The other day while I was in Atlanta at the office of Vein Innovations (my new employer beginning in August), a patient was having his varicose veins ultrasounded to see if he had any reflux in his vessels. This whole concept is really fascinating. The examination and the vein closure procedure is really something to see. But while he was getting examined, the nurse David, was using ultrasound and applying pressure to the saphanous vein to see if the screen lit up red then blue indicating reflux. While David is doing this, he tells the patient to take a deep breath, hold it and then bear down slightly with his stomach muscles. Well, the power of suggestion has a strong grip on me so I ALWAYS catch myself holding my OWN breath when something like this happens. I dont know if it does any good for the patient but I guess its just my way of being supportive!
I will never forget a time while I was in nursing school, I had to have a rotation through labor and delivery. Anyone that has had a baby or has witnessed a person having a baby knows what kind of intense breathing women do while in labor. When not pushing a woman has to breath. So while observing this woman laboring on the table, Im standing at the foot of the bed breathing. Now when the nurses start telling this woman to push, my instinct is to help push right along with her.....Im not sure what good that did...but that BABY CAME OUT! I probably just about gave myself a hemorrhoid! Hyperventilation and a case of the hemorrhoids are not what I would consider perks of the job.
It was the same with feeding my two children. I catch myself doing it while feeding patients too. After I mix the baby food up and get it on the spoon, then I hold the spoon up to my child's mouth. The next step is to open my mouth, hoping that this will encourage my child to open her mouth up. Thats all fine and good when you are teaching a child how to eat, but NOT really NECESSARY once the child is almost a year old! CLOSE YOUR MOUTH ALREADY MOM!!! And do you think that my patient needs this kind of encouragement? Probably not. I know that I am going to do it so I try to force myself to keep my mouth shut! But I feel that unconscious motherly instinct thing trying to wrench my mouth open to show my little baby birds how to feed!!! To me this is all like trying to talk to someone that is blind. You might find yourself talking much louder and with you hands, much more than you would if the person could see normally. What sense does that make?? You CAN NOT get your point across any easier! And the blind person just thinks your a dork for yelling at them! Thank goodness they cant see your hands waving around in the air wildly. 
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