Skills

I recall that as a child I was always fascinated by Kinder Surprise products.  The excitement of having milk chocolate and building my own toy!  I would put the parts together, and then pull them apart to study the design behind it.  Functioning toys despite the limited space and parts! The creative and engineering design behind these creations is amazing.  Even as an adult, I am still curious about what companies and people go through to present a performance, a product or a service.

I come to learn that many Respiratory Therapists have a similar interest in understanding processes.  Perhaps that’s what makes us skilled troubleshooters, innovators, and effective team players in interprofessional settings.

One way to nurture this strength is to ask questions.  As children we were more curious and comfortable asking questions.  We need to revive that sense of curiosity to promote growth.

Here are my 5 personal views and advice on asking questions.

Create a supportive space for learning
I remember on my first day of clinical rotations at my base-site hospital, our Practice Lead said: “You know the saying that there is no such a thing as a stupid question?… Well, that’s wrong”.  I looked around the room and saw that the same expression of shock and surprise on the face of my fellow classmates.  I hope you have a supportive culture at work or school which encourages a safe space for growth and learning.  Allow your students and new hires to ask their “stupid” questions before they resort to “trial and error” on real patients.

Asking questions is a not a vulnerability but an indication of caring.

Whether you are a student or experienced RT, put egos and feelings aside and ask questions.  Asking questions is not a sign of weakness but demonstrates a willingness to learn.  There is danger in the mentality of “fake it until you make it”.  Confidence comes with competency.  We should ask questions to learn and to better master the knowledge or skillset.  Learn, incorporate new learning in practice, evaluate with feedback, modify and repeat.

Questioning a routine practice is a growth opportunity and not a threat.

When questioned about a routine practice and the answer you come up with is “that’s the way we have always done it”, know that you either need to review the support for that guideline/process or you need to re-evaluate how it is done.

I have had staff RTs express that they used to follow the advice of experienced RTs and that “younger” RTs need to question everything before they do something.  Please don’t view this as a criticism, threat or laziness.  This is a learning framework for younger generations who have a lot more available resources and opportunities to be involved in decision making.

Timing of questions

Asking questions, just like any other form of communication, can be impacted by the timing, tone, intent, importance, and perception.  If you are watching your preceptor in the middle of a complicated code and you notice a unique LMA insertion technique, the question about the technique probably can wait until the patient is more stable and/or during the debrief.  If you are asked to put a BIPAP on an unconscious patient and you have valid reasons to be worried about airway protection, then your questions require more urgency.
As always, be kind to others and ask questions to learn something and not to show off your own knowledge or to make a statement.

Explore

Talk to people outside of your team, unit, hospital, and even profession.  You will be surprised about the different perspectives on a subject matter.  This is one of the reasons why I enjoy attending conferences that are intended for RTs and those that for various Healthcare professional audiences.

“Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have a natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It’s posing questions and coming up with a method. It’s delving in.”
-Sally Ride (American astronaut, physicist, and engineer).

These are my personal opinions and views.  Now let me ask you!  What are your thoughts? How have you created a safe learning environment for your students, new hires and experienced staff?  What advice do you have to share with others about asking questions? Do you have a story to share about how an inquiry helped with patient care?  Leave a comment and let me know!

As I sit down with patients and discuss smoking cessation, I actively try to stay open and to hold back any judgment. I hope for an honest discussion on their part as well. I share with my patients that everyone’s journey is different and there is validity in their struggle. Smoking has a physical, social and psychological aspect to it.
I am not a smoker and have never been addicted to nicotine. Could I truly be empathetic to a smoker? Sure! I believe we all can be more empathetic without going through the same experience by listening to people.
Coffee is my addiction.
I have been drinking coffee since my first year of undergrad. It began as a necessity to allow me to read through pages of Kinesiology and Psychology notes at York University. Drinking coffee continued even post-graduation. Again, it became my crutch while studying respiratory therapy at school, during my clinical rotations and while working as a staff RT at an acute care hospital. Even when I stopped working in the acute care setting, every day I drank a total of two medium Tim Horton’s cups of coffee.
As a self-awareness and reflective process, I decided to limit my caffeine.
For the past three weeks, my caffeine intake has been limited to decaffeinated coffee. Even within the first three days, I experienced some expected changes. I felt more tired in the afternoons. My heart rate was lower and didn’t have the sensation of beating at the “top” of my chest. My ongoing general and social anxiety has reduced to almost non-existent, and I urinate less frequently.
I have also experienced two elements that I did not predict or expect. First, I expected to have some irritability or withdrawals but experienced none. This may be due to my daily consumption of decaffeinated coffee as it contains a small amount of caffeine.
Second and unanticipated to me, I began to have more dreams! In the past, I would wake up once or maybe twice a week knowing that I had dreamt. Now I wake up every morning, knowing that I have! It is my guesstimate that with a medium size coffee in the morning and one in the afternoon, caffeine’s six-hour half-life never had a chance to clear my system in time to allow me a restful sleep.
Literature and studies go back and forth on the benefits of coffee, and this post will not attempt to cover that information. The goal of this post is not to change your drinking habits (unless you experience general anxiety associated with an increase in heart rate and have a pattern of low quality sleep).
What did I learn from this “experiment”? In this self-awareness exercise, I had the assumption that greatly reducing my caffeine after 15 years would be very difficult. Also, that it would lead to severe withdrawals over the first few days. Luckily that was not the case.
I did not decide to suddenly stop drinking coffee and instead, settled for decaf because I really enjoy the smell and taste of coffee! Sometimes it is hard to change the social, lifestyle and behavioural patterns and routines.
Did this experience lead to a groundbreaking insight and further deepen my empathy with my patients who smoke? The truthful answer is not really. I felt that I already had a supportive mindset toward my patients. While this exercise did not necessarily make me a better clinician, I do enjoy the personal benefits of limited caffeine consumption. I still occasionally drink regular coffee but almost all my coffee and tea is decaffeinated. The reduced heart rate and associated lower anxiety symptoms and increased dreams are great benefits.
I encourage you to identify and challenge some of your held beliefs and routines. If you are on the right path, then it will re-confirm your choices. If not, you can explore new possibilities.
Through self-development, hurdles, struggles, and victories you can be more aware of the processes involved in change. Sometimes awareness itself can make one more empathetic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided a list of recommendation on how to be healthier.  Just like everyone, as healthcare professionals (HCP), we can be healthier.  Through my respiratory therapy blog, I try to support the development of HCPs.  While the recommendations on this post are not RT skill set or knowledge based, it may still be beneficial at the core level.

