Confessions on a Soccer Pitch

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

In the news...

Almost 4 months into my job, and I finally have some news to share... with everyone! Just took a crash course on talking to the media too... whew! Check out the media release from yesterday (my part is closer to the bottom, if you don't want to read about the actual research study I'm helping with!).


MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
COMMUNICATIONS, #220-1815 Kirschner Road, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 4N7
www.interiorhealth.ca

August 29, 2006

Study Considers How Best to Deliver Bad News in the ER

KAMLOOPS – When a patient is rushed into the hospital’s emergency department barely breathing or suffering from life-threatening injuries or illness, physicians and nurses respond immediately. In this immediate response, with the focus rightly placed on the critically ill patient, communication with family members is sometimes lost.

It’s for this reason that Kamloops ER doctor Anders Ganstal, in association with Interior Health’s Research and Evaluation Department, is embarking on a research study designed to improve communication with the loved ones of critically ill patients admitted into Royal Inland Hospital’s emergency department.

“I think overall we do well, but sometimes we forget,” Dr. Ganstal says. “We’re busy caring for the patient and our focus is on resuscitation of that patient, but meanwhile, the family may arrive on scene with little or no information.”

Delivering difficult news is a challenging part of the job for emergency department staff, and Dr. Ganstal says doctors and nurses often communicate with family members according to their own level of comfort.

The intent of the study is to not only offer insight into how well the ER is doing presently, but identify areas of improvement. Previous research has shown that attending to a family’s emotions when delivering difficult news, and giving them the information at the right time, improves the family’s experience with the health care system. Ganstal’s study recognizes that when a patient and their family arrive in a hospital ER, the response is not just about meeting the urgent physical needs, but also the resulting emotional needs.

Assistance for the research project will be provided by Leslie Bryant MacLean and Jennifer Miller, Research Facilitators with Interior Health’s Research and Evaluation Department, as well as The College of Family Physicians of Canada.

“Our goal is to support research activities within Interior Health because we know research assists our health care professionals, clinicians and policy makers, in making evidence-informed decisions,” says Jennifer Miller.

The department offers support for research activities in a variety of ways, including help with literature searches and research design (methodology and analyses) for Interior Health staff who may be interested in pursuing research projects. Research facilitators, funded by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, also offer educational research skills workshops, seminars and networking opportunities. These activities help connect staff with common research interests and promote the sharing of research findings. More information about the department and its activities can be found on the Interior Health website at www.interiorhealth.ca/information/research.

Meanwhile, in order to protect the integrity of the ER research project, specific details around the study will not be released at this time.


For media inquiries, please contact:

Darshan Lindsay, IH Communications (250) 318-4408

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Gotta love summer vacation!

Home sweet home! Good thing that I am blessed to have many places I can call home. The past 10 days Aaron and I spent our summer vacation back in Ontario (aka the center of the universe for those BC-ers) and had a blast. The trip started with my parents' 35th Anniversary party the weekend that we came into town.

Here's a pic of the family... mom, dad, my sister Jess, Aaron and I. Wow... 35 years! Thinking ahead, it will be 2040 ( a nice round number, eh?) and 62 years old when Aaron and I have been married 35 years... i can only imagine where we will be at that time! Perhaps in an old folks home in a wheelchair... then again, probably not.


We also were able to get up north to the river and see my grandma and grandpa, aunt and cousin's family (2 boys -whew!) during the trip home. I met up with Chelle in London for a bit of shopping at White Oaks and some dinner. Word to wise - check your chicken sandwich to make sure it's cooked. Michelle almost had a chance for salmenella (sp?) if it hadn't been for Aaron's sharp eyesight!

Last weekend it was my priveldge to be a part of Katie and Ryan's wedding. The whole weekend was a blast! It was really weird to sit on the other side of the head table though, at the same location Aaron and i were at 50 weeks ago (yes, the big #1 is coming up). But what a great wedding! Once Ryan got his Michael Jackson chair dancing moves out, the party was on! Even a visit by the cops couldn't stop the party... hehe! Thanks you guys for an awesome evening. It was so great to be back, hang out (if only for a few days), and have some great fun. I miss you all already! :( Tentative plans are for us to come back next Summer (Christmas in BC this year), so who else wants to get married so we can have a great bash?! :)

Anyway, I think this entry is a bit long, so I will close this one up. We are now back 'home' in Kelowna, back to work (sigh...) and will gradually get back into the swing of things. My parents and Jess are driving out (dad says he needs to get rid of my junk!) in a few weeks, so we will have another visit with the family here on our own turf. Looking forward to it!

Friday, August 18, 2006

Cool new movie preview...

Found this today,

Check this out... Link

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Lotto Luck!

Lotto 6/49 Winning #'s - Sat, August 12, 2006
3
10
21
23
33
44
Bonus 43

... somewhere in SW Ontario is a ticket that shares 1/4 of the jackpot (~$10.-- million)...

... we bought our ticket in SW Ontario yesterday (sarnia)...

... we didn't win the millions ... :(

... we did manage to match 4 numbers and win $198.60!

Which got me thinking... what could we buy with our winnings? Hmm... Things you could buy with $198.60:

1. A case of wine (hey, we do live in wine country!)
2. A new pair of soccer cleats
3. A one-way ticket from Vancouver to London, ON... if you fly with Sunwing airlines and are willing to fly red-eye...
4. An MP3 player - the imitation kind, not the iPod, right Tony?
5. Two cheap seats tickets to a Canucks' game (or one front-row seat... hmm... which to choose...)
6. A pretty decent shopping trip... mmm... Banana Republic... although I'd probably only be able to afford a couple things with $200!
7. A used bike (to ride to work, right Aaron?)
8. Enough sod to finish our back yard
9. A night at the Elderado ... it's a hotel, not a sleezy bar... I know what you were thinking!
10. A couple months' interest on my student loan

Any other thoughts???

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Home sweet home

We've come a a long way, baby...
Here's the pics of our place...





... before...










... and after...

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Why mechanics like dealing with women...

I thought this audio clip was funny... although degrading to women... well, this woman anyway...

Link