This is amazing. You have the ability to bring the reader into the situation and make us see and feel things so clearly, even though we know nothing about them. I will always remember this because of your writing talent but more than that, you make me so thankful to be your friend❤️

Dear Student Nurse:

Today you came to our unit at an extraordinary time.

Scratch that, it wasn’t a day that was necessarily unheard of, but perhaps a day we would rather you remember as a heartbreaking reality, and not a day you were shooed aside and out of the way.

Dear student, we know you were scared when you scurried behind us, as we responded to the asystolic rhythm on the cardiac monitor, so instead of throwing you in the deep end, we found you a little place on the periphery where you could take in the whole scene, and learn everyone’s roles… we know you were a little annoyed, we know you wanted to stand close to the patient, we know you wanted to help, but the room quickly flooded with dozens of people who moved lightning quick to save this life. It wasn’t our intention to sideline you, but we have a hope that where you stood you were able to take it all in, not just the nurses, but the role of the doctors, respiratory therapists,  and nursing assistants too - so when you start out as a baby nurse, you won’t feel so lost, so when you have your first code, you will have the picture in your mind of the flow, and what each person should be doing.

We know you have a thousand questions, and we have every intention of answering every single one of them after we’re done, but right now, we are orienting a new baby nurse on the unit - one who was in your shoes not too long ago as a student,  where she had the opportunity to take all of this in from the periphery - so today is her chance to see it up close, to put in practice what she’s observed, for us to explain and correct her as she is doing it, to be right by her side…our focus right now cannot be split.

We understand your friend got “to do it all” with her own preceptor, and that’s awesome, but it’s possible that the unit she was on may not have had a new baby nurse on orientation and although you may not understand it yet, it takes a hell of a lot of focus and demand for attention when you are precepting, so we are not super men/women - we are prioritizing safety when we choose to have the new nurse in the thick of it, and the student observing.

We understand you’re hurt, we understand you feel sidelined, but please consider the family standing right next to you while you’re complaining about “not getting to do anything.” Please consider this is not just a skill to check off;  it’s a human life that’s fighting to stay alive, it’s a very devastated and frightened family that’s also taking in this very chaotic scene.

Dear student nurse, today you witnessed a patient crashing, and you witnessed a patient dying. It still hurts us, more than you will ever see from your perspective. Moreover, you witnessed firsthand how we are going to be there to support you when you are that new graduate baby nurse  - when it’s your first patient who codes. Today you stood on the sidelines, consider how powerful a tool that observation alone really is. As nurses, we don’t often get this opportunity, today you did.

All the tomorrows, you may not get that opportunity to just watch and learn. You will be on the frontline; the new graduate, the primary, secondary, or charge nurse - the adrenaline, mind racing, all the hands on practice you can take, the heartache, the stress, the responsibilities….so today stand back. Take in the bigger picture, for chances like today will not come often.

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❤️👍😘

Never make fun of mental health. Never assume that because your cousin Benny went through some shit, you have all the advice and answers in the world. Never look at a person and presume to know what they should or shouldn’t do regarding their mental health care. Never assume that they don’t already have good care and maybe it’s just a rough day. Never assume that a person who mentions suicide won’t do it, merely because “they wouldn’t do it if they’re talking about it,” never assume a person’s anxieties, depression or other disorder is any less stressful just because you don’t see, or understand it. Never mock someone when you have no damn idea what it took for them to get up, face the day and function. Never be the opinionated asshole that is the reason why people choose to hide behind excuses. Never assume that health care providers will magically be understanding when sometimes they can be more judgmental than any person out on the street. Never assume your opinion is significant or asked for when you do not know what is really going on behind a person’s facade. Never be the person who makes assumptions about mental health issues, never be the person whom people clam up around just because they can’t trust or feel safe enough around you to be honest about what they’re going through. Just never make fun of mental health, you wouldn’t do it with Cancer, so why do it with mental health which can be just as devastating for a person? There’s already enough stigma surrounding it without further contribution of unsolicited or inappropriate humor.

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We have a twitter here too: https://twitter.com/IntrovertUnite. See some of you there?

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If you trust The Founding Fathers (as I do) please read this bit of friendly persuasion and common sense.

