Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.
Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 4
Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.
Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 3
Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.
Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 2
This is Chapter 2 of the free verbal de-escalation video series. This one is “Basic elements of verbal de-escalation.”
Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.
Verbal De-escalation Education Videos
I was looking at the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP) and discovered a free online video educational series on verbal de-escalation of agitated patients. It reminded me of my own early attempts to educate trainees about this very important topic (see my post “A Little Too Exuberant”).
The Simpson et al presentation includes 5 free online videos. The first one is below.
Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.
CDC Covid Information
Often, I see news agency headlines claiming to have insider information about what’s going on with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), FDA, etc. I respect the opinions of others about government agencies. On the other hand, I like to get information straight from the horse’s mouth.
With that in mind, here’s what the CDC says is important to know about the Covid-19 situation.
Flora and Fauna Under the Hot Iowa Sun
The other day we walked the Terry Trueblood Trail (when do we not do that?) and saw interesting sights. I finally got a video clip of a goldfinch! And a male northern cardinal either sang to us or cussed us out. It was hard to tell.
It was a scorcher out there. We started out looking for a walking trail a guy gave us directions to a week or so ago. It’s a great place for birding. We found it, but here was no parking anywhere close. He told us that we could park in a farmer’s field, but we saw the farmer out there and decided not to chance it.
While we were out doing that, we drove by a cornfield, which really impressed Sena because we could drive right up close to it. She’s never detasseled corn. I have and I don’t think she missed anything. I walked the rows with fellow detasselers and we yanked them. We were in rows right next to each other. We could hear each other collapse from time to time from exhaustion. When you pulled the tassels out, they sort of squeaked. You could hear us: Squeak, squeak, squeak, thud.
On the other hand, we had a pretty good day birding out at Trueblood. I got a better video clip of a dickcissel. We saw a couple of geese scare a turtle off a rock in Sand Lake. We didn’t notice it at the time, but saw it on the video clip after we got home (which is still the hotel, by the way).
We saw several dickcissels. We still don’t think they sound like they’re singing “dick, dick, dick.” I think that’s a load of squeak, squeak, squeak. They are pretty birds, though.
Art in the Parks So Far 2024
We were driving by the Terry Trueblood Trail on July 28th and Sena noticed there was a new sculpture. We’ve been on the lookout for the new Art in the Parks collection since the announcement in May.
The anticipated opening date is August 7, 2024, but it looks like the artists are already getting started. Not all the new pieces we saw had title plaques yet, but there were 6 of them and they are very interesting.
We visited the parks earmarked in previous years: Terry Trueblood Recreational Area, Riverfront Crossings Park, Iowa River Corridor Trail, Mercer Park, and Scott Park.
So far, Tim Adams’s work, “Exuberance,” at Mercer Park is Sena’s favorite, although I think the sculpture of me and Herky is pretty good.
It was wicked hot, in the 90s and we saw a kid out at Mercer Park selling lemonade! Can you believe it? I peddled papers but I never sold lemonade. I figured he would charge a buck, but it was only 50 cents. He got a tip, believe me!
False Alarm
A few days ago, while we were eating breakfast in our hotel room, the fire alarms went off. We jumped up and got out of the room. Of course, the elevators were off and other people were filing down the stairs.
It was slow going downstairs. Not everybody was fit as a fiddle and able to run down the stairs. We couldn’t smell smoke.
When we got outside, a lot of folks, some with their dogs and a couple carrying their potted tropical plants, were milling around in the parking lot. There were a lot more people in the hotel than we thought. Several were filming the event with their smartphones.
In our haste to get out of the building, I had left my smartphone in our room. We had also left our car keys there.
Ironically, many remembered their cigarettes and had a smoke.
The fire truck seemed to take a long time getting there. The nearest fire station is not that far away. They pulled into the parking lot and a couple of firefighters got out, looking a little bored. They walked in there. A few minutes later, they walked out, looking even more bored.
Everybody re-entered the hotel. A hotel employee said it was a false alarm and everything was OK. Most people hung out in the lobby, waiting for breakfast-another point of irony since, if there had been a fire, the kitchen might have been a likely place for it to start.
It was the first time we were ever in such a situation. We can do without it.
Big Mo Pod Show Theme “Limitation Brings Innovation”
Last Friday night, the Big Mo Blues Show was recorded. I found the podcast, which had the theme “Limitation Brings Innovation.” The idea behind that was that sometimes when musicians lack the resources to, say, put together a big band sound, they often innovate to create a sound that’s new and surprisingly fresh and rivals the production of bigger and better funded orchestras.
Along those lines, Big Mo played Seasick Steve’s song “Backbone Slip.” It’s a rocker. On the other hand, my favorite from him is “You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks.” Seasick Steve did a live version of it about 13 years ago. He played a homemade guitar made of a broomstick and a couple of hub caps.
I guess you call that limitation leading to innovation. It could be the anthem for old retired guys.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 