As the impending hurricane is about to hit New York I figured what should I do right now?! Set up candles? No. Make sure my flashlights are charged? No! Charge everything? NO! Update my blog?! YES! So here I am, you are so welcome for taking your entertainment into consideration instead of my safety.
So here's the thing. I went to Napa Valley last weekend and had literally one of the best weekends in the history of my 22 years of life. Mitch (my oldest cousin) got married the lovely Jill at a culinary institute in St. Helena, Napa Valley. I got there on Friday, meeting Alex and Eric right at my gate! My flight was delayed even so these two were troopers awaiting me with open arms. And after we had all flown miles to meet at the wedding we were ready for some In N Out! Trust me, In N Out is still delicious for us vegetarians...there is something called a grilled cheese plus amazing french fries and a Neapolitan shake obviously. Then we all went back to the hotel and passed out. Thrilling Friday night for the Thomas' huh? Saturday was the big day so naturally it was only smart to go wine tasting in the morning, 10am and Cathy, Greg, Alex, Eric, and I all roll up to Mumm Napa, a sparkling wine vineyard! Om nom nom indeed. The drinking began. Mumm Napa was by far my favorite, which was not a surprise to me since mimosas have always been one of my favorite treats, but this champagne did not need any OJ that is for sure!
On to the wedding. The wedding was gorgeous, amazing, and the most fun wedding I have ever been to! It was nonstop fun, dancing, drinking, and eating. I definitely cried during the beautiful ceremony that fit my cousin and his new wife so well. It was sweet and silly all at the same time. We laughed, we cried, you know the deal. Then we took some pictures ate some appetizers, drank some drinks and then migrated upstairs where the real fun began! We celebrated all night, dancing, eating, drinking and I am just so happy for the new Thomas family member! What a blast. Congratulations to one of my favorite couples :)
Sunday we went to three more vineyards and tasted tons more wine. It was really fun to finally figure out what kind of wine I actually like besides $2 buck chuck haha. I am such a classy wine connoisseur now watch out world! Just kidding though, kind of.
After the best weekend ever I have had a rough week getting back into the swing of things, but when in New York I must make the best of things as I always do! Plus now we have a hurricane named Sandy rolling through to spice things up! This is my first ever Hurricane. It's weird because I definitely know what to do when an Earthquake happens, but what the hell does one do when a hurricane happens? Thank God for Google and the internet sheesh. I naturally, google'd "what to do in a hurricane" and now am feeling quite prepared. I dug out my headlamp, all of my delicious Anthropologie candles (what a candle snob I know, but shoot you are just jealous your house doesn't smell as amazing as my apartment will), stocked up on food, drinks, and water and am charging all electronics should we experience a power outage. I also scrounged up my Taboo, Catch Phrase, and Phase 10 should a game night be in order! Which I mean, it definitely will be because games are just fun! So I am ready for you Hurricane Sandy, Frankenstorm as they are calling it.
Wish me luck friends and family! I will updated again soon as long as I make it through the storm! Haha just kidding sort of.
In love and hurricanes,
-Mandihattan
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Health Care
Hello dedicated blog reader, or newcomer. I'll pretend I'm not offended that it took you three months to start reading my blog, I'm just glad you finally made it! Today is quite a heavy topic to start on though so feel free to read a different one first and then come back to this one when the time is right...haha just kidding, but seriously...health care.
I'll start with a disclaimer. I am a social worker. I am 22 years old and I am a woman. Since this is my blog I will do what I want and if you are here reading this, you must kind of like me at least a little so I do not wish to break up with you and I wish that you still like me after this post. If you disagree with my political post than you should stop reading here, because once again, I am a social worker, I am 22 years old and I am a woman. Now, not all social worker women that are in college are liberal, but let's be honest here...I'd venture to say it's the majority. Knowing that, tread lightly on the rest of the blog because it's about time I got political on here. Come on, just this once okay?