Eliminating the Arts We Are Undermining Our Founders Vision of America By Nicholas Ferroni When I was just a wee little preschooler, I was desperately trying to find my place in a world that was far too big and confusing to a toddler. My insecurities were many, my confidence was minimal, and I just was not yet comfortable in my own skin. My only therapy at the time (which I didn’t know was therapy) occurred during the only time in school when I could express myself both emotionally and creatively: our art time. In painting and drawing, I learned to express myself; I learned to be creative and, most importantly, I learned that sometimes it is okay to draw outside the lines. Only through art was I able to express myself both creatively and emotionally, and it opened my mind and my heart in ways that I was not aware of at the time. Though I now teach history, which may come as a surprise, it was my time and talents in art that helped mold me into the nationally recognized educator that I am today. I have been humbled by all the attention I have received for my innovative and creative methods. But, the irony is that my successes teaching history are mainly achieved by incorporating strategies that are more likely to be found in an art class. From drawing to photography to music, using artistic means not only helps my students understand history, but it nurtures their creativity and imagination at the same time. History is my passion and is necessary to understand why things are; similarly, math and the sciences are necessary to explain why things are, but, it is the subject of the arts that is necessary to create and envision how things could be. My title suggests that I am under the impression that getting rid of the arts would undermine the very vision our founding fathers had for America... and of this I am certain. This was a fact I came to find during my studies in college. I was attempting to understand “What guiding elements led our founders to come up with such a unique vision at the time?” Also, though they were all incredibly different in beliefs, “What common principles and passions did they all have in common?” Time after time, my research led me to the fact that all the founders, even Washington who was not as formally educated as the others, had love, respect and passion for philosophy, art and music, three subjects that are the basis for all humanities courses. George Washington believed the arts should be at the foundation of an enlightened nation. In a letter to a friend in 1781, Washington plainly wrote: The arts and sciences essential to the prosperity of the state and to the ornament and happiness of human life have a primary claim to the encouragement of every lover of his country and mankind. Washington’s love for the arts was not the exception amongst the other founders but, in fact, was the norm. In a letter to his wife, Abigail, John Adams went into great detail about why he was so committed to the Revolution, and what he hoped his children and grandchildren would gain from his sacrifice: ... I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy... in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture... In 1780, during some of the most crucial years of the Revolution, John and Sam Adams, and John Hancock felt it necessary to charter an academy in Cambridge, even before America won its independence. It seems obvious that only a military academy would be that important to create in the midst of a war, but it was not a military academy. In fact, they founded the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, one of the most prestigious societies of research and study in the United States. Adams penned the Academy’s motto himself; it read “To cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honour, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Its honorary first class in 1781 included Ben Franklin and George Washington. The fact that the founding fathers chartered an academy focusing on the arts in a country which still was not technically theirs should be definitive proof how fundamental they felt the arts were to an enlightened nation. In his later years, Washington continued to make sure the arts were at the center of education, and makes this very clear in a letter he wrote in 1796 to a trustee of the newly chartered Washington Academy (which would eventually become Washington and Lee University): To promote literature in this rising empire, and to encourage the arts, have ever been amongst the warmest wishes of my heart. I can’t imagine that there is another way to interpret that passage or its meaning. The world we live is far different than the world in which our founding fathers did. Though the world has changed greatly, the arts (which include music, painting and drama) have remained constant over time. With a few additions due to technology, such as photography, film and even the synthesizer in music, the founders would not have a problem identifying the arts of today. You may argue whether Washington would prefer Ghost: The Musical over The Lion King, whether Adams would care for the Dali’s surrealist painting style or Picasso’s cubism, whether Franklin would think Warhol’s photographs are nonsense, or even if Jefferson would prefer the music of Nicki Minaj over Taylor Swift. However, there should be no arguing that they believed the arts were as important to the development and growth of an enlightened country as science and philosophy. It can be argued with good reason that, without the arts, America would lose the very creative and free thinking spirit that has come to define us since our conception. Though America outsources its labor and production to various countries such as India and China, it is safe to say that American ingenuity and creativity is still alive and strong. If our goal as a nation is to become like the very nations to which we outsource our work (because they tend to dominate in math and science and not creativity), politicians and school boards are making that prophecy come true. By eliminating the arts, we are eliminating the most unique and successful characteristic that has separated Americans from the rest of the world since our founding, which is why the founding fathers immediately attempted to make the arts the foundation of their creative experiment. References: Adams, John. “Letter to Abigail Adams 12 May. 1780.” The Quotable Founding Fathers. 2008. Fall River Press. New York, NY. American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2012 Jefferson, Thomas. Letter to James Madison 20 September. 1780. The Quotable Founding Fathers. New York: Fall River Press, 2008. Washington, George. “Letter to Joseph Willard 22 March. 1781.” The Quotable Founding Fathers. New York: Fall River Press, 2008. Washington, George.”Letter to Trustee of Washington Academy 17 June. 1798.” The Quotable Founding Fathers. New York: Fall River Press, 2008.

