The Work Cascade

 Maybe it has to be meaningful work? 

I have found that, even when the work is daunting, once I get going, I get into it. Today, for instance, I had been putting off a couple of assignments for my Clinical section of Nursing 101. 

We had a break from clinical rotation. Our professor used it for two things. First, we were able to have a conversation about our experiences, which lasted about an hour. It was a really good exchange about our experiences and any questions or comments. 

For those who know me, I am not afraid to speak aloud about my impressions. The major thing that I mentioned was how nursing in practice is different from how I was observing it over our two clinical sessions. 

One instance was about documentation. According to the book, it is supposed to be done after seeing every patient. This is to ensure the least amount of information loss. In practice, the nurses would do their rounds, then go to the computer and document. 

The second instance happened on our first day. The nurse needed to get a blood glucose measurement using a tool called Accucheck. First, you use a tool to make a small prick in the patient's finger. Then, you use a special strip that's attached to a small handheld gadget to gather a drop of blood which is analyzed in just a few seconds. The patient did not want to have it done to them, so the nurse had one of my classmates hold her so that the nurse could do the procedure. According to our book, there were several problems with that, both moral and legal.

Part of our discussion dealt with the idea that we sometimes have to do things to ensure the patient's health. In this case, it could possibly have been rationalized that, without the measurement, proper medication and nutrition could not be provided. My main issue, though, was that the nurse didn't use any communication skills with the patient. She didn't ask the patient why she was so opposed to the procedure. Did the patient understand the importance of the procedure? Could we have come back a little later?

Sorry - waaay off track on what I first brought up! 

After we all talked about our experiences and had our discussion, the professor was going to give us time to work on some projects independently. First, though, he went through the projects and we were able to talk about them one at a time to understand what was needed to complete them.

Once I got going, I was hooked. I took a couple of short breaks to walk the dog and have lunch, but I kept thinking about my assignments and wanted to get back to it.

It's like that, too, when I start organizing a room or painting a fence. I'll find any excuse to avoid those things. But, once I get started, I get focused and want to do a really good job. 

That's why I called it a cascade - once I start, I don't want to stop because of the momentum that I've built.

Do you ever have that experience?