Health care. It's my number one passion right now. Health care is a right. I basically eat, sleep, breathe, and dream health care. I watch all the documentaries I can get my hands on that relate to health care, read books on health care, and oh wait I'm in a class all about health care policy. So look at that, big surprise that I want to talk about it right? Let's talk about the Affordable Care Act. Let's just go there for a moment. Come with me to the land of Obamacare and what it all means.
I'll explain it short and sweet because I think that health care is so large and in charge that it's difficult to wrap your brain around. And if you are a privileged one like me, you have had health insurance your whole life and have probably hardly thought once about how lucky that makes you.
The ACA has 6 main components to it. Feel free to skip ahead if you already know this.
1. Guaranteed issue: You cannot be turned away for a preexisting condition.
2. Individual mandate: Everyone is mandated to get health care or else will pay a fine. This aspect is particularly important because without the mandate we risk "free-riders" who will not get insurance until they get sick. Driving up the cost of health insurance and insurers would NEVER agree to guaranteed issue, lifetime caps, and annual limits if we did not have the mandate.
3. Employer mandate: Employers are given incentives to provide ESI (employer-sponsored insurance) to their employees as well as health care subsidies if they have 25 or less employees in their company.
4. Medicaid expansion: THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Medicaid currently, is categorical and means-tested. This means that everyone below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line will receive Medicaid as long as they stay below this line. With Medicaid expansion everyone below the 133% of the FPL will receive Medicaid. Can you imagine for a moment what it would be like to be that poor? It would be devastating. What would really be glorious is Medicaid expansion to below 250% of the FPL, but really...baby steps people, baby steps. With the supreme court ruling in 2012, states get the right to choose if they wish to expand or not. This is a PROBLEM. Many states think that it will cost them more money to expand, when in reality the benefits of expanding far exceed the cost.
5. Health insurance exchanges: People will have numerous choices of insurance coverage options through the exchanges and there will be a minimum standard that all of the insurance plans must meet. From there, people have the right to choose what will fit their lives the best. Either the states will set these up or the federal government will for them.
6. Community rating: Premiums based on the community you live, not your career. This helps the poor who tend to have higher-risk positions and get hit the hardest with high premiums. It will be based on your geographic location, your literal community.
Now that we have reviewed the 6 main components of the ACA don't you feel so much better? Now let's talk about this. Sure, it's not a perfect plan, but can we agree that it's a step in the right direction? Take Massachusetts for example. They essentially have the ACA in place right as we speak and I have a few very dear friends who have had only the best experiences with health care in Massachusetts.
It is an issue that politicians want to overturn the ACA and for that matter that politicians do not wish to expand Medicaid. It literally sickens me to think about the 45,000 people who die every year from lack of health care. I am not saying who to vote for, but don't turn a blind uneducated eye to the damage that this election can cause on real lives. Read about it, watch the documentary: Escape Fire (it's amazing bee-tee-dubs), read the book Health Care Reform (it's a comic book people, about health care! GENIUS I TELL YOU!). Learn what you are really voting for. And then vote for whomever you damn well please.
Working at Bellevue has taught me a lot and one of those things is about health care. LITERALLY, every day my patients ask me how they will pay the hospital bill. Thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt people go to save their own lives and their loved ones. Health care is not getting any cheaper. In fact, if the price of bread has been increasing at the same rate as health care we would be paying at least $30 for a loaf. $30 for a loaf of bread. How would we eat toast!?
Alright. Let's all take a deep breath. We made it, we made it through Mandi's political rant. Phew! Congratulations, very few people are usually in on these rants. Mostly my boyfriend and closest friends who are also fans of ranting about health care get the honor and privilege of hearing these rants. Now take a moment, and stop hating me for being such a "crazy liberal" and move on with your life. You already knew this about me.
Here are some silly things that have happened to me this week to lighten the mood:
1. I got semi-accosted by a man who wanted money from me after working at Bellevue one day. He came right up to me and started hitting me with his baseball cap right in a large throng of people waiting for the light to change. It was the strangest experience. Needless to say, he did not get money from me. I mean would it have killed him to at least ask nicely?
