Free At Last!

After 35 days of isolation (17 in the hospital and 18 at home)…I’m free! Perhaps, I should qualify…I have restrictions on food, travel and contact with others, but mostly, I’m free.

My version of stem cell transplantation was “autologous”, meaning they used my stem cells that were harvested back in early June. That means that I had an easier time in the hospital and that my long-term recovery is less complicated.

Spending two-and-a-half weeks in the hospital gives a person the chance to observe systems and people. The methods at Houston Methodist are taught throughout the world, so obviously, they have done a stellar job of developing management strategies and formulating processes.

On the transplant wing, there are four levels of personnel with daily patient duties.

1. Doctors (with Interns and Fellows)
2. Registered Nurses – RN
3. Patient Care Assistants – PCA
4. Housekeeping

What’s interesting is the different personalities in those positions and how counter intuitive they are to the hierarchy.

The most inquisitive, questioning and least authoritative are – the Doctors.                     The most authoritative and quick to offer advice – Housekeeping.

The PCA’s don’t have the training or education of the RN’s, but that doesn’t prevent them from expressing stronger opinions about everything from my medical case to the state of hospital staffing.

The least qualified to offer advice or direction, were more likely to do so. And, of course, the most qualified, were mostly quiet.

This notion was scientifically verified by the findings of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, which simply documented assertions advanced by philosophers throughout the ages.

The results of that study indicated that those who are lacking in knowledge, ability and efficiency, are likely to overestimate their own knowledge, ability and efficiency. Folks who are capable and efficient, tend to underestimate that capacity.

If the focus of your thoughts throughout the day is mostly on yourself, you haven’t increased your understanding of the people and the world around you. And, without a constantly expanding knowledge of the world around you, your self-analysis is based on limited internal criteria.

Those who are constantly inquiring about others, who thirst for understanding people and things and ideas, use that new information to orient themselves in the bigger picture. Thus, their self-assessment is informed by a broader and more accurate knowledge of the world.

The doctors would come to my room and ask questions. They would offer advice sparingly and mostly when asked. They never offered personal information unless I inquired. In other words, they were focused outside themselves. When they were in the room, they were thinking about me and my treatment.

Conversely, I received lots of personal information about the housekeepers. I knew about their job dissatisfaction, about their challenges at home and about their plans for the future. Their thoughts throughout the day were focused on one small spot and they were the center.

One of my favorite quotes …

Great minds discuss ideas.                                                                                                         Average minds discuss events.                                                                                                    Small minds discuss people.

My addition would be…     Tiny minds discuss themselves.

Jay