That day was a tough day for us. Lexi got sick but worse than sick, her temperature skyrocketed all of a sudden, and she had a seizure out of nowhere. I saw the oscillating jerking movements in our video monitor and ran upstairs. My sister has epilepsy, so I’ve seen this before, but I never expected to see this from my 13-month-old daughter.
She came out of it, and while we called 911 and waiting for the paramedics, fear, despair, confusion, anxiety, dread, frustration all came piling through my wife and I. Poor Lexi had no idea why so many people were around, she kept looking for Mommy and Daddy. We were both completely lost and scared ourselves while trying to stay calm/focused on the next steps needed. Things could have ended differently if not for the 911 operator, first responders, EMC, ER staff and Doctors and Nurses who were dealing with two highly stressed parents who never thought the start of the week would involve several trips to urgent cares and ERs.
People are out there heroes every day, saving others’ lives, we’re glad Lexi was one of them.
What I didn’t see coming was the support from the Sourcing Community, many people I’ve met over the years attending past SourceCons. People from all over the globe were sending prayers and thoughts. Dads who been through similar situations let me know I could reach out, vent, or talk. These are the kinds of friendships that are formed at SourceCon talking about all this nerdy stuff. Friendships that I’ll always cherish and pull me through tough times, whether it be life struggles or work struggles.
I’ve never been through a more dire situation than last week, and I’m so thankful everyone was there to help pull us through this very life heavy week.
People forget this stuff happens; dire situations maybe something medical, a sudden layoff, a natural disaster, having to move to take care of aging parents suddenly. This is one of the reasons I want to hear people’s stories; we are in a profession where we can provide solutions to people looking for work, whatever the scenario.
But let’s get real for a minute…
I saw real problems last week, with several facilities we visited. There were Nurses not knowing how to find a vein, staff not understanding our sense of urgency, or doctors not evaluating deep enough. At one point, my wife had to wait six hours in an ER into the wee hours of the night to have our daughter’s breathing evaluated. Whether the ER was short-staffed, having higher intakes than expected, or didn’t have competent staff onsite is irrelevant. People weren’t seen timely, and somewhere that falls on recruiting, and I know we as recruiters can do better. Problems exist, and we got to a solution eventually, but it took way to long to get there. There’s a better way to address this, and my life example here is why every healthcare org needs a Sourcer or Team of Sourcers to fill the gaps. This could very well mean the difference between life and death for another family, just like mine.
I want us all to be on the positive side of things. I can live stream and answer questions, and although I’m taking a break from conferences following SourceCon ATL (staying focused on my family) the streams and videos will continue, specifically for the healthcare sector where I see constant challenges. Although I’m not recruiting in healthcare anymore, it’s still something I’m known for, so I’ll continue to do my part to provide solutions if you all keep listening.
We can’t help these short-staffed, overworked medical professionals if we don’t help each other on the Sourcing spectrum.
Both of my daughters have visited ERs around the one year mark; we are very fortunate to come through these experiences most recently as well as seven years ago with my oldest daughter.
I know this has been a life heavy article, but I want to remind everyone in healthcare; there are resources out there to help find candidates. Here are a few I’ve built as well as others have out there.
Upcoming Dueling Sourcers Podcast on ER staff
SSaR Page (including many of my Healthcare Links)
My #Realtalk in ATL will be about tools, but this one is about life, life sometimes hits us hard, strikes our candidates…that’s why humanity is so essential, and the driving factor in what separates a great company from others. That’s why we need the best people in medical facilities, to continue to save lives, see patients timely, and calm parents about their babies.
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps see how vital sourcing is to healthcare and all of us.