Jumping and Dancing and an update

If you're feeling kind of tired and draggy, this video should either lift your spirits or make you long for the energy that is so abundant in toddlers that they have to burn off the excess!

Nanny Rebecca called me at lunch today to ask where our thermometer was. Although Rebecca had been happy and playing all morning, when she got ready to go down for her nap, she felt really hot to the touch and was crying inconsolably, wanting me or Ramy, which is completely uncharacteristic (generally, when I leave and Nanny Rebecca is there, I barely get a goodbye glance!). Her temperature was 99.7 under her arm. I talked to her on the phone, and she was just crying. When asked if she felt bad, she would say yes but could say what was bothering her, but Nanny Rebecca noticed she was quite gassy. Because Rebecca is currently fascinated by her newfound body parts discovered during the process of potty training, I was concerned about a possible UTI (as well as thinking about possibly ears, throat, what have you). I scheduled an appointment with her pediatrician this afternoon. Ramy picked her up and then she was feeling much better apparently - not hot, singing and laughing, acting like nothing was bothering her. Dr. Jeng was concerned about a possible UTI as well but also reported that there is a recent outbreak of a stomach virus that seems to be starting with gas, progressing to vomiting for a couple of days, and the working its way out with a week or more's worth of diarrhea. So he wants us to watch her over the next day or two and see if/what other symptoms develop. In the meantime, we're washing hands frequently and spraying lots of Lysol!

To give an update on my internship...last week, I had intern orientation at the Behavioral Health Resource Center (which is in another location from where I actually work) on Wednesday and Thursday. Two full days of information overload...and yet, I definitely had a leg up on my comrades, because I'd at least worked in the county DBH system before and was familiar with 90% of their paperwork. A few things have changed (mostly for the better), but I feel pretty up to speed with the charting and documentation stuff. As I'm sure everyone knows, California's economy is...well, in the toilet. As a result, drastic cuts are being made in all kinds of services, and mental health services are often first to be on the chopping block. They are tightening access to Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid system) and cutting tens of thousands of people off the rolls. In addition, they are putting further restrictions on mental health services that are offered. It seems as though even though mental health services aren't going anywhere (there are more insane people than ever in San Bernardino County!), there are almost daily changes in what kinds of things we can do for clients. So there's a lot to keep up with on that end.

On Monday, I started at my actual clinic assignment. I went to a couple of meetings and then never saw my supervisor again. She isn't exactly a warm, fuzzy kind of woman, but I have a lot to learn from her, because she is the guru of leading therapy groups (an area that is a weakness of mine, in my opinion). The rest of my day was pretty boring, since I didn't yet have my computer log-in, so I couldn't do any of my online trainings and I don't yet have a caseload. So I basically introduced myself to all the psychiatrists in our clinic and gave them a spiel about the fact that one of my purposes is to do testing while I'm there and to try to drum up referrals. Although testing is something that is apparently very valued in the County system, and it's a niche that solely falls within psychologists' realms, almost none of the staff psychologists actually do testing. Not sure why that is! Today, I was in San Bernardino for another full day of training. This time it was general county Department training. A full day of hearing about things that really don't pertain to us, as we're not regular employees. However, I did learn that I can get reimbursed for all the travel I'm doing from my clinic to the BHRC and the admin offices for trainings and meetings and such. So that made my day worthwhile. Tomorrow morning, I'll be back at BHRC for a chart documentation and HIPAA training and then in the afternoon, I'm co-leading a medication support group. So...I'm off and running!