Blair Kent, Intermountain Medical Center administrator
This is part of the Take Care Thursday article series that highlights Intermountain well-being resources and caregiver wellness stories.
By Blair Kent, Intermountain Medical Center administrator
My five-year-old grandson Nash had a sleepover at our house a couple of weeks ago and I was in charge of bath time. Nash has a great bath ritual. He loads up a semi-truck of toys, animals, boats, cups, oars, periscopes, anchors, sonar equipment, etc., and drops them in the tub. He has markers he uses to decorate the sides of the tub, which I didn’t know existed. When I was small, we had to use spray paint.
Eventually I reminded Nash that part of bath time involves getting clean. This requires shampoo, but we had a crisis: We didn’t have tear-free shampoo. To Nash, it wasn’t a problem; there was another shampoo bottle there, why not use that? I explained that Poppa’s shampoo can sting your eyes, but he didn’t care. He wanted to use the same kind of shampoo Poppa uses. I presented a short PowerPoint on PH levels and synthetic surfactants, but to no avail. Even the fact that Poppa has way less hair than he does didn’t concern him.
So we used a pinch of grown-up shampoo, and guess what? It got in his eyes. Maybe you heard the howling at your house. I got the shampoo washed away, and he said, “I never want to use the stingy stuff again!”
Talking about stingy stuff reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a friend about Intermountain Medical Center and our overall organization. We talked about the amazing things we do and the hard things that happen here. Then he had an interesting question: “How do you make the transition from good experiences to traumatic ones? Is there a difference between who you are at home and at work, so you can cope with the difficult things you deal with? Do hospital people act different when they’re not at work?”
I said no, we don’t, and we shouldn’t. There’s no such thing as a tear-free caregiver. Because we cry real tears some days or we share the heartbreak or concern of the people we’re helping, we’re better able to help them. Our humanity is the best thing about us. It’s “okay to not be okay” and that some days will be harder than others. We are who we are.
Here’s my ask today: If too much stingy stuff piles up, just remember to have a plan and use our resources to get it washed out. You’re too important, your family is too important, and our patients are too important to leave your eyes stinging and your heart hurting. Exercise, spending time with people you love, adequate sleep, humor, good food, and sometimes the Employee Assistance Program are great washrags. Talk with your leader—they care about you, too. You can also call the Behavioral Health Navigation hotline to learn more about other resources available to you: 833-442-2211
Thanks for going the extra mile to deliver the human element of healthcare.