Friday, April 3, 2009

trip to Nashville

We just got back from Nashville. Had to present two seminars. What a great trip. In one sense it was a hoot -- what can you say when a singers boobs don't move? This is sexy??? In another sense I have a new appreciation for country music. Going to the Country Music Hall of Fame was really interesting -- the evolution of the sound that we hear now from its humble twangy days -- was very enlightening. The Grand Ole Opry was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Brian and I had a great time. Picked up 3 silly little T shirts for the grandkids that say "Grand Ole Opry." Corny -- but that's what grandparents are for.
On our last night there we returned from dinner to find a body in prone position lying in front of our hotel door. Hmmm. So we turn it over to make sure it's alive. It was. We called security, which was particularly useless, but when the paramedics came they seemed competent enough. The last we heard the management said the man was not a guest of the hotel. He had wandered into the hotel thinking it was his and passed out. Why in front of MY room. I just wanted to go to bed, not nurse someone. Another trip, another adventure.
We went to a wonderful sports bar -- yes sports bar that was reputed to have the best ribs in town. The guys in back of us were really hammered -- celebrating one's divorce. I chatted briefly to him about the barbeque selections and when we left we found that he had paid for our dinner. Imagine. Wonder what he's gonna think when he sobers up and gets his Visa bill?
Another couple -- people are very friendly in Nashville -- got to chatting us up and asked what we were doing there. So I said that we couldn't get this kind of barbeque at home and that we were from up north. His reply was: "No kidding! You guys stick out like a sore thumb in here." Ok, so we had our prep clothes on -- but they were preppy jeans! Seriously they were a very funny and sweet couple.
The only sort of down thing was that I was shocked -- SHOCKED -- at how little my audience knew about seclusion and restraints and the Joint Commission and federal regs. What the hell are they doing in practice land? What the hell are they doing in nursing schools? Out of an audience of 200+ perhaps 10 knew that people could die proximal to restraint use, 2 had heard of the Hartford Courant series, and the majority did not know that when one puts hands on a patient it is a restraint.
There is something seriously wrong here. I thought that I had made an impact on this field and now this? Oh my back to the drawing board.
More later.

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