2. I watched the debate. I mean silly is the understatement of the century. 2 little boys fighting. It was so mature.
3. I went to Target and spent probably $20 on Halloween candy and Dove chocolate. Judge me I dare you! You're just jealous because Amelia and I ate all of the Twix because we realized we really really like Twix! Is that even how you spell Twix? I wouldn't know since they are all gone...
4. Derek Jeter injured himself therefore bringing the demise to the New York Yankees. <Insert evil laugh here>. Just because I moved to the big apple does NOT mean I would sell out to the worst team in baseball. Oh shoot, are sports teams more dangerous to talk about than politics?
5. I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin martinis, and pumpkin doughnuts, all in the same week. It's not an addiction, but it might be pumpkin abuse. To be determined by the end of the fall season.
Alright ladies and gentlemen. We made it! How are you feeling? Feelings check! Good? Me too. It's far past my bedtime now as I have to wake up quite early to begin the commute of another day. In other news, I will be on the best coast this weekend to see my oldest cousin Mitch get married to his 7 year girlfriend, the lovely Jill. I am beyond excited to spend the weekend with the Thomas family drinking lots of wine in Napa Valley and dancing the evenings away, not to mention there is a swimming pool at the timeshare we are staying at! Weeee who doesn't love a great wedding!? See you all on the other side! I promise a less intense, lots of drinking stories, post next week.
I love you...you still love me right? :)
-Mandihattan
I'll start with a disclaimer. I am a social worker. I am 22 years old and I am a woman. Since this is my blog I will do what I want and if you are here reading this, you must kind of like me at least a little so I do not wish to break up with you and I wish that you still like me after this post. If you disagree with my political post than you should stop reading here, because once again, I am a social worker, I am 22 years old and I am a woman. Now, not all social worker women that are in college are liberal, but let's be honest here...I'd venture to say it's the majority. Knowing that, tread lightly on the rest of the blog because it's about time I got political on here. Come on, just this once okay?
Health care. It's my number one passion right now. Health care is a right. I basically eat, sleep, breathe, and dream health care. I watch all the documentaries I can get my hands on that relate to health care, read books on health care, and oh wait I'm in a class all about health care policy. So look at that, big surprise that I want to talk about it right? Let's talk about the Affordable Care Act. Let's just go there for a moment. Come with me to the land of Obamacare and what it all means.
I'll explain it short and sweet because I think that health care is so large and in charge that it's difficult to wrap your brain around. And if you are a privileged one like me, you have had health insurance your whole life and have probably hardly thought once about how lucky that makes you.
The ACA has 6 main components to it. Feel free to skip ahead if you already know this.
1. Guaranteed issue: You cannot be turned away for a preexisting condition.
2. Individual mandate: Everyone is mandated to get health care or else will pay a fine. This aspect is particularly important because without the mandate we risk "free-riders" who will not get insurance until they get sick. Driving up the cost of health insurance and insurers would NEVER agree to guaranteed issue, lifetime caps, and annual limits if we did not have the mandate.
3. Employer mandate: Employers are given incentives to provide ESI (employer-sponsored insurance) to their employees as well as health care subsidies if they have 25 or less employees in their company.
4. Medicaid expansion: THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Medicaid currently, is categorical and means-tested. This means that everyone below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line will receive Medicaid as long as they stay below this line. With Medicaid expansion everyone below the 133% of the FPL will receive Medicaid. Can you imagine for a moment what it would be like to be that poor? It would be devastating. What would really be glorious is Medicaid expansion to below 250% of the FPL, but really...baby steps people, baby steps. With the supreme court ruling in 2012, states get the right to choose if they wish to expand or not. This is a PROBLEM. Many states think that it will cost them more money to expand, when in reality the benefits of expanding far exceed the cost.
