Caregiving: remember the 'good guys'

Living with the failing US healthcare bureaucracy it’s also important to remember the people who wear the proverbial white hats, the ‘good guys.’ They are out there, whether serving as doctors, nurses, aides, med techs, or hourly computer office workers. 

 

There are plenty serving the ‘dark side’, but do WE do enough to say thanks to those who wear the white hats?

 

In a comment to my previous entry, Jaymi of AOL journal Throw Me A Bone mentions she’s sending her nurse practitioner cookies “because she's the only one who returns phone calls promptly”. … That’s the spirit!

 

Whenever I visit my nurse practitioner's office I try to take a bag of sugar free Hershey candy to add to the office bowl of treats they have at the check out counter. … It’s not much but it says thanks, and buys miles of good will.

 

Since Patti’s admission to a care facility we have given a Christmas present each year of a three month fruit club to the staff on her unit. A delivery of a couple pounds of oranges and tangerines can easily be shared between all the staff members of the three shifts.

 

“Thanks” can be as simple as a thank you card following an appointment or a letter acknowledging a particularly helpful or courteous staff member. A letter ending up in someone’s employee file you can believe is “remembered” and appreciated.

 

Time itself can be a gift. Rather than call for RX refills which not only ties up phones but pulls office staff away from patients to write down my needs, RX numbers, pharmacy number, etc. I simply fax the office with a brief one page fax including all necessary information. … I’ve never found a medical office staff that did not appreciate this simple courtesy.

 

Do unto others …

Tags: caregiving