Had to Stop and Refocus

Thank you for your understanding as I took a brief blogging break. I had to stop and pull my head out of, well, the sand. I had to re-examine my motivation, my ambition, and the course I pursued. In short, I felt like I was becoming a bit of a jerk. So I took this week to give my job literally everything I have. I worked 53 hours in four days. Because my 'fridge was empty with company coming in this weekend, I had to hit the grocery store. I about fell asleep on my feet as I waited for my turn at the deli.

Oddly, it feels great to "give it all I got." Plus, I received a raise this week, so I felt motivated to work even harder. Weird how that "carrot and stick" thing works!

I had a few noteworthy experiences this week. In addition to my usual list of administrative meetings, I observed in the Cath Lab (Cardiac Catherization Lab), where they unclog arteries around the heart. I watched three patients' procedures: one diagnostic, one where the cardiologist ballooned and stented three arteries, and one that had an aneurysm and the patient was shuttled directly back to Open Heart. I'm not kidding around anymore; I'm finished with the cheese fries!

It's amazing to see what medicine can do these days. Every procedure started with a large I.V. in the femoral (groin) vein. The cardiologist snakes a 3-4 foot wire up the vein, moves over to the artery, moves a sheath up the wire, and all the images pop forth on a panoramic HD screen. From there, the doc can scan all the arteries in all four chambers of the heart, checking for blockages or disease. Instead of my stereotypical fear of passing out, I found myself transfixed at the images of patients' beating hearts.

I love being able to get back into the clinical areas. The administrative side is often limited to meetings and boardrooms. The clinical side really has the front-line responsibility to the patients and I think all administrators should have this exposure to the patient care setting.