I was recently on a road trip, cruising along and listening to the classic rock station on Sirius XM. There was an interview with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson where he explained the title “Thick as a Brick.” Apparently, this is an English expression meaning willfully ignorant.
Mr. Anderson said this is where someone purposefully chooses not to accept facts or embrace knowledge but chooses instead to believe in whatever they wish to believe is “truthful.”
Kind of like people who choose to believe there is no such thing as climate change despite all the scientific evidence (as I sit here sweating in 108 degrees) and blame it on cow manure.
The thing is many of us in healthcare deal with the consequences of those who are “thick as a brick.” You know, the residents and family members who believe we can fly into their rooms within seconds of a call light going on, whenever it goes on. Or those contract surveyors who want to cite you on something that isn’t citable despite you actually showing them the ACTUAL regulation!
Or maybe it’s the government entity that thinks creating staffing mandates will make nurses fly out of your butt and money to pay for that too? Like you want to say, “It costs Dick $315 a day to take care of Jane. The state pays Dick $275 a day to take care of Jane. The government wants Dick to increase his staffing to an unfunded 4.1 nursing hours per resident day (HRPD). Dick is already losing $40 a day to take care of Jane. Dick thinks the government is as thick as a brick!”
But let’s be sure we don’t become willfully ignorant. Flu season is around the corner and that means vaccines for residents and staff. Let’s be sure to acknowledge years and years of scientific progress and evidence and protect ourselves, our families, and our residents.
Please don’t choose to believe some dude with $600 worth of video equipment and a YouTube channel. Don’t be “Thick as a brick!”
Just keeping it real,
Nurse Jackie
The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, Senior Director of Clinical Innovation and Education for Mission Health Communities, LLC and an APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real-life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.
The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.
Have a column idea? See our submission guidelines here.