5. Health insurance exchanges: People will have numerous choices of insurance coverage options through the exchanges and there will be a minimum standard that all of the insurance plans must meet. From there, people have the right to choose what will fit their lives the best. Either the states will set these up or the federal government will for them.
6. Community rating: Premiums based on the community you live, not your career. This helps the poor who tend to have higher-risk positions and get hit the hardest with high premiums. It will be based on your geographic location, your literal community.
Now that we have reviewed the 6 main components of the ACA don't you feel so much better? Now let's talk about this. Sure, it's not a perfect plan, but can we agree that it's a step in the right direction? Take Massachusetts for example. They essentially have the ACA in place right as we speak and I have a few very dear friends who have had only the best experiences with health care in Massachusetts.
It is an issue that politicians want to overturn the ACA and for that matter that politicians do not wish to expand Medicaid. It literally sickens me to think about the 45,000 people who die every year from lack of health care. I am not saying who to vote for, but don't turn a blind uneducated eye to the damage that this election can cause on real lives. Read about it, watch the documentary: Escape Fire (it's amazing bee-tee-dubs), read the book Health Care Reform (it's a comic book people, about health care! GENIUS I TELL YOU!). Learn what you are really voting for. And then vote for whomever you damn well please.
Working at Bellevue has taught me a lot and one of those things is about health care. LITERALLY, every day my patients ask me how they will pay the hospital bill. Thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt people go to save their own lives and their loved ones. Health care is not getting any cheaper. In fact, if the price of bread has been increasing at the same rate as health care we would be paying at least $30 for a loaf. $30 for a loaf of bread. How would we eat toast!?
Alright. Let's all take a deep breath. We made it, we made it through Mandi's political rant. Phew! Congratulations, very few people are usually in on these rants. Mostly my boyfriend and closest friends who are also fans of ranting about health care get the honor and privilege of hearing these rants. Now take a moment, and stop hating me for being such a "crazy liberal" and move on with your life. You already knew this about me.
Here are some silly things that have happened to me this week to lighten the mood:
1. I got semi-accosted by a man who wanted money from me after working at Bellevue one day. He came right up to me and started hitting me with his baseball cap right in a large throng of people waiting for the light to change. It was the strangest experience. Needless to say, he did not get money from me. I mean would it have killed him to at least ask nicely?
2. I watched the debate. I mean silly is the understatement of the century. 2 little boys fighting. It was so mature.
3. I went to Target and spent probably $20 on Halloween candy and Dove chocolate. Judge me I dare you! You're just jealous because Amelia and I ate all of the Twix because we realized we really really like Twix! Is that even how you spell Twix? I wouldn't know since they are all gone...
4. Derek Jeter injured himself therefore bringing the demise to the New York Yankees. <Insert evil laugh here>. Just because I moved to the big apple does NOT mean I would sell out to the worst team in baseball. Oh shoot, are sports teams more dangerous to talk about than politics?
5. I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin martinis, and pumpkin doughnuts, all in the same week. It's not an addiction, but it might be pumpkin abuse. To be determined by the end of the fall season.
Alright ladies and gentlemen. We made it! How are you feeling? Feelings check! Good? Me too. It's far past my bedtime now as I have to wake up quite early to begin the commute of another day. In other news, I will be on the best coast this weekend to see my oldest cousin Mitch get married to his 7 year girlfriend, the lovely Jill. I am beyond excited to spend the weekend with the Thomas family drinking lots of wine in Napa Valley and dancing the evenings away, not to mention there is a swimming pool at the timeshare we are staying at! Weeee who doesn't love a great wedding!? See you all on the other side! I promise a less intense, lots of drinking stories, post next week.
I love you...you still love me right? :)
-Mandihattan
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Bellevue
Disclaimer: I really took this blogpost seriously and went a little overboard on the information so it's quite long. I apologize in advance, carry on if you wish and have the time and the energy. I will try to make it worth your while.
