So, last week I was dreaming up a reality show set in a hospital, a la "Hopkins," but this time, the camera was trained on all the people who can't afford the excellence in healthcare that Hopkins has to offer. After I posted the blog, I was still thinking up catchy titles for my show (such as "Healthcare: The Real Deal"). Alas, Hollywood hasn't called yet with my big advance. 

But then today, while hanging out in the nurse blog, Pixel RN, I got to worrying about who would even watch my show.     

Beth Anderson (Pixel RN, a good storyteller in her own right) says she couldn't find a single nurse who was following the "Hopkins" series. She asked these nurses why that was, and they answered, "Why watch it?  . . . We live it." They all rolled their eyes at her for asking "such a ridiculous question."

Why watch something you live everyday? Why even talk about it? Are these ridiculous questions?

OK, I admit my idea for the healthcare/reality show was tongue-in-cheek. And of course, it makes sense that Hopkins nurses would roll their eyes at the prospect of watching what they live every single workday. (For entertainment? Give me a break!)

But there's another way of looking at it, a more serious way. Shouldn't every one of us be watching what's going on while we're trying to take care of our patients-watching and talking about it with the rest of the team? 

I'm thinking about what I learned in nursing school long ago from the good Sisters of Mercy here in Baltimore: Pay close attention. Write good nurses' notes. Read other people's notes.  Give thorough reports.  Pay attention to those reports.  

In the United States today, nurses and doctors and pharmacists and most other people who work in healthcare know that the system has been sick for a long while.  In fact, we know it's in crisis.

Question: Why watch what we live everyday, why even talk about it?

Answer: Because we do our best work when we pay attention, and because it's vitally important to compare notes and function as a team.

I think that Healthcare United is the right place to show up for report.  There's room at this table for each of us, and a great sense of community. Real people like us (who know what really needs to be done) will surely bring our sick system through the crisis and back to the pink of health. Invite your colleagues to join us for report!

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