I had surgery (nothing major) on my hands a few weeks ago and today I was scheduled to get my sutures out. At least I thought I was scheduled. I showed up at the surgeon's office and they informed me that they had no record of my appointment. Apparently making appointments while under the influence of Percocet doesn't work out so well. Incidentally, it is also not a good idea to talk on the phone to co-workers while under the influence of Percocet because you might end up volunteering to do something that you end up wishing you had not! This is why I don't like to take pain medicine.
Back to the point....The surgeon's office kindly agreed to see me without an appointment, for which I was very grateful because I could not wait to get the sutures out. I removed lots of sutures when I was working in direct patient care and so I seriously contemplated removing my own this past weekend because they were so itchy. But, I didn't want to annoy the surgeon, so I behaved myself and left them in.
So there I am sitting on the table in the exam room and the nurse comes in with the suture removal kit and says "I'll be right back, I need to get my bifocals." I say, "No problem". she returns with her glasses and proceeds to begin to remove the sutures by cutting the knots at either end and pulling on the loose ends. The whole time she is saying "gosh, I can barely see them". The sutures wouldn't budge because the middle suture was still intact...I can see it from where she has my hand resting on my thigh. She says "I can't see it". Now right here at this point is where I should have said "give me the scissors, I can see it from here". But, nooooo, I just keep my mouth shut and let her dig away until Nurse Magoo freaking cuts me with the scissors!
Please don't tell my mother that I used the word "freaking" because she hates it. If I slip and use it in her presence she always says the same thing, "Learner Loo, (OK, she doesn't call me Learner Loo, but she uses my first name and the dreaded middle name) that is vulgar and unladylike". To which I always reply "Yes, Ma'am, I'm sorry".
Anyway, when Nurse Magoo stabs me she manages to hit the suture too and they come right out. I'd show y'all a picture if I wasn't afraid of turning off the squeamish among ya.
The moral of this story? If Nurse Magoo comes at you with a sharp implement don't be afraid to stand up for yourself!
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6 comments:
seriously, I agree with you. there's a way to be polite about it and I'm more successful on one accaision than another. One time I was in a wating room and some guy from an insurance company set up a full on mini copy machine next to me without excusing himself, when I said something to him another lady got in my face because she thought I was rude. I was rude?? She said I should have just moved without saying anything. So I said, "And by your own rule, you shouldn't have said anything to me." And then I walked away. Dealing with high school kids all day has really given me a thick skin.
I hear ya Savvy. Teaching college students has helped me with assertiveness too, though I don't seem to have generalized that skill to the rest of my life as well as I would like. I think some of my problem is that when things like that happen I am often genuinely surprised. I mean I have removed lots of sutures without ever cutting a patient and if I couldn't see it I wouldn't "dig" around for it! So in my surprise I don't always react fast enough.
Learner,
Subtlety has never been my strong point; all my life I've been known as the 'bull in a china shop' kind of guy. I've also learned that such an approach isn't always the best approach...
There is a right way to be assertive, and a wrong way to be assertive. There's a time for it; there's time to zip it. Geez, I'm sounding like the opening of Ecclesiastes...
Many times, asking a question is better than making a declarative statement. For example, rather than simply saying, "X won't work, and here's why"; it might be better to say, "What if A, B, and C occur as a result of doing X?" One comes off as confrontational, whereas the other one does not. Granted, in both instances, the same SENTIMENT is being conveyed (that X won't work), but one is more likely to be well received than the other. I read an excellent book on this, though its title escapes me now. It's at my mom's house, and I do not have access to it.
Have a good day...
MarkyMark
Markymark,
Thanks for the comment. I agree that often asking a question is an excellent way to get someone else to consider your point of view. It works well for "bull in the china shop" types such as yourself and for "is WELCOME tattooed across my back?" types like me :)
LOL!
i'm SO sorry!
actually, having my own kids brought out the assertiveness in me w/out the training ;)
Ame, Do your girls know they are training you? :)
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