Thursday 20 August 2020

SYNERGY


 12 Growth Experts to Follow “Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less.” Norman Mailer

Wolves are protected even in human settlements, top EU court rules | News |  DW | 11.06.2020 Over the past few years, I have had an opportunity to create beautiful friendships with people whom I have met at my workplace. Over time we have each slowly grown into our own space some of us more slowly than others but lest the same, growth has been evident. With this, it has meant that we move to different departments or regions and as much as it has been difficult it is proving to be worthwhile. John Maxwell a great American author once said, “Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it is almost always due to personal growth.” For anyone left behind as this happens one experiences a barrage of emotions. One is happy to see them grow but then despondency creeps in. One can not fathom not seeing them for a long time. On some days despite offering our unmerited support we are left asking ourselves when is our time coming too. I am here to let you know that it is okay to feel unsure, the only difference is how you respond to it.

When the girls are packing their apartment, the boxes in the background  show more of Monica's towel categories! : howyoudoin A few weeks ago I was helping my friend pack her household belongings ready for the big move and she came across her vision board. I was quite taken aback by the intricacies within it. I remember seeing her lips moving but honestly not listening to what she was saying. My eyes were so glued on it. As far as I could tell she had achieved some major things on it and had modified some of the goals that were yet to come to pass. This current big move she was making was directly linked to all this and through revising her previously set goals she was on the right path to achieving them. I felt proud and decided maybe its time I put down mine too. Get all my ideas from my head to paper. Well, I did so and then this morphed into a learning process where I came across the term career mapping.

Mind mapping your career | Guardian Careers | theguardian.com Career mapping is the process of generating methods for individual progression within a particular area of one's choice of a career within a specified time frame. It differs greatly with professional development in that the latter only focuses on obtaining new skills and knowledge meant to remain relevant. As highlighted in some of my previous posts job satisfaction is key. It directly affects so many aspects of our lives that we can not afford to be lax about it. We invest too much of ourselves into it and when we can do something about it I believe we owe it to ourselves to do something.

Bee Reading glasses Cat eye reading glasses women reading | Etsy Analysis of research papers on this topic among the different databases revealed that for nurses, in particular, our career map is mainly informed by three key things;

  1.  The level of formal education
  2. The length and nature of our work experience
  3.  Competency assessment
For a better understanding of this, I suggest the analysis of the article attached to the following link nurse career mapping. As an employer, one would be quick to dismiss this but do you know this also directly affects the services delivered. The benefits of engaging or being involved with your staff in their career mapping include:
  • Reduced rates of staff turnover
  • Better service delivery through the use of current knowledge and skills.
  • Development of genuine loyalty to an organization. No trade secrets spilled
  • Better work relationships by reducing work-related conflicts 
There are so many ways to generate a career map. To obtain the best out of it do proper research on what you wish to achieve. Be open to trying what you put down as proficiencies and new skills needed and guard it. Why? because not all people you wish to share with will be ready to assist you to achieve it some are more ready to be a hindrance. Here is a simple guide to creating your own simple career guide or map. It is never too late to start. Detailed description

  1. Determine a starting point
  2. Determine a final goal
  3. Identify how to connect the two points
  4. Create a series of smaller goals within two points
  5. Put it at an easily accessible place where you can see it on a regular.
Additional resources on the above topic
10 Uplifting Quotes To Make Your Day As we continue developing into the best versions of self lets us identify what we enjoy doing and as Katherine Whitehorn said  “Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it." 


 

Friday 7 August 2020

I CHOOSE ME

 Communication Skills for Workplace Success “Communicate unto the other person that which you would want him to communicate unto you if your positions were reversed.”Aaron Goldman

The "Great Unknown"? | Tomorrow's World Who would have thought that in the year 2020 a new virus would be added to the emerging and reemerging infections list? Well, maybe the epidemiologists, because that is primarily their role. Right? We have had to have a crash course on how to actively live within the pandemic and so far I must applaud us all for really giving our best version of what we think actively living is. For a long time, many of us had never fully appreciated how rapidly our emotions can fluctuate. From being vibrant one minute to experiencing grappling fear of the unknown the next minute. I am sure we can each give scenarios related to this. 