So in case you didn't know there are two Bellevues. Well actually there are probably way more than two, but let's not get too technical here. There is a Bellevue in Washington, across the water from Seattle where the lovely Eric Spishak is from and there is a Bellevue Hospital in New York City, which consequently is the oldest public hospital in the United States. Pretty awesome right? That's pretty awesome because I work there. No big deal, but it is a really big deal. For those of you from Seattle, working at Bellevue is probably similar to working at Harborview, only crazier because let's be real here, there are definitely more crazies in New York than in Seattle. It's arguable at least. But enough about crazies because that's not appropriate for me to refer to potential clients as crazy people haha.
So I work at Bellevue Hospital and if you've been keeping up on my blog you know that this was not an easy task. It took 3 whole weeks to get contracts figured out, but on Monday, October 1st, I got to walk through the doors of Bellevue for my first shift and I was...51 minutes early. Being early is part of my charm though, I am a very punctual person who thinks that being 15 minutes early is being on time. It just works for me alright? So because I was worried about being lost I left in plenty of time and got to Bellevue at 8:09. Nailin' it. It also takes me an hour to get there, so it's not an easy commute, there are three subways involved. I take the A-7-6 on the way there and the 6-7-1 on the way home, that is 6 SUBWAYS in ONE DAY! I'm such a good sport. I did get lost the first day I went to get my badge, etc. so in my defense, it was smart to leave early in order to avoid that hot mess from happening again. I gathered myself in the lobby and drank some coffee before finding my way around the 25 story hospital building to the meet and greet. Once there I met my supervisor and got to check out my office.
Let's talk about my office for a hot second. My office is a closet. Imagine a closet, picture it...now picture me sitting at a desk in your closet. This is not Harry Potter okay? This is worse because there is trash on the floor of my office and dust everywhere. Don't worry, I'll clean it. But seriously. The door doesn't even have a window and doesn't stay open so once it closes it's just me in this closet, a box if you will. But on the bright side, I have big decoration plans so I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll post pictures even, if you're good.
Moving on, at least I have an office right? I mean it's not like I'm an important staff member, I'm an intern you know? So I work on the ICU and the Surgical Unit. My internship will be a rotating one. I will be rotating units and social workers each month. The first month I will be in the Critical Care Cardiac Unit, the CCU, see how we're missing a C? Clearly I am not quite sure of the abrevs and names of units yet, but basically it's where people go if they've had a heart attack, heart failure, etc. People are very sick here, obviously. I work with a social worker named Naomi who serves as my task supervisor. My actual supervisor, supervises all of these other social workers who I hang out with so she's a pretty big deal and really nice. She's also getting married in a month! Big surprise since everyone and their mom is getting married right now. Anyway, so for October I will be in that unit. I start Wednesday. In November I will be with Peggy on the SICU, the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and in December I will be with Stephen on the Surgical Unit. I am thrilled about all of this because Peggy and Stephen are definitely my faves, I'll tell you why now.
I shadowed Peggy on my second day at Bellevue (Wednesday) and she is the best. She is a sassy Jewish lady who has worked at Bellevue for 2 1/2 years so she is super experienced. She is funny because you would think she wouldn't be as sassy as she is from first glance, but then she'll swear and you just laugh because you're just like "oh pegs", you know that kinda thing. Anyway, we went to rounds in the morning where the social workers, charge nurses, management and financial reps, and case managers go and then doctors come in and update us on the patients. The rumors about doctors are half true, they are the cockiest people ever who have huge egos and think they are God, but then some of them are super nice and that's not true at all, but it's just funny how the stereotype is kind of true. Also, most of the male doctors are extremely good looking...I feel like I'm in Grey's Anatomy. I'm just saying, the facts are the facts. Moving on, rounds were just a blur of medical terms that I feel like I should take a class on diagnoses because I just sat there wide eyed wondering what the heck illnesses all of these people have. Later Peggy assured me I would start to understand certain ones so I am really not that worried. Plus I know all of the old people illnesses from last year's practicum experience. After this Peg and I did the rounds we just checked in on her clients and did some discharge planning, made chart notes, harassed a resident doctor for a discharge summary that was due at 11:00am and he got it to us at...4:30 PM. He did not nail it. But apparently that's normal. Hence the annoyance with some doctors. We had all sorts of patients and it was a really great day! I learned so much.
