I feel like I have just returned from war! I am beaten and battered, ears ringing and feet aching. The shift from hell. No the shift from the region beyond hell and I made it to the other side.
It all started during report. The night nurse tells me that of the five patients on is lucid all the others are nuts! During report, three calls were fielded from family and residents - yikes!
The entire shift was fielding phone calls, shipping patients to and from procedures, sorting out family drama, keeping patients dresses and in bed and cleaning poo and piss from here to eternity.
The particular unit I was working on had an unusual way of tracking one down. The unit secretary would SCREAM your name until you came to the desk )for call, physician or family member). So I heard my name screamed so much I was having flash backs to my childhood.
At one point I was called out of a room because a patients adult son needed a physicians note for work. HUH? So I get to page the intern who said, HUH. She was the sweetest little thing and she came right up and delt with crazy family member #7. I have seen her on the other floors and the intern is always so sweet and nice and her senior is a bit of a well, not so nice.
One of my crazy patients was convinced there were squirrels running through his room. He tried to throw his food at them so they would go away and stop trying to attack him - good times!
Another patient was convinced his foley was a snake swiming up his penis and he was determined to pull it out - good times!
My 93 year old demented female patient wanted someone to scratch her vagina because it itched ever so bad - scarry times!
It is days like that where I know somewhere along the way i have made some bad career choices. Oh well, I made it through 12 hours and missed like a ton of orders. No one died, nobody fell and I did not strangle the unit secretary - so all is well that ends well!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
5 months
My baby blog is 5 months old! Still too young to walk or go without a diaper but I have not killed it. Sure no one on Earth knows it exists, but that is okay. It gives me an avenue to express my thought or thoughts - who am I kidding, it is a place to bitch without giving my true identity! Sweet!!
Here is to however many more months I can tolerate this lame ass experiment! Cheers bitches!
Here is to however many more months I can tolerate this lame ass experiment! Cheers bitches!
8 and skate, but 4 is great...
Yesterday was a good shift! Scheduled for eight and sent home after four hours. I feel like a kid with a new bike whenever I get out of work early - who cares that is cost me about well never mind!
I was on one of the medical surgical floors. I a very good four hours. I went in with one angry lady as a patient. She was fuming because she was on her call bell and no one answered. The lady needed to pee and needed help to the pot. I immediately helped her and checked on her often and she became the sweetest thing. She would wanted to know someone was around when she needed them. Cannot blame her for that!
In fact, all the patients I had were very low acuity and very nice. I like surgical patients. I love the SICU especially, but medical surgical are okay. I think I like them because the majority have their surgery, get better and return back to their normal life. There is hope at the end of the process and that is a good thing. CVICU has the same thing happening. Patients have a bad ticker, get some new grafts and fell better - it just takes them a little longer.
I love seeing someone going from the worst possible to walking and feeling like they can recover all in a few days. It makes me feel like maybe I am doing something good!
I was on one of the medical surgical floors. I a very good four hours. I went in with one angry lady as a patient. She was fuming because she was on her call bell and no one answered. The lady needed to pee and needed help to the pot. I immediately helped her and checked on her often and she became the sweetest thing. She would wanted to know someone was around when she needed them. Cannot blame her for that!
In fact, all the patients I had were very low acuity and very nice. I like surgical patients. I love the SICU especially, but medical surgical are okay. I think I like them because the majority have their surgery, get better and return back to their normal life. There is hope at the end of the process and that is a good thing. CVICU has the same thing happening. Patients have a bad ticker, get some new grafts and fell better - it just takes them a little longer.
I love seeing someone going from the worst possible to walking and feeling like they can recover all in a few days. It makes me feel like maybe I am doing something good!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Head Bashing 101
I follow a couple of nursing related threads and I am getting tired of them. Nurses, mainly female, are unhappy and inflexible creatures whe see things one way and one way only. I get so frustrated discussing anything with crusty old nurses.
I try to remain open and admit I love playing devils advocate - because I think it helps one see a different view. Hell no that ain't working with crusty nurses. it is this way and only this way. End of discussion. Even if you can produce a study to the contrary. "Don't believe it." "This is how we have always done it and this is THE correct way."
Pain rushes through my brain and I cannot take them anymore! When will they all die off and be replaced my a new generation with a tad more open mindedness (if that is even a real world).
It is like watching the fanatical religious zealots debate abortion, gay rights or the right to kill criminals - there can be no reasoning with crazies, but yet I try again and again.
Well no more! I am cutting my ties with those stubborn people in the nursing threads and I hope to never work with any of them for I fear they may take a nasty fall from a ninth story window - accidentally of course.
I try to remain open and admit I love playing devils advocate - because I think it helps one see a different view. Hell no that ain't working with crusty nurses. it is this way and only this way. End of discussion. Even if you can produce a study to the contrary. "Don't believe it." "This is how we have always done it and this is THE correct way."
Pain rushes through my brain and I cannot take them anymore! When will they all die off and be replaced my a new generation with a tad more open mindedness (if that is even a real world).