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“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”

Robert A. Heinlein (via goodreadss)

=)

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(via jfbaier)

👍❤️😻

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Great shot Michelle!!

John Lloyd Young @CaféCarlyle, NYC

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This is amazing. I appreciate the kindness and humanity of nurses. Their/your care to my mother did not go unnoticed and my gratitude is forever. Thanks Michelle…..you are an angel❤️

@dancingnurse-ed

Responsibility

People often say to nurses or doctors,

“How was your day?”

“Tell me how it is to be a nurse, how is it to be a doctor?”

Questions that perhaps give us the most pause.

Except, if you ask us, the work on the frontline feels anything but explainable, anything but extraordinary.

We wake up in the morning, we dread going to work, we hit the snooze button like any other, wishing the day wasn’t Monday, wishing the 12.5 hours stretched before us wasn’t today, wishing we could snuggle under the covers, away from the world. We surface, kick the covers off obstinately, brew our coffee/tea, curse the obnoxious commuters. We resemble any responsible adult when we go through the motions of everyday life.  

Except; the responsibility hasn’t even begun.

We punch in, walk onto the unit, surveying the waiting room as we walk in - a determinant of how the shift may be; large groups grieving, families arguing, solemn looks, crash cart lined up outside the room, empty nursing station warning trouble in one or more of the rooms, and we want to turn around and walk back off the unit.

Except, we don’t.

We take our assignment for the day, the patient who is crashing in room 12, and another supposed low maintenance patient, awaiting step down unit. We peek at the low maintenance patient on the way to the crasher, heart already feeling the guilt that we are about to neglect this patient today while we deal with the storm next door.

Except, we don’t have time for guilt - yet.

We spend the day in what could only be described as chasing our own tail; watching patients mercilessly who state “I won’t fall,” accepting blame when they do during the four seconds we turned the other way, we scurry back and forth titrating drips, sending copious labs, adjusting ventilator settings, participating in rounds, admitting, discharging, and transferring patients…and ready to begin it all over again before the room is even properly dry from being bleached clean….we spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up after doctors, and other providers, a trail of empty gauze, sodden dressings, syringes, tape, packaging and other assorted items so they do not become trapped under patients, or invade what little personal space they have, we dedicate moments, and sometimes backbreaking hours with patients, turning and  positioning, and tucking them in snug and warmly - not just because a damn hospital policy tells us too, but because it’s the one little thing we can do to give them a little dignity, a clean environment while this room and this bed is their home. We escort families in, and tactfully shoo them out with the frequency of  cleaning escaping diarrhea around the flexi-seal tube, somewhere in the middle of this reflecting on the harsh realities and visuals of nursing that television shows will never depict.

We grapple with decisions, weighing the risks and benefits of what we’re about to do and often it occurs without anyone else in the room, the enormity of the responsibility so overwhelming, yet we cannot think and stew on it until the day is done.

Except, try as we might, we’re not sure we could articulate it well to the masses, either.

We forgo meal breaks  when a patient is decompensating; not because we desire the glory of trudging on, but because for this day, this patient is our world, our responsibility, and one hour away from them in an understaffed unit  - with a fellow nurse watching them alongside of his/her own catastrophic situation  - well, it isn’t a meal break we will enjoy peacefully, so we tell ourselves we’ll just catch up a bit more, then go. Just another 10 minutes, then 10 minutes becomes just another hour… until it becomes just two more hours to change of shift, just one more hour, just thirty minutes.

Except, on most days, we aren’t even aware of how much time has escaped and we’re catching up on all the vital signs, the hourly intake, the interruptions and time seems to stand still in the moment when the patient arrests and the room is flooded with doctors and nurses trying to save this life.

