A Nurse's Journey » ethics

The day of reckoning is in

Lillie — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:24:29 +0000

Sitting stone faced as is his now familiar look, the now felon, Dr. Conrad Murray, was sentenced to four years in jail for the death of Michael Jackson. The judge had leeway and could have sentenced Murray to house arrest. But he stated that Conrad showed no remorse and was still was a danger to the public.

Murray was also ordered to pay court costs and also to pay the family restitution. The amount will be set later, but since Murray was in financial trouble when he took the job of caring for Jackson, there will probably be no money coming to the family.

Will any of this bring Jackson back or ease the pain of his children or his many fans? NO

I do hope this will make the next greedy doctor think twice before making the same stupid mistakes and causing some other family the unending pain the Jackson family must now face. Especially Jackson’s kids.

Conrad will have four years to figure out what he will do with the rest of his life. His doctor’s license will soon be gone and for the rest of his life he will be known as the man who killed Michael Jackson.

Where can you go from there???

The saga continues

Lillie — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:13:02 +0000

The verdict in the trial in the death of Michael Jackson has been in a little more than a few weeks old and now there is new drama. For now Dr. Conrad Murray is on suicide watch!

I watched, with a large portion of the world, the trial of Conrad Murray, the personal physician of Michael Jackson. The prosecution built an unshakable case which lead to the only logical concussion, guilty! Murray breached the medical conduct of care and put into motion the runaway train that killed Jackson.

Along with listening to all the facts surrounding the death of Jackson, I watched the demeanor of Murray. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. Even as stoic as he was, I felt as he listened. it finally hit home just how badly he had messed up.

The really telling moment was after the verdict and once the judge refused him bail, it all came down on Murray. His life as he once knew it was over. Really over. He is now a convicted felon and will soon lose his prized doctor’s license. Everything he had worked so hard for, for so many years has been lost.

I am sure this past week he feels there is no way out. Sitting on the medical ward on a death watch, Conrad’s life is in shambles from which there is no return.

Facebook is not for dummies

Lillie — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:59:21 +0000

Growing up and becoming a nurse during an age when there were rules for appropriate behaviors, I often cringe when seeing how people refuse to act in a well thought out manner. This age of social networking has left people thinking any and everything is alright to post for the world to see.

Four student nurses, led by Doyle Brymes, at a Kansas community college, decided it would be a good thing to dress up in labs coats, gloves and masks, and show themselves hunched over a placenta and post it on Facebook for the world to view. Brymes supposedly asked her instructor if it was alright to post the picture. The instructor said “oh you girls“, but never gave a definite answer. Now this makes me sick. Someone has to be able to make decisions and step up to the plate. Why weren’t they told NO in no uncertain terms? The girls were expelled and now have to file a lawsuit to be reinstated to class.

Learning during the dark ages, I feel this the lack of professionalism is due to nurses and other professionals not having the guidance to be told what to do and what not to do. It’s too late to wait until nurses have graduated and have to abide by HIPPA rules. Patient’s privacy must be guarded at all cost.

Harsh as it might seem, I hope they are not reinstated! Go work in a nail salon or a bar where privacy is not expected. If you are reinstated, I hope you have really learned your lesson. Nursing is a a scared art and what you do is not to be put up and shown as entertainment!

An you thought Scrooge was bad

Lillie — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:57:24 +0000

Who ever said that no good deed goes unpunished was oh so right. When a group of Washington high school football officials decided to donate their pay checks to the Susan G. Koman foundation for breast cancer research and to use pink whistles at the next game, little did they know that they would be fined for not being in proper attire because they did not ask permission first.

Breast cancer, which is the second largest killer of women, means that few of us have not been touched by this disease. You would think that they would have been commended for this act o charity, but NO the Chairperson of the Washington Officials Association, Todd Stordahl, feels he must discipline them to give the right message to student players. I guess the wrong message would be you can’t do anything good unless you first get permission. If the two game suspensions go through the refs will not be able to officiate the season top games and that will also mean they will loose two additional paychecks.

