Home Forums Discussions General Discussion 2 year mark

I had one of those mornings.

Several full exams on AM schedule, 15 plus messages in portal, 5+ lab imports with abnormals in most, substitute nurse, first patient supposed to just come by to compare her CBS machine with ours, but demanded to be seen and her problem list had as many items as her years. Plus all the 15 minute visits.

It has now been just over 2 years and in the paper era, would still be in up over elbows and ears in the paper shuffle, but my three legged stool approach is working quite well. For maximum efficiency if my AC inbox, my nurses' inbox and Updox worksite stay empty things get done and get done quickly.

I am still reminded on a daily basis if you have the right tools, these mornings are not only manageable but the work is done better.

Even "bug ridden AC" and Updox has revolutionized my practice and as an observer and user of this technology am still humbled by its functionality.

I get as frustrated as the next guy when Newcrap craps out and Updox is being Downdox, but when this stuff is working. Holy batman!

But I am feeling rather lucky to be part of all this and just wanted to say thanks to all on the user board who have helped with all the not so good moments, so that moments like today are easily dealt with.

Hope today was better, Jim.
At the very least... it's Friday.

Jon,

It is a culmination of 2 weeks of doing menial tasks that need to get done, that my regular nurse does, and not much appreciated till you do without. My fill in nurse is great but but seeing a full load and trying to keep up is difficult for anyone just stepping in for a week or two.

I had one of those mornings yesterday, as we all have at times, when everything happens at once and other professions start to look much better.

However, just thinking of being in a similar situation 2 years prior in the paper world versus now I felt extremely grateful to have the tools at hand to get through the morning much easier.

So, yes, today was better, and yes, it is Friday and thank you for asking.

I have to get back to Grant's Memoirs, Vicksburg just surrendered.

You make good points, Jimmie. But, we are recovering from a major storm, 24 hrs of power loss in some areas and effects of power surges on electronics. The power went out at midnight, so the UPS was overwhelmed, and the DSL internet system is failing as battery backup for the telephone repeater sites fails. I can only say that with paper we could keep going by flashlight if need by.

I think it was just over a month ago that our building was out of electricity for 6+ hours and that situation only wanes in comparison to yours, but it shut us down completely and even though I have 2 year old outdated paper charts, I did not feel comfortable seeing patients without a current electronic chart.

I used the time to lobby all our other neighbors in the building to impress our building owner to have generator backup to keep us semi-functioning.
We are still working on this request.

Hang in there, and Thursday does not seem so rough now.

David, it almost sounds like you are up in Alaska or some far out place like that...

jimmie,

Ever thought of being a writer?

Bert,

No, but I love to read.

My wife is the creative one, and being a potter and growing up on a farm, gives her the opportunity to still play in the mud.

But super heating gumbo dirt spun into a useable form, then dipping and sloshing in mineral solutions and super heating a second time to produce a unique piece every time represents a fine balance of art and science.

But, unlike most writing, her work will last for centuries.

I just figured a workaround for David, a huge kiln to surround Fairbanks once the sun goes down for winter.

Ooohhhh that sounds nice. Here is what is forecast for this week...


Tuesday Night And Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 25 below. Highs 10 to 15 below.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 30 below.

Thursday And Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Highs around 15 below. Lows around 30 below.

Friday And Friday Night: Mostly clear. Highs around 15 below. Lows 20 to 30 below.

Saturday: Mostly clear. Highs around 10 below.

Our 18 above with a skiff of snow is down right balmy. I guess it is all relative.

It is amazing: we have frequent winds in excess of 50 to 70 mph most winters, but the power rarely goes out. When it does, people comment on the utility's facebook page (a local electric co-op). The crews get out, get the tree off the lines, and power is up again. All in the subzero Alaska temps.

When I did a CME in Seattle last month they were alerting for 'high' winds of 25 mph and the power went off about 5 times before finally leaving us completely in the dark in our lecture hall for the rest of the day.

Jimmie: How about my situation: 35 messages in the inbox including 10 labs. There are 57 items needing attention in Updox. Oh, how I need to catch up today!

UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's because the trees have already all been blown away!! ;-)

The wind comment did not even register, that would be a calm day here.

We're still adjusting to the wind here on the East slope of the Rockies. The other night it was 40-60 mph with gust of 70+.

It is interesting to Lori & I that the practice of using evergreens as snow fences and wind breaks seems to be a recent innovation.

Well, coming from the Windy City (which was actually named such because of the politicians) we do get gusts 40-70 mph with major storms, but if you go downtown, the blast funneled through the buildings can be intense.

Wind breaks help until the pines start to snap.

Located just downwind from Washington, DC, we are subject to continual gusts of hot air.

Well, we had an anti-chinook phenomena yesterday evening went from 56 to 9 degrees in several hours. We can pipe some of that cool Canadian air east......

I remember being downtown with the family for a data mining conference on Navy Pier in the fall, in one of those street/wind-tunnels, and the daughter between Lori and I got blown off her feet and turned into a human kite. Memorable!
Folks here start with firs and trim them squat and wide. In Northern Nevada, we would often use pines, but keep takign the top out of them so that the trunk and root-ball grew oversized.

No worries, it will get here tonight from what I hear.

That is the reason that global warming is man-made, right?

Alberta Clipper is the term for the anti-chinook phenomena I could not remember earlier, when the cold wind blows from up North, and cools things down in a hurry!!!

I think the Mayor in Toronto could use a little bit of this his way too....

Indy,

If you look rather closely at the VW Vanagon in the left upper corner, you will notice absolutely no trees or windbreaks on our front yard prairie patch.

When the wind howls at 2 in the morning, I often wonder what the heck I was thinking building on top of a buffalo jump!!!!!

So it should get there tonight without any obstructive windbreaks from up north.

That is why a lot of the homesteaders built in a 'holler'.

Chris,

For a little money I use to go digging in the "holler" on our family farm in West Virginia for ginseng root. After the first freeze, the leaves of the plant turn a unique gold color and the red berries rise up from the center in clumps. The plant is hard to spot but once the leaves change color, it is easier to find, and usually on the north slope of a heavily old growth timbered area, as it is the darkest and coolest place ginseng likes to grow.

At the time, one could get 180 dollars per pound of root, and if one dried the root in an old car with the windshield intact, the outside dried out, but the inside stayed a bit heavier with moisture, and make a bit more.

Whether factual or not I am not sure, but my mother told of a distant female relative carrying muffins under her billowed out dress to feed the rebel troops hiding out in the "holler" of the family farm during the Civil War.

Sorry, I digress, but out here a "holler" is called a "coulee" and the term brought back old memories.

But I have to wrap this up and get back to my original point, and AC for me, is all about the freedom to continue in the Sacred Profession. I was telling my financial adviser that in 20 years of practice that right now is the absolute best time to be a primary care doctor. The tools at hand with AC/Updox/Up to date, and the things done at the point of care with a patient is nothing short of spectacular.

Of course she thought I stepped right out of the "holler" when I expressed this sentiment, but this is how I see it.