Talking about your day.. Or not..

[juliek391]

So it really irks me that for both HIPAA reasons and those relating to the gag reflex of others, I am severely limited on what I can talk about after a hard day's work. I already have to be uber vague about anything that might, obviously, reveal to much about the patient. But even in being totally ambiguous, I can't even talk about the really gross or "cool" stuff I saw because my boyfriend will curl up into the fetal position, whimper, and tell me to stop. I just want to come home and talk about the highlights of the day, which of course, also happen to be the most revolting to those outside of the medical profession. Does anybody else feel totally repressed in the company of teachers/accountants/lawyers/salespeople/etc. If only everyone could talk about CABGs while eating spaghetti... In a perfect world..

[Dolce, RN]

I am usually able to "tone down" the gross parts so that I can relate my day without grossing everyone out. In all actually the "gross" parts of our day actually only make up a very small portion of it.

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

Your boyfriend is a big jessie.

[MikeyJ, RN]

I talk to other people in the medical field about the highlights. When I come home, I usually do not talk to my partner about my day unless something is really bothering me. I am usually too tired to talk about my day and would rather relax.. lol.

[TazziRN, RN]

I'm not allowed to talk about my day either. Hubs, DS, and DD spend the entire dinner hour talking about the store, but I just sit there and eat quietly. I thought I would have a compadre when DD decided to go into nursing, but then the little traitor moved out.

[DaMale Nurse]

Thankfully, I am one of the few lucky ones. Most of my friends and my girlfriend would tell me th shut up about my day. But thankfully, both my sister and my mom work in healthcare (pharm and nurse) so they listen to me and actually give good advice every now and then. I almost talk there ear's off for about a hour when I have a bad day.

But my suggestion is to find someone to you can talk to outside of work. A friend or family member, if you can. Use diagnosis if you can, lie about gender and age, and talk about what you did that was so cool. While editing the patient info enough to make sure you aren't violating hippa.

[RNperdiem, RN]

As long as I don't use names or other identifying factors, HIPAA can just, well, let's just say I am not too worried.

I don't talk that much about work, not more than a couple of sentences about what I did. Sometimes I might talk about patients in a very general sense.

My sister works at the same hospital. We have learned to limit discussion of the stuff we see at work when we talk at Sunday dinner. My poor father has a weak stomach.

[YellowFinchFan]

when I tell my family/friends about 'highlights' of my day - it makes them grateful that they really "don't have problems' compared to what others face...plus my sister always says her job isn't that bad listening to me!

[GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN]

I've never cared to discuss my day or noc after work, if my husband or other family asks how it was, it's usually,' good, busy,sucked' pretty general, I only care to talk shop w/other nurses, I mean, noone really goes into detail about their-- job whether its in banking/IT/plumbing--

whatever, unless something unusual happened. I do like to stop grumbling and whining when family think they should have my sympathy for something minor- I usually tell them to be grateful they don't have my sympathy b/c if warranted, they would be VERY SICK .It shuts them up quickly...

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

Try not to talk about my day. Why re-hash the entire day. I just say whether it was good, crappy or busy...that's about it. It's over and done. :)

[Jules A, MSN]

If you weren't there or aren't in the field it isn't always as interesting to others as it is to us, lol My DH, who is an awesome huband btw, has never had any interest in hearing the girlie/blow-by-blow/version of my day even before I got into nursing. If there is something I really needed to discuss I would vent to other people in the industry and now its the same. I call a girlfriend that is a nurse. :)

[Altra, BSN, RN]

This why regular post-work stops with coworkers for coffee or a few cold ones are so important.

Friends, family & neighbors can't even figure out why I would choose to work in an ER, let alone hear about my day ...