How the heck can this man be so shortsighted that he could do this to people trying to do a good thing? If we are to beat breast cancer we need to keep research going. We are winning but we are not there yet.

American dream gone horribly wrong

Lillie — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:09:45 +0000

As a product of the 40’s and 50’s, the mantra was work hard and you could achieve the dream of a good job and a home of your own. Well I went to work and got education as a professional nurse. I spent over forty years at my craft. I married and my then husband bought a home. Well we had arrived. We could afford the things we needed and lots of those things we wanted. Even after getting a divorce, my kids and I lived in a rented three bed room home until we could again get our own home. Yes this single mom, from the woods of North Carolina, was able to buy herself a house that was one she had envied while in her first home with my ex. He would not step up and take a chance at a better abode.

Having bought this house at a later age, I am still paying for it in my retirement years. Making the mortgage is hard but we are holding on. Some people have not been so lucky and have lost their homes.

Banks are getting back homes because people can no longer make the payments due to lost jobs and a myriad of other reasons. The banks are not willing to help and Obama’s program which is supposed to help, has so many qualifying rules you probably won’t make it. Plus they make you jump through so many hoops you feel like the worst failure and give up trying to work with the lender.

So where does this leave people? Well a new phenomenon has come into the picture. People losing their homes are now taking out their frustration by destroying the homes they once loved. A San Diego Policeman and his wife have been accused of tearing up their foreclosed home. There are pictures of them in the act!

This is understandable but did they think of the consequences? Maybe not or they thought like so many others before them that nothing would be done. I don’t think any of the others were caught with their hands in the cookie jar like this couple was. Now besides losing their home there will probably be criminal charges and the husband will most likely lose his job.

I feel sorry and repulsed by their action. Having your dream go up in smoke is devastating. But acting like the criminal you are sworn to catch is just as appalling!

Another needless death

Lillie — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 21:59:29 +0000

When a parents sends their child away to college for the first time it is a scary thing. This week a parent’s worst nightmare was recognized when a freshman student, Tyler Clementi, was video taped having an intimate interlude with another male student. It was sent out for the world to see. The culprits who did this were Dhrum Ravi and Molly Wei. Tyler later committed suicide by jumping off the Washington Bridge. Rutgers, the school of the three students, is in turmoil. Other students are outraged and suffering from remorse because of this young man’s death and their failure to give support to this young talented violinist.

I would like to hear what excuses these invaders’ of this young man’s privacy can come up with. Being Gay is no one business except the two people evolved. So why hurt someone in such a mean spirited way?

I am sure that neither student realized that their invasion of this young man’s privacy could bring them a five year prison sentence which I hope will be carried out.

Its time that we send a message to others that this new form of bullying and hurting other through mass media has got to stop! I hope the parents sue Ravi and Wei for wrongful death. Will this bring back their son? NO! But it will send a strong message to others.

I feel so sorry that this young man did not have the strength to go on and I know that the parents will never get over the death of their child. They are all in my prayers.

Wow, Book me a ticket on Virgin Airline

Lillie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:49:42 +0000

Recently the passengers on a Virgin Airline flight from Los Angeles to New York’s JFK airport were treated to sixteen hours of hell. The flight had to be detoured to another city where they spent long hours on the tarmac. The travelers sat for hours and were told if they left the plane they would not be allowed back on the flight. Food was running low, the staff at one point rationed out four potato chips and a cup of water. One person had a panic attack. Even the staff were reaching their limits. A flight attendants even became verbally abusive.

Airlines have gotten so high and mighty they feel the can treat the people who pay them with this kind of service. How can you justify leaving people stuffed in the plane when they could at least go into the terminal and stretch their legs to get food or something to drink. As an older diabetic with high blood pressure I feel my life would be at risk if I was on such a flight.

Jet Blue, who has the worse record of any airline, came to the rescue of the flyers and they were bussed into New York’s JFK to make further connections for their flight.

There is now a bill that will soon go into effect that will fine the airline which seems to me to be a crazy sum of $27,500 per person if a flight is not cancelled after three hours. This bill is sponsored by California’s Barbara Boxer. I think this is excessive and could run an airline out of business. There has to be a happy medium. Airline should no longer be allowed to mistreat their patrons.

