Guest Post: Everything I need to know I learned from my cat

by Linda Renee Brown, RN, MA, CCDS, CCS, CDIP

Nobody reads blog bios. But if you read mine, you’ll see mention of Thomas, one of my four cats. I keep his picture as my work computer’s background, and because I have dual screens, I get to look at him twice.

Thomas and I have a lot in common: We’re old. We’re gray. At least one of us doesn’t look a day over 45.  And we know what we like. There are a few things we don’t have in common: He doesn’t like the New York Giants nearly as much as I do, and I don’t lick empty plastic bags very often. (Why do cats do that?)  But I adore him completely, because he brings me joy. So I thought I’d try to discover if any of Tommy’s endearing characteristics could be adapted to my role as a CDI specialist.

• Always inquisitive. It seems like cats never take things at face value. They always have to investigate things for themselves. They are always pouncing off to figure out what made some small sound, pushing their noses into some half opened cupboard door. As a CDI specialist, you have to have this same type of inquisitive nature to look into all the detailed information and push to gain access to other documentation such as nurses’ or dieticians’ notes to help you understand the complete clinical picture.
• Purring when he’s happy. Although I speak pretty fluent cat, and rarely am in doubt as to whether Tom and his fellow cats are due for lunch, most of the time I still have to rely rather heavily on Tom’s nonverbal signals. Cats purr and put their tails straight up when they’re happy; they present themselves in a vulnerable position when they’re open to affection. An interesting phenomenon, though, is that cats also purr when they are heavily stressed. If you don’t evaluate the situation, you won’t interpret their mood correctly. Learn to read your physicians’ signals. Smiling and nodding could be positive signals, or they could be polite ways of trying to get rid of you. Always consider the context of your interactions.
• Marking his favorite human. Yes, that would be me. Cats nuzzle their humans not just for the physical contact, but also to mark the human as their personal (cat-onal?) property using their scent glands. The marking is irrelevant to me, but the contact is precious. And when Tommy rubs his head against me and tells me I’m his favorite human, of course I want to return the attention. Your physicians probably don’t spend much time thinking about you, so when you make contact with them, make it memorable. Let them know they are genuinely appreciated, not only for their documentation skills, but for being great doctors, and even great human beings (when applicable). You might reap some unexpected benefits.
• Being a cat means never having to say you’re sorry. Well, okay, of course if we screw up, we should apologize. But cats don’t feel guilt, at least as far as I can tell. If you yell at them for scratching your sofa, they might skulk for about three seconds, but then they move on. If you keep yelling at them, they’re only going to avoid you, because they’ve already forgotten about the incident and don’t understand why you’re acting out. So when you make a CDI mistake, deal with it and move on. Many nurses have been conditioned to strive for perfection and are used to being chastised when they (of course) fail to be perfect. The word “perfect”  in my opinion has no place in healthcare.  Setting standards is good; setting unrealistic standards is a recipe for failure.

My work environment would be just about ideal if I could review charts with Thomas sitting on my lap. He’s just so darned cute, and he’s also a great typist.

Editor's note: Brown, at the time of the article's original response, was an independent CDI consultant based in Carrollton, GA. With experience in critical care, nursing education, disease management, case management, and long-term care, she has worked as a CDI specialist, educator, director, and consultant. She is a frequent writer on topics involving clinical documentation and published her own "The Case Manager's Quick Guide to Diagnostic Related Groups" in 2013.