Why you NEED check-ins when you are doing WELL
My dad is a mechanic, so I spent my formative years leaning over engines and climbing on car lifts getting covered in grease stains and rust. So it's probably no big surprise that I turned out to be pretty mechanically inclined which helped develop my skills in assessment and diagnostics as a nurse. I find myself frequently using automotive metaphors for health. When you think about it, the two worlds are not too different. There are all these different size and shape vehicles similar to the different people in the world. Some bodies are specialized and are good at different things, but they all run more or less the same way similar to all the vehicles in the world. Bodies, just like vehicles all need routine maintenance to run optimally and maintain their capabilities over as long a life as possible. We have all heard the analogies that our body is like a car, we need to fuel it, keep good tires on it, and take it for an oil change every so often. Taking your car to my dad or the guy a hundred miles down the road will provide you with more or less the same oil change. For people, this is the equivalent of getting our flu shot at the pharmacy, no need for advanced know how or even to know me as an individual. Just do the thing and move on until next time. Rusty old beater, or shiny new racer, we all get the same oil change/flu shot - this is maintenance. But what happens when there is something wrong? This is where trouble starts. If you let this problem with a car go on for so long, it may [...]
