So I spent the day at the hospital today with my husband, who was getting surgery for a herniated disc. Nothing major, and he’s already recovering well at home.
Anyway, I don’t spend a lot of time in hospitals. Whenever I do, it’s a bit of a shock to the system for me. I mean, the people who work in a hospital, everyone from the little old lady volunteer in the waiting room to the nurses, to the surgeon have such a responsibility.
They are in charge of peoples lives, their health, their peace of mind. If they make mistakes, people suffer. I mean, they really physically suffer. I got a little taste of this when I worked for a cancer treatment center several years ago. Even though I was working with their records and sometimes answering the phone, I felt a lot of pressure to always get it right. If I didn’t, the consequences could be disastrous for someone, or at the very least could make someone’s suffering worse. I was a bit releived when, after about a year, I left to pursue other interests.
So I’m not really cut out to be a medical professional. Too much pressure. Too much at stake.
Which is why (in part) I became a librarian.
As a librarian, I certainly have certain responsibilities that could impact people negatively if I don’t perform them perfectly every time. But if I do have an of day, nobody is going to be paralyzed. Or disfigured. Or killed. They might just be a little grumpy.
This is what I want to say to a lot of library staff: Relax.
You are not a surgeon. Or a military officer. Or an air traffic controller. Getting that book on the shelf STAT will not prevent someone from losing a limb. Making sure that hold gets fixed so that Mrs. So-And-So gets the new James Patterson ASAP will not bring about world peace. Relax.
Yes, you can genuinely and deeply effect your patrons with what you do professionally. You can influence people’s lives with the information and services you provide. You can educate, inform, entertain, and really make a difference to your patron and your community. But you also have the luxury of knowing that you are not in a life or death situation, and not every little thing needs to be made a Federal Case. Relax.
I mean it. Take a deep breath. Ask yourself, “Is anyone going to die from this?” And Relax.
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July 31st, 2007 at 9:10 pm
An interesting perspective…but not entirely accurate.
First, you never know. Maybe you do make an error of commission or omission and it leads, if ever so indirectly, to someone’s demise.
Second, what you are recommending is something everyone should take to heart, no matter what front line they are on. A relaxed person is going to be that much better prepared to response appropriately to a situation.
Third, dang straight I’m a surgeon! I am a surgeon of information; slicing and dicing my way through the layers of mis- and dis-information to get to the heart of the truth.
Oh, and, yeah, I can find you a really fun video to watch tonight…
July 31st, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Emily, the pressures you describe absolutely DO apply to the work of medical libraries. Not being able to find the right information quickly really CAN negatively impact patient outcomes. Medical librarians ARE medical professionals.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:21 am
Point taken about medical librarians. That I totally agree with.
I guess i”m really talking here about public libraries, and particularly the kinds of “crises” I hear people freaking out about every day: The circ system charged 15 cents a day instead of 10, the new Harry Potter book got an incorrect subject heading, stuff like that. Trust me, folks get really bent out of shape over that kind of stuff and really need to put their problems in perspective a little bit. And calm down a little.
As for providing information, at least in a public setting - yes, what we provide can have a great impact on our patrons. But in a public library there is a huge distinction between us and medical professionals. And I happen to think there is a huge difference between helping someone access information in a public library and providing advice and treatment.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:29 am
I completely agree, and have said to co-workers “This is not a hospital - nobody is going to die.” Even the worst mistakes can be solved with some savvy customer service skills. No need to raise every problem to crisis levels!
August 1st, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I’ll second David Rothman’s point. I worked as a Medical Librarian for a while but was never comfortable with it because I didn’t have a strong science background. I left and now work as a media librarian because of the kind of pressure you discuss. In fact, I often think about my days as a Medical Librarian to help me keep things in perspective now, much in the way you describe in your insightful post.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:22 pm
yes, yes yes! So true.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Tom, that’s how I felt working in medical records. Too much pressure. Imagine my surprise when I got into public libraries and found people there fretting so much about stuff that doesn’t have nearly the kind of life-or-death impact on people. We all need a little perspective sometimes.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Emily, I totally understand what you’re saying here and I’ve always felt this way as well. While, yes, there are exceptions (and Medical Libraries are a big one), most of what we do isn’t life and death, or even close. Prior to working in libraries, I was a social worker and provided therapy to children who were being abused, who were suicidal, who were delusional, and more. That was a HUGE responsibility and I was constantly feeling stressed, couldn’t sleep, etc. because I was so worried about them all the time. When I started working at a public library, I found that a lot of my colleagues were as stressed about finding books and stuff as I was about my clients’ safety when I was a social worker. I agree with you completely that we should often relax about this stuff. The world will not end if we can’t find a book a patron wants right now. Life will go on. I think we’re lucky to have that perspective; it makes life so much easier.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Emily, loved the thought. Once early in my career (I was working as a public relations/marketing director in a hospital) after a particularly stressful meeting, the administrator said to me upon leaving, “Wow, I think you’re the only person who wasn’t stressed out in that meeting.” And, it’s been true. I believe in delegation, not to the point of not doing anything yourself, but not being so in control that you can’t let others do something on their own. When you understand you can’t do everything yourself to get “it right,” you have sent some of that stress off to others and in so doing, retained less for yourself and can relax. Maybe even take a vacation.