Attention to detail Nurse Gray ..attention to detail!!!!



" Pay particular attention to the details of your work. 
Paying attention to detail makes for the personal touch...it is thoughtful and  it is kind"

This was a particular manra of my tutor Mr Brint , back in my psychiatric days
I remember it well as in one lession we had, the class was taught how to put ladies hair rollers in! 
The ladies were a group of "patient volunteers" from the long stay ward and Mr Brint and a tired looking Occupational therapist were showing us all how to shampoo and set!
" Hair and make up are vital for good self esteem" Mr Brint trilled " Everyone can be made to feel beautiful " 
He looked over at me as I manfully tried to roll my patient's grey locks around a roller which resembled a hairy caterpillar 
" And how is your lady looking Nurse Gray?" he purred 
I looked at my lady's head thick with haphazard looking rollers 
" She looks like a German mine!" I told him honestly 
His heart was always in the right place 

Mr Brint was right. It is attention to detail that makes a difference 
I was reminded of that yesterday when I collected my mail from my work pidgeon box
In it was a thank you card. 

Hand written from a friend of a patient who had died  a couple of months ago now.
The friend thanked me , not for  any sparking nursing care  but for a small moment of attention to detail where I had " sneaked " into the patient's room , two large rum and cokes from the kitchen booze stores which I had presented to them both on a tray with a paper doily on it.

They had Mr Brint to thank for that one

" Attention to detail Nurse Gray, Attention to detail!" 

I was reminded again of all this by a gift pushed through the letterbox
It was a gift from fellow Chorister Hattie and the accompanying letter was written to me and another  choir member Heulwen 
We of the " Trelawnyd Sandwich" . 
Before lockdown we had all agreed to go to the cinema to see Military Wives.
You know the choir based  feel good movie
But real life and covid had gotten in the way, so on the first week of the DVD being released Hattie had bought us a copy to watch, one that we all three could talk about when we eventually meet up in Heulwen's garden.

Thoughtful and kind.....
Mr Brint would have approved of this attention to detail....


Ps thank you all for Winnie concern
She is brighter this morning x

78 comments:

  1. Mr. Brint taught you well ... may someone come into my room with a rum and coke when I need it most.

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  2. YAYZ for winnie! someone needs your kindness today, nurse gray!

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    1. The old girl has had four cocktail sausages already

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  3. Hattie sounds an absolute delight x

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    1. She is.
      If I was ever to have a daughter, I would have wanted one like Hattie

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  4. I hope you enjoy Military Wives, I loved it. Lovely idea from Hattie and how nice of your patients friend. I am so glad that Winnie is looking brighter. Sue P x

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  5. Hattie sounds like she's becoming a real good friend to you. Enjoy your film and post discussion of it! x

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    1. We will ....thank you.......it will be nice to thrash the discussion from deckchairs in the corners of the garden

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  6. " Hair and make up are vital for good self esteem" Mr Brint trilled " Everyone can be made to feel beautiful "
    Amen!

    XOXO

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  7. My partner is in hospital with a fractured hip. I've been sneaking in a couple of brandied cumquats every day. They just look like innocent pieces of fruit.

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    1. Lol bring in the jar and let him drain the juice

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  8. This is just perfection. And too, so glad she is doing better today.

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  9. Mr. Brint was right. We often underestimate the power those small acts of kindness have. Those "small acts" are often overlooked details.

    Glad to hear Winnie is brighter today.

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  10. Barbara Anne2:28 pm

    Cheers for Mr. Brint and all you students who took his lessons to heart for the benefit of every one of your patients. :)

    What a lovely idea Hattie had to purchase Military Wives for you three to view in your homes (sigh!) and later gather at proper distances to discuss amongst yourselves.

    What glorious news about dear Winnie. Might we call "lethargic" just "lazy" so it doesn't sound medical?

    Hugs!

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    1. No she's tired and obviously weak

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    2. Barbara Anne4:43 pm

      Shucks ... more cocktail sausages might give Winnie more strength ... but you're the nurse on the scene, so you know best.

      Hugs!

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    3. See my comment on pizza below ha ha

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  11. Anonymous2:36 pm

    It really is the little kindnesses that make all the difference, isn't it? Thanks for the reminder. Carol in Philly

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  12. mine was a chemistry teacher that taught us about the pursuit of excellence. i pay a lot of attention to detail and it means a lot to people. it shows that you are thinking about them.

