Typical Day
At the brisk hour of 6:30AM, Lionel Derly stretches out his legs and groans. It's earlier than he needs to be up, but he wants a little exercise before work. His resolution this year was to start taking morning runs every day with his dog.
Before leaving, he glances at his phone and sees a voicemail. Lionel is tempted to check it but his morning runs are dedicated to himself. He's very strict about making sure he doesn't engage in any work before taking some time to clear his mind for the workday. He laughs, remembering his first week on the job when he didn't take time to clear his mind and he almost prescribed Oxaprozin to a man that had a history of stomach ulcers (a big no-no as a side effect of Oxaprozin can be stomach bleeding).
Stomach bleeding...hilarious.
He can laugh about it now, but that near mishap could've caused a major disaster—and it's the reason he began doing these morning runs.
While running Lionel tries to center his head but he keeps thinking about one of his patients, Gloria. Gloria is fairly new to the long-term care facility that Lionel works at and is suffering from progressive dementia. Yesterday, Gloria's son informed Lionel that today is her birthday, and that they wanted to hold a small party for her at the facility. Although Lionel is happy that Gloria has a family that cares, he worries about how it will affect Gloria's day. Dementia patients usually don't like breaking out of their routines, and he worries about Gloria's well-being.
After Lionel returns home and gets dressed he looks at his phone and checks his voicemail. The first message is from a local pharmacy; a refill on one of his patient's prescriptions didn't go through...he'll figure that out later. The second message is from Sallie Mae about an upcoming student loan payment. He cuts that one off before it can get past the introduction.
At 8:00AM, Lionel arrives at the Sunshine Long Term Care Facility. He parks in his usual parking spot and waves to Henrietta, an older nurse who stands in the same spot every morning smoking a cigarette.
"You really should stop smoking Henrietta!" Lionel teases, just like he does every morning.
"Well when I'm old and sick, you can take care of me," she responds. Same punchline every time. Would it kill her to come up with some new material?
Most of Lionel's day is fairly repetitive, which is a good thing. While some of the more independent patients don't need much of a strict routine, other patients rely on a scheduled day that corresponds with mandated treatments and activities. But that doesn't mean the bingo hall doesn't get a little rowdy from time to time.
Until it's time for Lionel to begin his rounds, he has to work on the boring paperwork part of his day. He calls the pharmacy to figure out why that prescription didn't go through—turns out it was just a computer glitch. For his first couple of clients he reviews their history and physical examinations, just to refresh his memory on what he'll have to deal with when meeting them.
At around 10:15AM he begins making his rounds. He meets with his first patient, Clarissa, who hasn't quite been able to recover from a particularly strong heart attack. Although Clarissa is in high spirits, she complains about leg cramps that she's had recently. Lionel reviews her blood pressure; it's a bit over her usual average.
He takes some time to ask her some personal questions and finds out her son has just announced that he wants a divorce from his wife. And they're in the middle of a heated custody battle. Sounds like it's destined for a Maury Povich-style resolution.
Lionel warns her about the effect that the stress is having on her blood pressure, and how dangerous that can be after her heart attack. He doesn't increase her medication because he fears that her body won't be able to take it, but he recommends that she start on daily walks. He also starts her on a low-dosage supplement of CoQ10, which helps to reduce blood pressure.
At 11:00AM, he takes on his next patient, Murray. This one goes much more smoothly. No changes to any of his vitals and he's responding well to his arthritis treatment. Lionel is in and out in a breeze.
Lionel needs to see fifteen patients today, so he decides to push back his lunch and visit two more before eating. He meets with a new patient, Barry. Barry's family is actually present during this meeting and they ask Lionel all sorts of worried questions about Barry's preexisting conditions. They're also concerned that at Barry wasn't treated properly at his previous facility.
Looking over Barry's chart, Lionel notices that Barry's on a medication for which the side effects can be worse than the condition. He switches Barry off of the medication and talks to the family about starting a new, healthier routine each day. He creates a chart, allotting time for exercise and meals that should help support Barry's recovery. The family hugs Lionel; they feel a lot more confident in Barry's well-being.
Lionel returns to his office to deal with a little paperwork, further delaying lunch. He's behind schedule and decides to order delivery from a local sandwich joint so he can eat while working. Between 1:00PM, when Lionel returns from his quick lunch, and 6:00PM, he powers through the rest of his rounds with other patients.
Back at his office, Lionel jots down some notes about some of his patients that don't seem to be responding to treatment, as well as some that are worsening. This worries him, and he spends some time brainstorming new treatments to try. He calls a nurse in and chats with her about some of the concerns he has with his patients that aren't recovering. Bouncing ideas off of someone else always helps.
At 6:45PM, Lionel shakes his ankle, his feet a little sore from all of the rounds of that day. As he leaves, he sees Gloria and her family gathered around a birthday cake in the lobby. Gloria seems a bit more responsive than usual and is even smiling. Before he walks out the door, the family waves him over to get a piece of cake.
Never one to pass up cake, Lionel stays behind and talks a bit with the family.
At 7:30PM, Lionel walks into his house. His phone buzzes; it's his mother. Oh boy. He knows the conversation will be a long one and decides to fix dinner while talking. Too tired and mentally drained to cook, Lionel heats up some leftover pasta from a few days ago, peppering in a few phrases like, "yes" and "mhm" as his mother asks if he's eating and is getting enough sleep.
After an hour-long conversation, Lionel is finally able to sit down and enjoy an episode of Grey's Anatomy. He checks his online dating profile during the episode—he's got a match. He felt a bit weird joining a website like this, but his days are long and it's so hard to meet people.
At around 10:30PM. Lionel is able to settle in for bed. Today wasn't a bad day. Happy patients, red velvet cake, and a potential date? Not a bad day at all.