Aristus
Aristus's JournalFriday Night Bourbon Buzz. Ask me anything.
No mixed drink tonight. Just bourbon, neat, over chilled whiskey stones.
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
I love you all…
Note to my beloved Loungers:
My traffic on DU is down a little right now. The laptop I’ve had for home use belonged to my old employer, and I turned it in last Friday. Also, I don’t access DU at my new job yet. One: I’m learning the new EHR system (vastly different from any other I’ve used before.) No time for idle net surfing. And two: the company monitors internet use at work. I don’t know if that applies to providers or not, but this early on, I’m not going to risk it.
Right now, I’m doing all my online navigating on my phone, which I don’t like very much. I was going to buy a laptop online, but Mrs. Aristus convinced me to wait until Black Friday, when I can get a good deal on one.
Anyway, I don’t imagine that anyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for my next post. 
But I’m just bringing everyone up to speed.
The re-boot of "Quantum Leap" needs to get some better writers.
In the most recent episode, the main character leaps into the body of a World War II veteran paratrooper. At one point, he discusses his service in the war by saying “I did four tours in Normandy!”
Anyone who has ever actually studied the war, however superficially, knows that ground forces didn’t do “tours” of duty back then. They were in the fight until they were killed, disabled, captured, or until the war was won. Air crew, like fighter pilots and bomber crews, did finite tours, so many missions, and then they could go home. But not ground forces.
The writer must be some young kid who thinks every war we ever fought was like Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan; endless, pointless conflicts into which the same soldiers were rotated into and out of over and over until the war comes to a whimpering end. It must come as a surprise to learn that once, we fought wars for just reasons, with clear purpose, a clearly identifiable enemy, and a plan to effect a definitive victory.
Anyway, that piece of poorly researched writing leapt out at me. Thought I’d try to get it out of my system.
The re-boot of "Quantum Leap" needs to get some better writers.
In the most recent episode, the main character leaps into the body of a World War II veteran paratrooper. At one point, he discusses his service in the war by saying “I did four tours in Normandy!”
Anyone who has ever actually studied the war, however superficially, knows that ground forces didn’t do “tours” of duty back then. They were in the fight until they were killed, disabled, captured, or until the war was won. Air crew, like fighter pilots and bomber crews, did finite tours, so many missions, and then they could go home. But not ground forces.
The writer must be some young kid who thinks every war we ever fought was like Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan; endless, pointless conflicts into which the same soldiers were rotated into and out of over and over until the war comes to a whimpering end. It must come as a surprise to learn that once, we fought wars for just reasons, with clear purpose, a clearly identifiable enemy, and a plan to effect a definitive victory.
Anyway, that piece of poorly researched writing leapt out at me. Thought I’d try to get it out of my system.
Friday Night First Week Of Work Brandy Buzz.
Ask me anything.
Enjoying a Kahlua Toreador tonight. Brandy, Kahlua, and an egg white.
First week went well. Mostly learning the new EHR system. My schedule also included “shadowing”. But that’s for novices right out of school.
I conferred with the other providers on their cases. We exchanged clinical pearls. Learned a lot from each other.
And left early.
With my new employer, when your work is done, you go home. No need to hang around looking at the clock.
I’m very happy.
I love you all…
Whew! Prepped for the first day of work tomorrow. Got everything done before noon.
Put my outfit together. Pressed some clean khakis. Starched and ironed a clean lab coat. Polished my best pair of clinic shoes. Even washed and hung to dry a bunch of my wife’s scrubs.
I won’t be pulling clinic for this first week or so. But it’s my first day at a new job in thirteen years. I want to make a good first impression.
I’m so grateful for the love and support from my fellow Loungers. You give me the strength of soul this line of work really requires.
Friday Night I'm Unemployed Brandy Buzz. Ask me anything.
Not officially unemployed. I start my new job on Monday. But still: between employers.
Choices for tonight: A Bosom Caresser, Sex On The Beach, or a Screaming Multiple Orgasm.
I opted for a cocktail.
A stiff drink. 
A Bosom Caresser it is. Brandy, Madeira, triple sec, and a dash of grenadine.
You probably can’t tell, but I’m relieved to be done with my old employer. Monday will be like coming home.
I love you all.
I can’t thank you enough or thank you properly for all the support you have shown me over the years. But I love you.
Last day of work. Cleaning out my office.
How did I accumulate so much stuff in my desk? I've worked here four times longer than I've worked anywhere else, and three times longer than I was in the Army. So much stuff, man.
Agenda for today: Bought doughnuts for the team. Saying goodbye to my supervising physician over at the main clinic. Exit interview (still no word on what time that will be). Keep clearing out my electronic in-box (Yep, they're still sending me med refills and lab results.) Pizza for lunch (Admin is buying everyone pizza, thinking this will be an acceptable substitute for not getting Veterans Day off. Another reason why I'm leaving.). Hauling my immense storage crate out to the car (It's cute how, in movies and TV, someone who quits his job or is fired is able to pack up his desk into a cute little carton that he carries under one arm). Dismantling all three lamps that make up my office 'mood lighting' and taking them to the car. (I hate fluorescent overhead lighting; drives me crazy. I always set up my office with a nice, green-shaded library lamp for my desk, and a couple of floor lamps throughout the office. Makes for soothing, relaxing area lighting without all that soul-crushing overhead stuff.)
Turning in my clinic key and returning my laptop will pretty much wrap things up.
Home for a celebratory drink. Hope to see you all there.
Dedicated to the children of Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza, who asked for none of this.
Had a nice moment of clear thinking yesterday from the nurse practitioner who is replacing me.
We got called on a Code Blue for someone who had lost consciousness in the bathroom. She wasn't a patient of mine, just a client who comes to the clinic to use the shower and laundry services.
We found her slumped over on the toilet, and helped her regain consciousness. We made sure she was okay, then did an after-action.
Me: "What do you think? Urination syncope? Defecation syncope?"
ARNP: "Fentanyl."
She was right. The patient was on a nod, and no one on the team had caught it when they directed her to the restroom. I tell my team not to bring back patients who are high or nodding, because they can't consent to examination or treatment. Unless it's an emergency, we let them sober up in the waiting room, and then address the problem.
One of the things I really respect about ARNP's is their practical, hard-headed approach to clinical medicine. A simple, no-nonsense method of medical practice.
I think my patients are going to be in good hands.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Puyallup, Washington
Member since: 2001
Number of posts: 64,855