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  13. Oops I read "Psychic" by mistake. Mystic John will tell your future, just cross his palm with silver or a scotch egg hehe x

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  14. "Hair and make up are vital for good self esteem." Surely, a worthy mantra for us all. 😊

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    Replies
    1. Anything to impress a potential snog x

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  15. Anonymous3:51 pm

    Is that you with a few rollers in?, the top lot should all be facing the same way (going back) and you need a couple more at the sides to give the style some oomph!
    Mr Brint, l like the sound of him, did he zzush about a lot, l have him down as being quite theatrical about, well, everything really.
    Glad Winnie can manage a little somthing by way of a cocktail sausage, a culinary delight for a dowager.
    Tess xx

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    1. He was a camp as christmas character who loved to ballroom dance

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    2. Anonymous6:32 am

      Knew it! T x

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  16. Isn't it amazing how such seemingly small acts of kindness can make such a difference to people.
    Glad to hear that Winne is doing a bit better.

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    1. Yes...thoughtfulness in people make me warm to them greatly

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  17. Caring is so much more than health, and it shows. Glad to hear Winnie is doing well.

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  18. When my Nan was in hospital on a restrictive diet, her neighbor smuggled in some jellied eels!! She was completely delighted. She was dying anyway, so why not enjoy life until the end? I hope someone will sneak a gin and tonic in for me.

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    1. I hate them as much as I do sardines

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  19. I don't know anything about setting hair in rollers, but the set depicted in the photo looks quite neat to me! (Maybe that's not the problematic one?)

    Rum & cokes -- now THAT is kindness. :)

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    1. My lady as I recall had very tight toilets so came out looking like orphan annie

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    2. Hahaha! Tight toilets... umm what was that supposed to say?? Ringlets?

      Jo in Auckland

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    3. Ringlets !!!!!!!!! Lol ringlets!!!!

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  20. Yes, I'd like a force feed of rum and coke if I catch the virus on my death bed...it would be so nice.

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  21. I definitely want a gin and tonic sneaked in for me. Glad Winnie is holding her own.

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    1. Shes had a walk in the garden tonight x

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  22. A friend of ours has been job changed from podiatrist in her hospital to orderly in an older peoples' ward. Just like you, she gives..she gave an older gent a hair trim(including eyebrows, ears and nose)
    Like you say, it is the attention to detail. Really made his day apparently!

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    1. Why do men my age have extra long eyebrows?

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  23. Hattie is a true friend isn't she John x

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  24. Very thoughtful of Hattie. She knows the secret.

    I can attest to the attention to detail meaning so much. When my father was in nursing home care, it was the little things that made us both feel like he was still seen as a human being, not a job. That extended to me as his visitor, too. One evening after weeks of twelve hour days being with my father right after his stroke, one of the personal care workers offered me a package of two cookies when she was giving out bed lunch. It made me cry. I had felt so alone. But she saw me there.

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  26. Your picture reminded me of my mother. I used to set her hair and she was happy even if it looked like a German mine....

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  27. Thank you for keeping us Winnie updated.:)

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    1. I bought a pizza tonight on the way home
      She, like the other dogs adore the crust
      She ate her share with eyes closed in rapture x

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    2. Good ...makes me smile for you.

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    3. Yes it made me smile dearheart x

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    4. Barbara Anne4:00 am

      Oh, dear, I get DH's pizza crusts. Winnie, Mary, Dorothy, and I have something in common. Sweet!

      Hugs!

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  28. Hooray for the Mister Brints of this world - and those who take their lessons to heart.
    That said, much as I appreciate it, unexpected kindness is much more likely to make me cry than almost anything else.
    Glad that Winnie is having a better day. On this side of the world so is Jazz. So far.

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    1. Good xxx love to jazz
      Jazz was the original name of my second bulldog Mabel

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    2. When Jazz came to live with us he rejoiced? in the name of Jazzpurr. Which made me feel unwell.

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  29. Makes me wonder what other unusual nursing skills you are expected to develop besides how to insert hair rollers....

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    1. I also learned to ballroom dance nick

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  30. Rum and coke wouldn't be my death bed choice...maybe a rootbeer float? You should run one of your reader polls where evryone chooses their final treat.

    Very kind of you, you really take notice of the little but important things. My mom's favorite thing was the twice weekly real bath in a bathtub that they were allowed/ assisted with/ in the nursing home; for years she'd only been able to manage showers on her own.

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    1. My point of the blog is that thoughtfulness is not innate
      It's trainable ...we all can do it with thought and self awareness

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    2. I have discovered that some of the bloggers could take lessons in kindness from you, John.

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  32. Are you SURE Mr. Brint would have approved of the rum and coke? Not that I care. I approve!

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  33. We all should be more like Mr. Brint. Warms my heart to hear the good news about Our Winnie girl.

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  34. Mr Brint sounds amazing ... he taught you well :-)

    It's a brilliant film, have some tissues ready though.

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  35. Mr Brint sounds like a lovely caring man, out of the many people that cross our path there are a few we will always remember with kindness and at the time may not have noticed just what an impact they made to our lives
    unsung heroes filed away in our memory.
    Give Winnie a cuddle from me.

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