If you have ever watched a television program or movie about medical professionals responding to a crisis, you have no doubt seen stereotypical characters including the cool, unflappable, experienced physician, the arrogant, overly-confident resident or the nervous, bumbling intern. QuietusLeo teaches his readers that reality is probably somewhere between those extreme portrayals.

“Some men are born cool, some achieve cool, and some have cool thrust upon them.”

QuietusLeo, paraphrasing Shakespeare

In No, not that four letter word, the other one, QuietusLeo instructs that “doctors aren’t supposed to fear . . . anything. But fear is there. Sometimes it’s ‘normal,’ for example, fear of failure, fear of causing a patient pain, fear of losing a patient (all the more acute in the case of children), etc.” A healthy dose of fear or anxiety is appropriate, but in the extreme “can can be counterproductive and even dangerous - it paralyzes the mind when quick action is warrented, for example, during an emergency.”

QuietusLeo speaks from experience: He is an anesthesiologist and Advanced Cardiac Life Support instructor who teaches his students that doctors’ feelings of fear and anxiety must be controlled during, but examined and processed following a medical emergency.

Hubris, in medicine, is the original sin. The only thing that disgusts me more than incompetence in a physician is vanity. Hubris is born of fear. Fear of exposure, fear of failure and fear of showing weakness. When you see a vain person, scratch the surface (one may need an ice pick) and you will discover a coward. Not a coward in the sense of external bravery, but one who won’t face his/her own failings. Such a person has stopped growing, learning and improving. When that happens, our greatest fear, of harming our patients, is most likely.

QuietusLeo describes the approach he uses with his pupils, recounting an encounter with a young paramedic.

The Post of the Day Award is bestowed upon QuietusLeo because he No, not that four letter word, the other one grants laypersons a glimpse of the pressures and stressors that medical personnel face and must overcome as they respond to each unique medical emergency. As a mentor, he is providing invaluable advice and tutelage to up-and-coming physicians which, in turn, will improve the value of the services delivered to those individuals’ patients in the years to come.

Congratulations and thank you, QuietusLeo!

Technorati Tags: Post of the Day Award, The Rising Blogger, The Sandman

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The team of writers at Life Without School consistently deliver well-written, thoughtful articles about all aspects of homeschooling reflecting their belief that “no matter how we come into this lifestyle, the purpose we most commonly share is reflected best by this one question: ‘What is right for my child?’ Life without school is not for all families or all children, but it is a valid and valued lifestyle choice for many.” They describe themselves as “real people living real lives without school. We share a common belief that life without school is a valid and valuable lifestyle choice.”

Missy with her son and Mickey

Unlike many people who strongly believe that one option — traditional school or homeschool — is superior and advocate for that approach, the writers declare that their site is “not a platform for school choice or educational choice or lifestyle choice other than life without school, although diversity of lifestyle is welcomed as a part of who we are and thus may be reflected in our postings.” In other words, their site is a breath of pure, fresh air — an oasis apart from the sometimes mean-spirited debates that rage at other sites.

The Post of the Day Award goes to Missy who, ironically, was a teacher before deciding to “deschool” her children, about which she also writes at her own site, caffeinated jive.

On September 8, 2008, she observed that Sometimes It’s Just a Shirt. Although, on its surface, the post is a reflection upon the manner in which homeschooling children and their families interact with and relate children who attend school, it is actually much more.

The post was inspired by a chance encounter.

We were at a swim meet last weekend, and a little boy, maybe five or six, was playing in the sandbox. His t-shirt said, “Homeschool Rocks!”

Cool, I thought. There are only a few homeschooling families in our swim league, and in the midst of an activity permeated by school culture, I was excited to find another family.

So I asked, “Hey, are you homeschooled?”

And he looked at me like I had five heads and said, “Nope.”

Oh.

“Ummm, okay. I just thought maybe since your t-shirt says something about homeschooling…”

“It’s just a shirt.” And he walked very quickly away from the crazy lady who reads t-shirts and actually, I dunno, believes they say something about the people wearing them.

After you read the rest of the article, you will see how Missy’s personal circumstances and experience provide the backdrop, but her message transcends those particulars.

We all seek constantly to fit in, be accepted, feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We avoid alienation because of our uniqueness.