Time stands still, even though an hour has passed and the patient is successfully resuscitated, and we go about the ordinary tasks of maintaining human function that the media will never portray, we go about cleansing the grime and gore that won’t stop gushing from all orifices - a sight we endure that’s by no means extraordinary, but an ordinary function of what we do, we spend time that feels like hours scurrying after orders while patients circle the drain, when our voices have grown hoarse over days and weeks from pleading with the doctors to grow some balls and tell the families honestly their loved one isn’t coming back, and it’s time…time to stop slaughtering them with invasive treatment, time to do what’s humane, no what’s good for ego, time to to stop and let them go….even though our hearts are shattered to admit defeat too. Most days we tell ourselves ordinary has to feel “enough” as we stare at the ceiling while sleep won’t come.

We spend sacred minutes, which is more than likely scattered moments with patients who are suffering, end of life, experiencing the agony of distressing news. We are at the bedside during painful procedures, we are at the bedside when no one else is there, no families, no friends, no one to speak of, We are the comfort of the brave, the solace of the strong, the restful place of the tired, and dying. And somedays we cannot leave it all there, so the caregiver role strain, the responsibility, the extent of what we see and feel in one day cannot be captured in any articulate sentence,

So,

When someone asks us how our day was, we’ll just say, “fine”

When someone asks us what it means to be a nurse, we are likely to simply say “responsibility.”

..We punch out, the day is over.

The outside world looks for what’s extraordinary.

To us, we find meaning in the ordinary.

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Positive attitudes qualify you for positive experiences. — Bryant McGill

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I love this Marie!! It made me think all day!

My word is choose....

I choose nutrition over cheesecake. I choose fitness over laziness. I choose humor and laughter over moping and moaning. I choose kindness and friendship over pettiness and jealousy. I choose my family over and over and over again. I choose to make my own choices.

Most of all I realize that happiness IS a choice, and I choose happiness.

Love, Chris

Word for 2017

Those of you who have known me for a while here may remember that for the last couple of years on New Year’s Day, I chose a focus word for the coming year to help make improvements in many areas of my life, and invited my JLY sisters to choose one as well.   I am doing the same again this year - it has worked well so far, helping me make many changes in my life and reach some of my goals.  This past year was especially good, having had my first novel published and getting to travel a lot more to see @johnlloydyoungfriends and many more of my friends - good times, great performances, inspiring moments, and cherished memories.  2015′s word was courage, and 2016′s was determination.  My word this year will build upon those, and help me build upon the positive things that have happened during the last couple of years.

My word for 2017 is RISE.  There are still days when I let circumstances and other things get to me…and although we are all human and all have those days, I am determined not to let them get the best of me.  I need to RISE above whatever life throws at me and continue to find ways to make my dreams happen.  Even with all of the positive momentum, there are still a lot of things I need to do and work on to get to where I need to go.  As they say, I’m not where I need to be yet, but I’m grateful that I’m no longer where I used to be.  And as I keep moving forward on my journey, I keep learning new things about myself, and discovering more of what makes me happy and what I want to accomplish.  We all have to keep learning and growing - keeping what works, improving upon some things, and making changes where necessary.  There are many things that I will keep from the past year - promoting my first book, writing the second one, traveling to JLY shows when I can and spending time with friends, and more.  But I want to improve upon that - find a way to be at more shows and travel even more, take my books to the next level, and find more freelancing and other work that makes me happy and helps people as well - to make a difference for myself and for others.  There are so many changes going on this year in our country and the world, and personally for each of us.  We are all going to have to RISE to the occasion with courage and strength, and I want to make sure I do my part on all levels.  

So each time I find myself feeling stressed or upset about something that is going on, I am going to remind myself to RISE…to rise above the storm and find the light - the ways to deal with it and to make things better.  It’s already started to work some magic in the last few days - just saying the word RISE to myself reminds me to lift myself up and do something positive.  

So once again, I invite all of you to choose a word that has meaning for you,  and to share it with us.  We can all keep each other motivated.  And in 2017, watch me RISE.  I look forward to watching all of you rise as well!  xo

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Michelle......you are really unbelievable!

Set #2

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You are the best....love you😘💕

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2016 Fine Art and Jewelry show, West Palm Beach Convention Center I was especially mesmerized by the exquisite detail in the oil painting of the Chinese woman. So many beautiful things to see.....might have to go back again tomorrow.

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