[Sometimes! And please don't quote me on that.]
Anyway, I had such a blast on Friday. It was the annual Leadership Car Wash, where members of hospital leadership are asked to wash employees' cars for free. We stake out a part of the parking lot, set up a small tent, and wash the endless stream of cars that parade by, anxious to blast fellow members of hospital leadership with water.
But hey, that's okay. Your employees know you REALLY care when you wash their cars.
Then we had a bit of a lull in the parade. It was lunchtime and our business slowed to a trickle. Just then, a helicopter landed on the helipad and we briefly wondered if we should have offered to wash the helicopter?
With our hair whipping in the artificial wind created by the whirring blades of the copter, I was reminded of just how cool my job is. The helicopter, quickly departing for one of the academic medical centers downtown, reminded me of the life and death matters that happen around me in our hospital.
So did the water balloon event that transpired a few hours later. I got soaked by a bunch of jokesters from Marketing and waddled back to the boardroom in my wet capri's, flip flops, and pony-tailed hair for our strategic planning meeting. Two hours later, we went back out to the Car Wash with the intent to soak Elvis, EVOO, and Nurse Jackie.
The car wash was located right next to the three-story parking garage. We filled buckets, water balloons, and water guns so we could surprise our senior leaders from the upper echelons of the parking garage. The VP of HR and I huddled on the second floor of the parking garage, precariously poised to drop cantaloupe-sized water balloons on our leaders' heads. The Marketing team lined the leaders up against the wall, for a group shot for the employee newsletter. I gazed down, envisioning my incredible opportunity!
I will never forget that cathartic feeling, as I let a large water balloon drift effortlessly down two stories...and hit Nurse Jackie squarely in the head!
THAT was priceless. How often have you had the opportunity to accost your boss with the backing of the VP of HR? It was hysterical and I KNOW I have it coming to me when I least expect it. Oh well, it was completely worth it.
She took it in good spirits and when I ambled toward the car wash victims, I mean, coworkers, Nurse Jackie muttered under her breath that she underestimated me.
Hehehehe. Moral victory! It was a great way to conclude a Friday.
Then today, the whole life-and-death reality hit me in the face again when, after 10 straight hours of meetings without one break (one of them was senior leadership where I went head-to-head with EVOO again), I led an impromptu meeting in Occupational Medicine about the administration of our new mandatory flu vaccine policy. I was completely dragging and fueled only by the massive mug of trucker brew coffee I nabbed at 3 pm. But in the middle of this all-encompassing meeting, a patient staggered into the clinic's waiting room, ashen faced, and gasping for breath.
She had a freaking heart attack and was NOT doing well in our waiting room. My nurses lept into action, grabbing the nasal cannula, oxygen, stretcher, bp cuff, etc. I felt so helpless as I ran to get a trash can so the patient did not vomit on the floor (TMI, but it happens with heart attack sufferers). The manager called 911 and the ambulance quickly came and whisked the patient to the cath lab, as she was nearing cardiac arrest.
It was so random. I'm reminded that I'm not clinical and have no idea how to revive a heart attack victim during times like that. But as soon as the patient departed via ambulance, the group quickly settled down and wanted to resume chatter about flu. Really? Can't we talk about Door to Balloon or Chest Pain Accreditation!?
Life and death. You just never know whether you're going to require a helicopter or drop with a heart attack in Dorrie's clinic. To be honest, I wouldn't mind having a heart attack in that clinic. I've never seen humans move that quickly!
After working Sunday and having two very full days Monday and Tuesday, I am looking forward to a 'boring' ethicists' meeting I have all day tomorrow at a neighboring health system. I don't think I mentioned it here, but I finally received my grade for my ethics certification. I passed and am official now! Rather anticlimactic, but closure is a good thing. Hopefully, there will not be any cardiac arrests or water balloons there!
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