Letting it All Out – While Retaining Everything

Old MD Girl’s post about how one should maintain their composure and appear zen-like while interacting with patients at all times is inspiring this particular rant. I got a memo stating that admin is starting mandatory once a month round table discussions aimed at airing out the nursing staff’s frustrations or concerns. There’s some crap written about how those discussions can have the potential to positively benefit the entire staff because concerns can be dealt with as they come along. There’s also some other crap about how reflecting on our practice with staff at varying skill levels can improve our overall practice. My personal (ill-articulated) thought - suck it! I do not want to give up my precious break to sit awkwardly in front of some suits to talk about how much I hate the smell of C. diff in the morning. Nor do I want to talk about how irrationally angry I get when my latte doesn’t have the right proportion of espresso and milk because I’m nagging the barista to hurry up so I can make it to a meeting to talk about my ‘feelings’. I can understand the need for debriefing sessions after a particularly memorable or horrendous event but being forced to go every month to these ‘vent out your feelings sessions’ when I do just fine venting over great food with my friends is simply cruel. Not only that, the entire concept seems redundant to me because up until now, I thought monthly staff meetings and providing proof of competent practice to the provincial licensing body were for the very same purpose. No matter how stressed I am, I can guaran-damn-tee that I would find peace and quiet much more relaxing than having to restrain myself with politically correct language in front of power suited chumps.