Go on. Kick a man when he is down

Lillie — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:03:31 +0000

To all my friends who are White, I hope your skins are tough enough to take this but I have to say what I think. You know the relationship we have and you have been there when I needed you. So here goes.

Tiger Woods has lost another big time endorsement contract because of his fooling around. I don’t condone what he did at all. But folks it was not a new thing. Men in high places have been and will be doing this till the end of time. Do I feel sorry for his wife? Yes because it hurts to be made a fool of.

But all these self righteous folks who are taking money out of Tiger’s pockets. You are kicking a Black man who dared to be the best in his field and had the nerve to marry a white woman. Then to cheat on her with even more white women. This is pay back. When you are Black and you rise above your perceived station and make mistakes, you will be kicked and kicked hard!

So my Black brothers and sisters check yourself if you want to keep what you earn. Don’t get caught with your pants down because you won’t keep what you have. The man will cut you down and take it away. As for Gatorade and Pepsi, I don’t like your products anyways!

OMG shes back and she a flaming flake

Lillie — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:19:02 +0000

Last year I stood on my soap box and proclaimed Nadya Suleman, better known as Octo-mom, a flake and a psychotic fool. Well folks she is back on television and my first impression has not changed!

If you saw her interview on The View, you have got to admit she remains much the same. First she will not and does not answer a question straight on. Second she has a laugh that scrapes the paint off walls and if there is any movie director who needs to portray a crazy person she is the ideal model. Dear Whoopie Goldberg asked straight out if she was a “few French fries short of a Happy Meal” (my words not Whoopies), she let out this ungodly screech and wondered around the question. She also tap danced around the question “was she finished having kids.” She should thank God it’s not a crime to be crazy. For if it was, she would be a first class felon.

I am sure this is not the last time we will see Octo-mom. But I hope she will retire her uterus. And if I ever hear that unholy voice again, it will be to soon.

Killer whale the name says it all

Lillie — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:18:31 +0000

I love animals and animal shows. And since I live in San Diego I have been to Sea World and watched the Shamu shows many times. I have had mixed feelings when the experts oppose having these lovely mammals performing. While watching the entertainment the whales seem so gentle. But we forget they are large, wild animals with the ability to kill. And kill one did recently.

A 40 year old female trainer was killed by a infamous whale that has three slaying under his flippers. Tilikum ( which means friend) has killed before. I have a real problem with this. Yes I know that Sea World has invested thousands of dollars in this animal but what is a human life worth?

It is now time for Sea World to cut their loses on this one animal if not its whole killer whale program. Not one more trainer should be in harms way for entertainment.

Old age or stupidity

Lillie — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:43:37 +0000

A well renowned chef in Italy thought it was OK to share with his watchers that cat stew was a delicious dish. He went on to impart that during the war poor people ate this wonderful dish. I am not a cat lover but I would not eat one. If meat became scarce I would eat veggies before the furry friends would pass my lips.

It seems that this 77 year old chef refused to listen to his cohort or his producers and stop telling his tale about how good this dish is. Needless to say the phone rang off the hook with complaints. Is there any surprise that his show was pulled from the airways?

I want to know was this a case of a stubborn old man wanting to get his thought across or is this another case of a famous person who thought he could say what he wanted without repercussions? Either way chef Giuseppe Buyazzi now has time to enjoy the sites of the Italian country side.

Famous people you are only where you are because of the love of your fans. So get with the program. If you insult our senses you can fall like a stone. Enjoy your leave of absence! We pet lovers won’t miss you!

H&M and Wal-Mart: Present day Simon Legrees

Lillie — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 10:43:21 +0000

In today’s economic era, where people are having trouble feeding and clothing their families, two companies are destroying unsold items before throwing them in the trash. Unsold items, like warm jackets, are having their arms cut off and tee shirts are being mutilated so that they are unwearable.