But in our struggle for identity, sometimes we over-analyze, over-think, and ascribe meaning to the trivialities of our daily lives that is inconsistent with reality.

As Missy teaches her readers, “sometimes a t-shirt is just a t-shirt.”

Congratulations, Missy!

Technorati Tags: Life Without School, Post of the Day Award, The Rising Blogger

Telling It Like It Is is one of my favorite blogs because Lin Burress does just that: She writes about topics that do or have impacted her on a personal level. And she is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects such as “friendship, marriage, divorce, children & teenagers, in-laws, elderly parents, blended families, abuse, abusive relationships, blogging, researching and learning more efficient ways of writing, journaling, the best ways of increasing readership, etc.” She puts a great deal of thought and effort into the articles she publishes, frequently providing links that afford readers an opportunity to perform further research themselves.

Lin Burress tells it like it is.

On August 11, 2008, she delved into a subject that struck a chord with me, as well as many other readers: Toxic Relationships - Toxic Family Members. And it is that post that has earned Lin the Post of the Day Award.

Every family has at least one member who is toxic because he/she drags other family members down and leaves them feeling “angry, worn out, deflated, belittled, ridiculed or confused.” But few people are willing to speak out about the manner in which that individual impacts family dynamics. Still fewer bloggers have written about the very real phenomenon.

Lin defines toxic people as “extremely negative, miserable, whiny, jealous, inconsiderate, financially irresponsible and entitled, manipulative, narcissistic, selfish, disrespectful, gossip mongers, mentally and emotionally abusive bullies who have no boundaries.” Toxic people usually suffer from extremely low self-confidence or self-esteem. Therefore, as Lin reminders her audience, their “toxicity has everything to do with them and nothing to do with you.” Still, that can be small comfort when you are being manipulated by someone with toxic characteristics.

Lin offers suggested coping mechanisms, acknowledging that, in extreme cases, it can become necessary to “physically and mentally distance yourself from the negative and toxic people in your life, which may or may not include cutting the person out of your life entirely.”

Lin asked her readers to share a personal story or ask a question about their own situation. The result is that the comments are as enlightening as the article itself, so make sure that you read them, along with Lin’s excellent article.

Congratulations, Lin, for your willingness to tackle “squirm-worthy” topics head-on, speaking the truth as you understand and perceive it. As you aptly point out, a cyberspace dialogue can often “touch the heart of someone having similar experiences or difficulties, [and reaffirm] how much easier it is when you know you are not alone.”

And congratulations on receiving the Post of the Day Award!

Technorati Tags: Post of the Day Award, Telling It Like It Is, The Rising Blogger

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Given that Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown today and ends at nightfall on October 1, it is appropriate to bestow the Post of the Day Award upon a blogger who deliberated upon and wrote about the concept of forgiveness. For our Jewish brothers and sisters, this holiday marks the start of the New Year — a day devoted to introspection, contemplation, and repentance when they ask for and give forgiveness, and pray for a healthy and happy year to come during which they will seek to be more obedient to God and kind to those with whom they interact.

Kim, aka A Progressive Girl, knows from personal experience what it is like to survive a horrifying ordeal that you will never be able to forget. And on September 11 each year, many people reiterate the words “never forget” in order to honor those lost on that day and prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.

“I wonder,” she wrote on September 11, 2008, “for how many people that also means ‘We will never forgive.’ Yep, that is a hard one. I get the feeling some folks can’t even go there at all. I understand that. Some things are just so terrible it can make you feel like you want to carry that hate towards it forever. Like your hate is the only justice that it will ever meet.” However, Kim “realized over time that the hate I carried with me was now what crippled me . . . I had to find a way to forgive because that is the only way I would ever be free from [what happened to me].”

In Remembering, Kim expressed her hope that “as a nation,” the United States can find the same peace she has secured through forgiving those who were responsible for the events of September 11, 2001.

The Post of the Day Award goes to Kim today for her willingness to share details about her own personal struggle, as well as her insight into the process of healing oneself through forgiving those who have harmed you. Whether or not you are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, this is an excellent day to spend a few moments considering Kim’s words and outlook in order to assess your own feelings on the subject and, hopefully, arrive at a place of peace in your own heart.

Thank you and congratulations, Kim!

Technorati Tags: A World of Progress Progressive Thought Progressive Living, Post of the Day Award, The Rising Blogger

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