Day two was a little less exciting except for the fact that I got lost in the morning and I did my first psychosocial assessment of a patient all on my own! I got on the wrong train in the morning, got off on a random stop, had to go above ground to get service and re-route my darn trip and then ended up on a bus, but still made it on time! See this is why you give yourself plenty of time to arrive. Being punctual is really a strength of mine if I do say so myself. By the time I got to work I was quite disheveled because this humidity is really lingering and just being in those damn subway tunnels is brutal, but I pulled myself together and checked in with my supervisor. We did rounds again and then she gave me three patients to do psychosocial assessments on. One was a crime victim with stab wounds to his face, which weirdly made me excited to hear his story, but anticlimactic because he was sedated and intubated all day so I never got to do the assessment, lame. But I did do one with a man who mainly spoke Arabic. Now, I do not speak Arabic in case you were impressed thinking I did or something. But alas, we struggled through some of the assessment until he told me he was tired and I was so tired from trying to understand what he was telling me that we mutually gave up. Ultimately a failure, but I'll do better next time haha. It was my first one alright people?!
All in all, I really really like my internship! It's so exciting to learn all about hospitals and everyone's roles and finally be working with clients and see how kick-ass social workers are in hospitals. Seriously, social work is SO COOL. I love it. Everyday I just get so excited and anxious to finally be one! WEEEEE. Okay anyway, sorry this blog is so darn long. I had a lot to tell you! I doubt you made it this far, but if you did you deserve a prize so why not go get yourself a pumpkin spice latte? You earned it! Until next time, I will inform you of other silly things that happen at Bellevue, I am sure there will be plenty!
Over and out,
-Mandihattan
So in case you didn't know there are two Bellevues. Well actually there are probably way more than two, but let's not get too technical here. There is a Bellevue in Washington, across the water from Seattle where the lovely Eric Spishak is from and there is a Bellevue Hospital in New York City, which consequently is the oldest public hospital in the United States. Pretty awesome right? That's pretty awesome because I work there. No big deal, but it is a really big deal. For those of you from Seattle, working at Bellevue is probably similar to working at Harborview, only crazier because let's be real here, there are definitely more crazies in New York than in Seattle. It's arguable at least. But enough about crazies because that's not appropriate for me to refer to potential clients as crazy people haha.
So I work at Bellevue Hospital and if you've been keeping up on my blog you know that this was not an easy task. It took 3 whole weeks to get contracts figured out, but on Monday, October 1st, I got to walk through the doors of Bellevue for my first shift and I was...51 minutes early. Being early is part of my charm though, I am a very punctual person who thinks that being 15 minutes early is being on time. It just works for me alright? So because I was worried about being lost I left in plenty of time and got to Bellevue at 8:09. Nailin' it. It also takes me an hour to get there, so it's not an easy commute, there are three subways involved. I take the A-7-6 on the way there and the 6-7-1 on the way home, that is 6 SUBWAYS in ONE DAY! I'm such a good sport. I did get lost the first day I went to get my badge, etc. so in my defense, it was smart to leave early in order to avoid that hot mess from happening again. I gathered myself in the lobby and drank some coffee before finding my way around the 25 story hospital building to the meet and greet. Once there I met my supervisor and got to check out my office.
Let's talk about my office for a hot second. My office is a closet. Imagine a closet, picture it...now picture me sitting at a desk in your closet. This is not Harry Potter okay? This is worse because there is trash on the floor of my office and dust everywhere. Don't worry, I'll clean it. But seriously. The door doesn't even have a window and doesn't stay open so once it closes it's just me in this closet, a box if you will. But on the bright side, I have big decoration plans so I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll post pictures even, if you're good.