How in God’s name can they justify this behavior? Wal-Mart likes to put on a big front that they give back to the community. Well isn’t giving clothes to charities so that people can be warm and safe giving back? Just think about all the people in the last week, in places that usually don’t need coats, that now need them but have no money. What a blessing those clothing you destroyed would have been!

Cynthia Magus, a graduate student, blew the whistle on these companies. But now I wonder how many more companies follow the same practices? Why would they do this when there are so many good, honest charities that will make sure that these clothes get into the right hands?

H&M now says it will be donating their unsold articles. But Wal-Mart still has to answer this allegation.

Wake up big business! We are all in this financial mess together. Anyway you could help will come back to you threefold! So says the greatest book ever written, the Bible.

UPDATE for NBA training camp for dumb jocks

Lillie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:58:46 +0000

Well I am not the only one to think its time to take these spoil brat sports players to task. Stern put his foot down and Gilbert Arenas is now a fan. No longer will he be running up and down the hardwood floors. He is suspended indefinitely from playing basketball.

The NBA play ground for dumb jocks

Lillie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:45:01 +0000

The NBA is notable the training camp for dumb jocks and I am not talking academically. These superb athletes with such fine bodies leave much to be desired when it come to common sense. The latest debacle is Gilbert Arenas pulling a gun in the team’s locker room prompting his teammate Jarvis Crittenton pull his!

These men are now trying to downplay the seriousness of their actions. But it not funny when guns come out for any reason unless you are a police and are there to protect and serve.

The NBA alone has some strict rules about players and guns. So both can and will feel the foot of David Stern on their necks. Some writers are throwing around that he should be fined to the tune of 10 million dollars. But when you look at a 100 million purse, that won’t be much of a punishment. Maybe a year suspension without pay would be just the thing to get his attention and realize what not to do in the locker room!

I, for one, would like to see these young men put on notice that they need to grow up. Just because you can play ball doesn’t mean you don’t have to live by the same rules the rest of us abide by.

Shopping Horrors HSN style

Lillie — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:09:53 +0000

Shopping through the TV has been a passion of mine. But HSN has taken that pleasure from me. If you plan to send gift cards don’t do it through HSN. A very close friend of mine spent $900.00 dollars in gift cards and they were never sent by HSN!

Now I would have been a little suspicious when no one said “thanks for the cards“, but my friend is a forgiving soul and never checked why no one mentioned their gifts. Once she realized that there was something wrong, HSN has pretty much refused to make it right. Nine hundred dollars is too much to just forget about. Why would a company see that they made a mistake but refuse to help a customer?

Well I can now truly say HSN is no QVC. Shopping at the “Q” is satisfying because they want their customers to be happy and return to shop there. HSN appears to think that they can make one customer unhappy and that’s the end of it.

HSN remember when you do wrong by a buyer they will tell their friends and their friends will tell their friends. Get the drift? Word travels. And a bad name is not good for business in these time when every buyer is needed.

OH Tiger

Lillie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:16:24 +0000

I have met some lowdown men in my life so I must admit I have a very low opinion of them. This being said, I was not surprised to hear that shy, sweet looking, tiger Woods, had been a very bad boy. Why there should be such hoopla over his skirt chasing is a mystery to me. JFK, Bill Clinton, David Letterman, and various political figures and heads of states, have been caught with their zippers down.

I have worked in the mental health field for many years and it amazes me when men who have so much to loose risk it for a roll in the hay. Does power and money give men the feeling that they can do what ever they want without paying the piper? Clinton could have lost his place as president of the most powerful country in the world!

Tiger has made money that most of us can’t even dream of by hitting that little white ball over the rolling green grass of beautiful courses the world over. But there is no doubt that a large percentage comes from endorsements. Companies take a close look at people that represent their products. Tiger you might have to ask for a stimulus plan once companies start to drop you. Was it really worth it? How can you hold your head up after all the jokes ad snickering behind your back? Most of all how hot is the water at home? Will your marriage survive this or will you have to pay out millions for those flings?

I have asked male friends why men act the way they do and why they take such chances but I have never gotten a good answer. I guess this is one of those things we will have to watch as men destroy themselves for that quick fix.

