Fun Fact: HCW Hats!

Healthcare Workers Wear Many Hats, and I need a reminder to "Put It Down"

Hi there! Welcome, again and again, to my Substack. Where I digest the current state of Modern American Healthcare… and try not to leave you covered in emesis as I do it.

It feels like we’re making our way through the other side of the pandemic, and though the kids heading back to school and the change in weather might make it a bit rocky, I hope this is a light on the path forward.

I’m writing today about the many hats worn by those working in Healthcare. I have worn many as a nurse, but this applies to folks in many disciplines.

I had to borrow this cap from my mom’s coworker because my nursing school’s cap was bronzed and we didn’t have one for pictures :)

Squirrels attacked and mutilated my sunflowers yesterday. Hopefully they poop out some helpful seeds in the neighborhood!

What do I mean?

I mean that we wear the hat of Caregiver, Knowledge Keeper, Medicine Giver, Exercise Prescriber, Educator, and so on.

With all the hats we wear, because we’re in the business of caring for humans, it can be hard to know when to take one or all of them off. I wake up at night worrying about work. Sometimes it’s about a project, but more often it’s about the state of Healthcare in general. Feeling like there’s something to do to move us forward, but lost and hopeless about how to get there.

Sometimes I need to put on one or more of my hats, like layers. Might not look pretty. But my Parent Hat helps me teach in a loving way, while my Nurse Hat allows me to use assessment skills and clinical judgement to figure out a problem, and propose a solution. My Partner Hat reflects my actions back at me, and helps me see the bigger picture. And my Gardener Hat lets me see the opportunities in a situation that looks a little dirty.

I knitted this hat early in the pandemic, then my kids claimed it

So I’m putting on my floppy yellow gardening hat. Filling up my cup. And taking a step outside of myself to say: I don’t have to keep noodling on Healthcare and work and the weight of the world’s problems all of every minute of every day. I can put it down, let it rest, and come back to it later.

It’s Friday Night. Put it down (listen to the song below, so you’ll know what I mean).

This is NOT the squirrel who done it. This is Peapod, my old neighbor’s friend who would visit and eat from our hands (NOT the sunflowers)

Love,

Jessie