**Legal stuff: The mentioned links are some of my personal references.  Please consult your healthcare team before making changes.

1. Eating a healthy Diet.
   >Internal Link: Respiratory.Blog post on Nutrition: http://respiratory.blog/improved-part-2-nutritionist/
   >External Link 1:  WHO’s Nutrition page
   >External Link 2:  Meal Ideas for breakfast, lunch, supper and Snacks by Government of Canada. Visit the website for details

   

2. Be physically active, every day, your way. 
   >Internal Link 1: Respiratory.Blog post on improved physical health
   >Internal Link 2: Respiratory.Blog post on foot health
   >External Link: Goal Setting Worksheet by ParticipAction

   

3. Get Vaccinated.
   >External Link: World Health Organization Documents

   

4. Don’t use any form of Tobacco.
   >External Link 1: WHO Quitting
   >External Link 2: WHO Tobacco
   >External Link 3: WHO Smoking Cessation
   >External Link 4: A Guide for Tobacco Users to quit
   

   

   >External Link 5: Smoker’s Helpline
   

   

    

    

5. Avoid or minimize use of alcohol.
   >External Link 1: WHO’s Alcohol page
   >External Link 2:  Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction

   

6. Manage Stress for your Physical Health and Mental Health
   >External Link 1: WHO. Mental Health: Strengthening Our Response.
   >External Link 2: Useful resources from RN.com  Stress Relief for the Healthcare Professional (pdf document).

   

7. Practice Good Hygiene
   I know the recommendation is based on over all hygiene, but I am going to include a link more specific to hand hygiene:
   >External Link 1: Hand Hygiene Module by Public Health Ontario

   

8. Don’t speed or drink and drive
   >External Link 1: WHO. Road Injury continues to be one of the top 10 causes of death (2016):

   

   >External Link 2:  Safe Driving Practices by Ontario Ministry of Transportation

   

9. Wear a Seat-Belt when Driving and Helmet when Cycling
   >External Link 1: WHO Injury Prevention
   >External Link 2: Road Safety in Canada
   >External Link 3: Bicycle Safety by Ontario Ministry of Transportation

   

10. Practice Safe Sex
    >External Link 1: WHO Reproductive Health
    >External Link 2: Health Canada – Sexual Health https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/sexual-health.html
    >External Link 3:  Sexual Health Ontario

    

11. Regularly Check Your Health
    >External Link 1: Routine Checkups by Health Link BC
    >External Link 2:  Well-Visits by Caring for Kids (CPS)
    >External Link 3: Choosing Wisely Canada

    

12. Breast Feeding: Best for Babies
    >External Link 1: WHO. Breastfeeding page.

    

    >External Link 2: Caring for Kids (CPS). Breastfeeding

    In Summary:

    

    My hope is that you will use the WHO recommendations to improve as an individual and as a healthcare professional.

    Personally, I have begun incorporating more physical activity in my days, including more frequent visits to the gym.  I find exercising refreshes my mind, gives me more energy, and makes me feel healthy.  Also,  the upcoming 5k walk/run on the first day of RT Week, in support of Respiratory Therapists Without Borders, has been another motivation for me to get back in shape.
    Planning for healthy meals has allowed me to save money, eat healthy and  reduce unnecessary waste.  By planning meals prior to grocery shopping, I tend to stick to the grocery list and am less influenced by delicious and tempting junk food.  When I take my lunch to work fewer excuses to eat unhealthy.
    Over the last 4 years I have recognized the importance of a healthy mental and physical state.  I experienced a burn out post graduation following a few months of over-work at a job which lacked a nurturing environment and supportive leadership.  This was exacerbated by my lack of proper sleep quality, healthy eating, sufficient physical activity and poor time-management.  Since then, I have learned to be more mindful of my physical and mental status.   While I am far from being perfect and continue to make mistakes along the way, I still try to be more self-aware, more mindful and goal oriented.

    Let’s continue our journey in becoming quality HCPs.

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