For eight hours they own you

Lillie — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:57:07 +0000

I worked in the medical profession for over forty years and had to adhere to a dress code. The younger generation has taken to bucking the system by coming to work dressed in ways unbecoming their positions. And it is causing problems in the workforce.

A young policeman – White – came to work with a cornrow hair style. This was not a street cop not an undercover drug cop where dress code is more relaxed so the person can fit in with the people they are watching. He was asked to get a more acceptable hair cut – military style – and put on desk duty.

What is the big hooha about? In this day when having a job is a good and rare thing, abiding by the rules should NOT be a burden. If you take a job where they have a dress code and you knew it when you took the job, where do you get off changing an implied contract by bucking the dress code?

This is a sore spot with me people. For eight hours that your employer pays, you if they ask you do something that is not unsafe, unethical, or immoral you Owe them to follow through with what they ask. Or get a job where you can do whatever you want.

Another hero bits the dust

Lillie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:07:08 +0000

There are some people you see and hope they are as nice as they are famous. One of such people to me has been Michael Jordan. He has at different times been a source of discussion between my daughter and my self. She has been for a long time NOT a Jordan fan. In fact twenty plus years ago she wrote an article call “Be Like Mike? Hell No! It was published in an Ohio Black paper and has since been misplaced. At the time I could not understand her dislike for MJ. My daughter is a self proclaimed “old soul” and it often gives her an insight into people others don’t have.

Well I have to say that she was right on when she stated that MJ was not a nice person. If further proof was needed, his appearance at the Basketball Hall of Fame dinner in his honor left nothing to the imagination. To say this great player was less than gracious would be putting it mildly. He was bitter, narrow minded, and vindictive toward what he presumed were small hurts and slights he received at the hands of others as far back as his high school basketball coach. You would think with all his fame and money he would be a gracious person and let bygones be bygones. Heck no!

Jordan was a pitiful, mean person. So do I want to “be like Mike?” Hell NO!!

PETA”s AHA moment

Lillie — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:08:58 +0000

I don’t think that Bill Robinson, the Black tap-dancing artist, could have done faster tap steps than PETA has done recently. They have shuffled and jived their way to remove the offensive billboard in Jacksonville, Florida, showing an overweight woman in a bikini, stomach spilling over saying “save a whale, go vegetarian.” PETA is now saying they removed the ad due to the overwhelming response they received due to the ad.

Oh, right. Remove a successful ad because it is doing its job. PETA, FAT DOESN’T MEAN STUPID! We the fat, (not a bad word) women see what went on. You got backlash like you never expected and had to double step into the wings and retract your ad.

Save the animals but also be a friend. Don’t forget that people are animals too!

Who is at fault?

Lillie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:10:16 +0000

Celebrities are a spoiled bunch. It does not matter if they are in sports or the arts. They speak and the people around them jump to do their bidding. I had been waiting to see what the drug report would show following Michael Jackson ’s death. Even though I had a good idea what it was going to say. I hate being right under such circumstances. Michael was killed! Yes killed by a doctor who gave the King of Pop the drugs he demanded for his sleep disorder.

I have first hand knowledge of how frustrating staying awake night after night and then having to carry on life’s schedule the next day can be. I did this for years. If you do suffer from a sleep disorder you have to, at early stage, weather you are going to take medication or tough it out.
Starting the road to taking medication can cause big problems. It can be habitual forming and addicting. The former is taking the medication because it is a habit, the other, an addiction is becoming hooked on a drug which will then cause physical effects when trying to get of the drug.

Michael Jackson had the money to buy drugs that would feed him what he craved and needed. Thus his doctor was giving him Propofol, a medication given before surgery in hospitals. If this had been the only drug he was taking he might still be with us. But there is a laundry list of sedatives added to the mix.Why do doctors who have taken the oath to “DO NO HARM” do this?

Well there is one answer greed. These very rich people can buy the souls of mere mortals or should I put it this way. They can buy their own death. All the pushers are not on street corners. It took years to slow walk Elvis’s doctor down for his misuse of drugs but I bet Michael Jackson doctor won’t be so lucky.