Moving on, at least I have an office right? I mean it's not like I'm an important staff member, I'm an intern you know? So I work on the ICU and the Surgical Unit. My internship will be a rotating one. I will be rotating units and social workers each month. The first month I will be in the Critical Care Cardiac Unit, the CCU, see how we're missing a C? Clearly I am not quite sure of the abrevs and names of units yet, but basically it's where people go if they've had a heart attack, heart failure, etc. People are very sick here, obviously. I work with a social worker named Naomi who serves as my task supervisor. My actual supervisor, supervises all of these other social workers who I hang out with so she's a pretty big deal and really nice. She's also getting married in a month! Big surprise since everyone and their mom is getting married right now. Anyway, so for October I will be in that unit. I start Wednesday. In November I will be with Peggy on the SICU, the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and in December I will be with Stephen on the Surgical Unit. I am thrilled about all of this because Peggy and Stephen are definitely my faves, I'll tell you why now.
I shadowed Peggy on my second day at Bellevue (Wednesday) and she is the best. She is a sassy Jewish lady who has worked at Bellevue for 2 1/2 years so she is super experienced. She is funny because you would think she wouldn't be as sassy as she is from first glance, but then she'll swear and you just laugh because you're just like "oh pegs", you know that kinda thing. Anyway, we went to rounds in the morning where the social workers, charge nurses, management and financial reps, and case managers go and then doctors come in and update us on the patients. The rumors about doctors are half true, they are the cockiest people ever who have huge egos and think they are God, but then some of them are super nice and that's not true at all, but it's just funny how the stereotype is kind of true. Also, most of the male doctors are extremely good looking...I feel like I'm in Grey's Anatomy. I'm just saying, the facts are the facts. Moving on, rounds were just a blur of medical terms that I feel like I should take a class on diagnoses because I just sat there wide eyed wondering what the heck illnesses all of these people have. Later Peggy assured me I would start to understand certain ones so I am really not that worried. Plus I know all of the old people illnesses from last year's practicum experience. After this Peg and I did the rounds we just checked in on her clients and did some discharge planning, made chart notes, harassed a resident doctor for a discharge summary that was due at 11:00am and he got it to us at...4:30 PM. He did not nail it. But apparently that's normal. Hence the annoyance with some doctors. We had all sorts of patients and it was a really great day! I learned so much.
Day two was a little less exciting except for the fact that I got lost in the morning and I did my first psychosocial assessment of a patient all on my own! I got on the wrong train in the morning, got off on a random stop, had to go above ground to get service and re-route my darn trip and then ended up on a bus, but still made it on time! See this is why you give yourself plenty of time to arrive. Being punctual is really a strength of mine if I do say so myself. By the time I got to work I was quite disheveled because this humidity is really lingering and just being in those damn subway tunnels is brutal, but I pulled myself together and checked in with my supervisor. We did rounds again and then she gave me three patients to do psychosocial assessments on. One was a crime victim with stab wounds to his face, which weirdly made me excited to hear his story, but anticlimactic because he was sedated and intubated all day so I never got to do the assessment, lame. But I did do one with a man who mainly spoke Arabic. Now, I do not speak Arabic in case you were impressed thinking I did or something. But alas, we struggled through some of the assessment until he told me he was tired and I was so tired from trying to understand what he was telling me that we mutually gave up. Ultimately a failure, but I'll do better next time haha. It was my first one alright people?!
All in all, I really really like my internship! It's so exciting to learn all about hospitals and everyone's roles and finally be working with clients and see how kick-ass social workers are in hospitals. Seriously, social work is SO COOL. I love it. Everyday I just get so excited and anxious to finally be one! WEEEEE. Okay anyway, sorry this blog is so darn long. I had a lot to tell you! I doubt you made it this far, but if you did you deserve a prize so why not go get yourself a pumpkin spice latte? You earned it! Until next time, I will inform you of other silly things that happen at Bellevue, I am sure there will be plenty!
Over and out,
-Mandihattan
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