On top of being a speaker, mentor, and stress strategist, I am a Medical Doctor who works in healthcare every now and then. And that includes having a very extraordinary day at work which reminded me that stress indeed, is a lifelong story.
HOW IS STRESS A LIFELONG STORY?
BECAUSE HEY, LIFE HAPPENS…
So I was in primary care in a small station that is almost in the middle of nowhere – with 2 doctors in an ordinary day – and one of them was on vacation so I got called in.
I’m familiar with the place as I’ve been there already many times before.
So I thought, yeah, no problem.
BUT THEN UNEXPECTED THINGS HAPPEN.
Yes, oh how we hate them – when a few unexpected things come out of the ordinary – it just triggers our stressors to rise. Right?
For me, it was that day that I needed to be the replacement doctor for the one on vacation. Because out of all days, systems could mess up the work, it chose that day.
“We cannot get into the computers”.
I WAS WORRIED.
I felt some stress coming. How could I not? We were totally dependent on computers!
Patient records, prescriptions, ordering of tests…
That’s basically how we operate.
STRESS CAME IN, HIGH.
Stress came in very quickly because patients also started coming in.
Patients who booked but you don’t have their names, records, or anything.
Imagine the stress, delay, and everything. What do we do?
THANKFULLY, ONE WORKED.
We saw one who got into her computer. It was lagging, and couldn’t do prints at all – nothing extra, but at least we could read?!
So we took photos. Copies for us to use as a list of who was booked at what time, but that’s it – no records, only the booked names.
STILL ANOTHER PROBLEM, BUT ONE STEP AT A TIME
Still stressful because we only have the names, but still don’t have anything other than that.
The patients had no clue. They came in and needed help, but we don’t have their history at hand.
WE JUST CAME UP FRONT AND WERE HONEST ABOUT IT.
“So our main system’s not working at the moment so we do not have access to your history. Do you remember what you’ve done before or the medications you’ve been given, or are still taking at the moment?”
WE WROTE EVERYTHING DOWN.
We just had to scribble down everything because we couldn’t record them where we usually do – and it was all integrated in the system we use for main records but then we gotta do what we do and work on what we only had.
IT’S A BIG ISSUE
Apparently, we weren’t the only healthcare who experienced it. It was everywhere in that area, and entirely out of the tiny healthcare’s control.
All we could do was wait for the bigger ones to fix the systems we all use.
THERE WERE EMERGENCIES
I had a full schedule of patients and 2 that came as emergencies. I had to handwrite the
preferred referral paper, which was supposed to be just sent in the integrated system we all had.
ONE OF THE MOST STRESSFUL HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE
Admittedly, this was one of the more stressful days I had in health care in many years.
No kidding, we get a handful of patients every day, and the system makes everything easier, faster, and smoother – basically a more efficient workflow for the Doctors and the patients.
But with that unexpected system-wide breakdown, we all had to keep up with the many things we needed to do and patients just kept on coming in like usual, but because of the unexpected hiccup, we all were much slower than usual.
So the patients were piling up and all.
It was really really stressful, as there were some prescriptions we really needed to give but couldn’t because some patients couldn’t remember their history, and we don’t have access to the record.
So they have to come back, but who knows when the issue’s gonna get fixed? The patients needed help.
WE WERE ON THE EDGE.
We were all on the edge all the time, and it was barely lunch break but I felt as if my brain almost stopped working – and I still had the whole day to survive.
BUT THE COMMUNITY HELPED.
We all came to lunch, sat down, and looked at each other, knowing it was all absolutely crazy, but we all ended up just sitting there – LAUGHING.
And it was such a relief.
LAUGHTER, INDEED IS THE BEST MEDICINE.
Sounds cliche, but always works especially on days that you really couldn’t do anything about, and would just waste energy for something out of your hands.
It helps when a community is with you – easier to get reminded.
WE JUST HAVE TO WORK ON WHAT WE HAVE.
In the end, since it was totally out of our control, we went on with our days waiting for the system to get fixed, and while at it just worked on what we had.
RELAX, RESET, RECHARGE
After a long stressful, tiring day…
I would still like to remind you not to forget to squeeze in even a little time for relaxation – so you could reset and be recharged to face another day.
Whether that’s listening to your favorite music, singing, pampering, or just doing nothing – find the time to relax.
Or if reading helps you calm down, might as well read an e-book that teaches you strategies for calm as well
Cheers,
