I just finished working a whopping 4 day stretch that included Labor day. I try to follow the same patients, as continuity of care is really important to me. Somehow this week I got the OCD folks. If you have ever seen the movie "As Good As It Gets" you have a hint of hat these folks suffer through daily.
One of my patients has "pole vaulting pins". He checks EVERYTHING for pins. I didn't ask him what kind of pins ie: straight pins, ATM pins, surgical pins, lapel pins, push pins, steel pins, copper pins etc. I do know they were NOT safety pins, cause the checking process lasted more than 10 mins, and exhausted this poor man.
So as I went to give him meds (OMG, 4 times a day), I gave him an empty water cup that he tapped upside down on the palm of his hand. To get the pins out. Just in case. After he had tapped this enough, he said "water" at which point I could fill the cup with water, and hand it back to him, so he could take his meds. PROVIDED I did not cross the cup over his med cup full of pills. Because some PINS may have jumped (aka pole vaulted) into the cup. His parents brought him in a metal detector. Really???
I also took care of a 31 year old woman (she looks like she's 15), who had the more typical germ thing going on. Her hands are raw over the knuckles from cleaning. Lord help us, it took 2 hours to have her shower/bath on Saturday. It would have been much shorter, but fool that I am, I agreed to supervise her so she could shave her legs and arm pits!!!!! She had to clean the tub after each area shaved. She is also, a recovering heroin addict. She has been clean for 1 year now. HOW THE HELL DID SHE SHOOT A NEEDLE INTO HER BODY?????????? They are always shared. I would put on a Kevlar suit before I picked up a junkies needle. To top it off, she has some psychotic thoughts! "Are these meds poison?". me= "No they are totally safe. I will never give you anything that might hurt you". I don't care how crazy you are, you deserve to feel good about yourself.....or how good you look.
She and Mr. Pin Man would frequently be at the med room door at the same time. He would get nasty, she would get more paranoid.
So I will take germs over pins any-day.
One of my patients has "pole vaulting pins". He checks EVERYTHING for pins. I didn't ask him what kind of pins ie: straight pins, ATM pins, surgical pins, lapel pins, push pins, steel pins, copper pins etc. I do know they were NOT safety pins, cause the checking process lasted more than 10 mins, and exhausted this poor man.
So as I went to give him meds (OMG, 4 times a day), I gave him an empty water cup that he tapped upside down on the palm of his hand. To get the pins out. Just in case. After he had tapped this enough, he said "water" at which point I could fill the cup with water, and hand it back to him, so he could take his meds. PROVIDED I did not cross the cup over his med cup full of pills. Because some PINS may have jumped (aka pole vaulted) into the cup. His parents brought him in a metal detector. Really???
I also took care of a 31 year old woman (she looks like she's 15), who had the more typical germ thing going on. Her hands are raw over the knuckles from cleaning. Lord help us, it took 2 hours to have her shower/bath on Saturday. It would have been much shorter, but fool that I am, I agreed to supervise her so she could shave her legs and arm pits!!!!! She had to clean the tub after each area shaved. She is also, a recovering heroin addict. She has been clean for 1 year now. HOW THE HELL DID SHE SHOOT A NEEDLE INTO HER BODY?????????? They are always shared. I would put on a Kevlar suit before I picked up a junkies needle. To top it off, she has some psychotic thoughts! "Are these meds poison?". me= "No they are totally safe. I will never give you anything that might hurt you". I don't care how crazy you are, you deserve to feel good about yourself.....or how good you look.
She and Mr. Pin Man would frequently be at the med room door at the same time. He would get nasty, she would get more paranoid.
So I will take germs over pins any-day.
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