One of my very favourite places to go during work hours is the home of a lovely woman of danish descent who requires assistance to stay in her own home. She has a daughter who is a treasure beyond measure, who keeps the fridge full of pre-cooked tasty home meals that will appeal to her gourmet cook mother. The daughter keeps the garden in bloom and flowers on the table in even the darkest months. All things cheery and nice appears to be her mantra.
Frequently I will find myself grinning in that home from sheer delight in the job. This week it was laugh out loud at myself. Here is what happened.
I dropped in around the lunch hour and asked my dear client if the single portion of homemade macaroni and cheese was what she wanted. "Yes, and please heat in on the stove in butter", she replied. Done.
I put the tasty slice on a plate and handed it to her.
She said (or so I thought) : "You misunderstood me. I wanted this heated on the stove."
Puzzled, I replied: "Yes. I did that."
She said: "No no, I wanted it mushed up."
I said, handing her a fork and knife: "You can do that now that it's hot. Ok?"
--- silence--
She smiled at me and said: "No, I dont think you know what I mean. Can you bring me the curry sauce? It is in a jar in the fridge."
Curry and macaroni is a new one on me, but not the first strange combination she has requested. I brought over the jar to a very strange reaction.
She enunciated carefully for me: "Not CURRY - CHERRY."
Ok. I did just that.
and she lovingly spooned cherries and cherry sauce over her portion of pasta.
I suppose I was still standing there looking bemused, so she looked up at me questioningly.
"Pasta and Cherries isnt something I have ever tried", I ventured.
"Pasta?" She looked horrified. "I thought this was rice pudding."
--------
hee hee
I guess you had to be there.
Looking in the fridge I found a bowl of homemade rice pudding and yes, she ate that with the cherry sauce. The pasta, alas, went down the drain.
Showing posts with label miscommunications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscommunications. Show all posts
25.4.05
Memory Lapse
Generally it is the client that has the memory lapse. Not always though.
A few months ago I received a terse message on both my cellphone voice mail and my home# from the Nursing Supervisor for one of the Regions. A big cheese.
"Good Morning, how did your visit with Mr. Jones go?"
"Mr. Jones?? What visit is that?"
"Didn't you go to Mr. Jones on Sunday?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because he is not on my schedule. Was I supposed to?"
She sounded very angry.
I was a tad dismayed that her opening line was asking how the visit went when obviously she knew very well I had not gone at all. Is that how they think of me?
---sigh---
Turned out it was not my fault although poor Mr. Jones had been laying in bed waiting for SOMEONE to show up. Noone did. I think he lay there until the next day. As badly as I feel for Mr. Jones, I couldn't have done anything differently. Someone forgot to call me and add him to my schedule.
Frequently with add-ons, the client will be just a one-time visit.
Frequently but NOT always.
I went today to a lovely woman who had surgery a few weeks ago. I met her on Thursday 2 weeks ago for her first visit. Today she asked me why noone came last Thursday.
I had a baaaad feeling.
She had called in but only on Saturday which of course is useless.
I told her anytime someone doesnt who when she is expecting them, call the Office and ask for Scheduling. It means that either the Scheduler or the Nurse/Intake/Worker has made an error.
Apparantly this was my error. I am sure I must have been told to add her permanently but I sure don't remember. I know the Scheduler thinks she added her.
All it takes is one person to call in sick or one client to have an emergency discharge to home with support services of 2+ times daily to screw the whole works up.
Luckily this was a low priority task or this woman would have been raising hell I am sure.
I must be getting old. (er)
-------------------------
Dory: " I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family... At least I think it does... Where are they?" (Finding Nemo)
A few months ago I received a terse message on both my cellphone voice mail and my home# from the Nursing Supervisor for one of the Regions. A big cheese.
"Good Morning, how did your visit with Mr. Jones go?"
"Mr. Jones?? What visit is that?"
"Didn't you go to Mr. Jones on Sunday?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because he is not on my schedule. Was I supposed to?"
She sounded very angry.
I was a tad dismayed that her opening line was asking how the visit went when obviously she knew very well I had not gone at all. Is that how they think of me?
---sigh---
Turned out it was not my fault although poor Mr. Jones had been laying in bed waiting for SOMEONE to show up. Noone did. I think he lay there until the next day. As badly as I feel for Mr. Jones, I couldn't have done anything differently. Someone forgot to call me and add him to my schedule.
Frequently with add-ons, the client will be just a one-time visit.
Frequently but NOT always.
I went today to a lovely woman who had surgery a few weeks ago. I met her on Thursday 2 weeks ago for her first visit. Today she asked me why noone came last Thursday.
I had a baaaad feeling.
She had called in but only on Saturday which of course is useless.
I told her anytime someone doesnt who when she is expecting them, call the Office and ask for Scheduling. It means that either the Scheduler or the Nurse/Intake/Worker has made an error.
Apparantly this was my error. I am sure I must have been told to add her permanently but I sure don't remember. I know the Scheduler thinks she added her.
All it takes is one person to call in sick or one client to have an emergency discharge to home with support services of 2+ times daily to screw the whole works up.
Luckily this was a low priority task or this woman would have been raising hell I am sure.
I must be getting old. (er)
-------------------------
Dory: " I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family... At least I think it does... Where are they?" (Finding Nemo)
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