The Power of Reflection - Tempus Personal Most recently I was handling a patient whom now in retrospect I should have handled with greater precaution. In this context, precautionary measures should have included full protective gear for at that particular time a lot was unknown. I had admitted an elderly male with underlying preexisting conditions who had acutely gone into pulmonary edema, therefore, had dyspnea, severe hypotension, and a deteriorating neurological function. A cardiopulmonary arrest was a sure outcome if no rapid intervention was done. He had already been initiated on oxygen supplementation via a non-rebreather mask at 15L/min, he had an ongoing Norepinephrine infusion running peripherally from the transferring unit and he had received stat doses of Lasix and Albumin. However, more needed to be done as he could no longer sustain enough respiratory effort. Urgent invasive intubation was done. Yes, we had the basic gown, surgical mask, and gloves but with the risk of exposure to aerosols, we had forgotten to wear a shield and the N95. Why? tensions ran high and the team leader shouting orders didn't aid much. A lot of mistakes were made in terms of our personal safety. Luckily, the patient was now adequately ventilating, and oxygenating. By this time his blood pressures were sustained. Later on, we had a debrief and the errors were discussed and it was noted that we need to improve on effective communication as this will encourage situational awareness which encourages the maintenance of personal safety at all times. We could have done better but I choose not to dwell on the what-ifs but rather what was the root cause of the problem.

The Ritual of Reflection | Heading home that day I managed to take a walk which allowed me to think through the day's activities. I realized all sense had gone out of the window because I could not imagine losing my patient. Adrenaline is a valuable thing as it makes the impossible workable but with it ushers a lot of illogical thinking. I felt obliged to help and this for a minute made me forget about myself. I am sure some of you may get this and some of you may not which is great as it generates a diverse audience for these conversations.

Are You Using Your Data, or Just Collecting It? A study done in Florida USA showed that often communication has been identified to vary by specialty, especially during a simulated operative emergency. This same study showed the effect of directed communication in eliciting a response depends on the clinical status of the patient. To read more on this follow the link operative team communication. In light of this pandemic, we do not have the luxury of this because we can not continue losing more health workers. We need to deliberately take steps to protect ourselves to continue providing care to all those who need us. Globally, as of June 23th 2020, the World Health Organization reported on more than 10 000 health workers in 40 African countries being infected with the covid 19 virus click here for more information W.H.O Africa. They further stated that inadequate access to personal protective equipment or weak infection prevention and control measures raise the risk of health worker infections. Coming to a realization of all this made me angry about myself for allowing it to happen. Currently, I am lucky enough to work for an organization that offers all protective gear yet I did not take advantage of this. Daily I am reminded that there is a group of my fellow colleagues who do not have this opportunity. I was angry because I contributed to the statistics that generate nosocomial infections. Wondering how? What if my patient had a highly infectious disease and I developed it after this exposure. Handling other immunocompromised patients would mean that they are at risk too. However, reflection reminded me of why situational awareness is key and why we need to work harder at working safely. We need to protect our families, ourselves, and our patients.

In conclusion, within healthcare, it is important to always be aware of the many reasons something can go wrong but at this time it is very crucial to do your best while playing your role accordingly. Simple ways we can achieve this is by holding each other accountable when errors are noted being made, be unanimously vocal. Vouch for what is right regardless of the situation we need to remember to take a few minutes in any medical/surgical emergency and make ourselves aware of the situation at hand.
“Doing what's right is never easy. You think you're right, but you lose track of what you were trying to do all along, and then there's blood and screaming and death. Doing a bad thing for a good end just sours the good.”Janice Hardy,