It is like watching the fanatical religious zealots debate abortion, gay rights or the right to kill criminals - there can be no reasoning with crazies, but yet I try again and again.
Well no more! I am cutting my ties with those stubborn people in the nursing threads and I hope to never work with any of them for I fear they may take a nasty fall from a ninth story window - accidentally of course.
The Vile Unit
There is a particular unit in the hospital that I hate working. Not just me, but every float nurse hates working. It is grimey, the nurses there are all former truck drivers or long shoreman and the aids are fat and particularly at playing hide and seek.
Anyway, I was (cursed) assigned to that wicked vile unit and decided instead on throwing my usual tantrum I would be the bigger person and accept my fate. I was determined to get through the day as best I could.
I arrive and ready myself for report. The nurse who is giving report is a particularly rough around the edges and very loud. I picture her giving report with a lit marlboro dangling from her lips. Yup, there will be no dainty nurses spotted on this unit!
The report started by her telling me there were no aids on the floor that night so she had to fend for herself with her three patients. So there were no baths given and no dressings done.
WTF?? Three measly patients and the lazy smoker cannot do one fucking bath? I know those lazy bitches sit arround most of the night eating and blathering at the mouth. I have worked nights and had way more than three patients by myself and was still bored out of my mind!
Anyway, sunshine goes on to tell me it is VERY important that a particular patient gets a bath this morning before returning to her nursing home. She goes on and on about how important it is. I am thinking if it was so damn important she should have done one during the 12 hours she worked.
I escape from her rotten breath and my ears are still ringing as I go meet my patients and begin assessing them. I hear her outside in the halls telling people how the woman needs a bath. C'mon go the fuck home already!
I am almost to the room that requires a STAT bath and I hear the loud one. She comes to my room to tell me that she bathed the patient. She stated she knows how time passes in the morning and she wanted to help out. No, she wanted to milk the fucking clock.
When I finally reach this patient she is a very alert elderly lady who goes on to tell me that the nurse had not been in to see her the whole night until she raced in to give a two minute bath. The woman was not happy and she went on to explain how she called her daughter to complain about being left alone all night and apparantly the daughter called rotten breath and that was why the bath was so important.
Upon leaving the room I see rotten breath still going on about how she has gone above and beyond her job staying late to care for this patient. All I want to do it hit her with the chart I was holding in my hand. The gall of that fat lazy heifer proclaiming herself as a super nurse for barely doing parts of her job!
This is a prime reason people hate this sorry ass unit!
Anyway, I was (cursed) assigned to that wicked vile unit and decided instead on throwing my usual tantrum I would be the bigger person and accept my fate. I was determined to get through the day as best I could.
I arrive and ready myself for report. The nurse who is giving report is a particularly rough around the edges and very loud. I picture her giving report with a lit marlboro dangling from her lips. Yup, there will be no dainty nurses spotted on this unit!
The report started by her telling me there were no aids on the floor that night so she had to fend for herself with her three patients. So there were no baths given and no dressings done.
WTF?? Three measly patients and the lazy smoker cannot do one fucking bath? I know those lazy bitches sit arround most of the night eating and blathering at the mouth. I have worked nights and had way more than three patients by myself and was still bored out of my mind!
Anyway, sunshine goes on to tell me it is VERY important that a particular patient gets a bath this morning before returning to her nursing home. She goes on and on about how important it is. I am thinking if it was so damn important she should have done one during the 12 hours she worked.
I escape from her rotten breath and my ears are still ringing as I go meet my patients and begin assessing them. I hear her outside in the halls telling people how the woman needs a bath. C'mon go the fuck home already!
I am almost to the room that requires a STAT bath and I hear the loud one. She comes to my room to tell me that she bathed the patient. She stated she knows how time passes in the morning and she wanted to help out. No, she wanted to milk the fucking clock.
When I finally reach this patient she is a very alert elderly lady who goes on to tell me that the nurse had not been in to see her the whole night until she raced in to give a two minute bath. The woman was not happy and she went on to explain how she called her daughter to complain about being left alone all night and apparantly the daughter called rotten breath and that was why the bath was so important.
Upon leaving the room I see rotten breath still going on about how she has gone above and beyond her job staying late to care for this patient. All I want to do it hit her with the chart I was holding in my hand. The gall of that fat lazy heifer proclaiming herself as a super nurse for barely doing parts of her job!
This is a prime reason people hate this sorry ass unit!
Should I stay or should I go now...
I am toying with the idea of accepting a travel assignment. I keep coming back to the idea of traveling as a way to escape the horrid working situation I find myself in currently.
The ups are that I can get out of here and just stay in a critical care area, preferably a CVICU.
The downs are that I would have to leave the house while it is on the market and that adds expense to ensure that it is being maintained. Plus, if it sells it would require coming back and coordinating the move as well as packing up some stuff and taking it with me.
Another down is that I would be many many hours from here and it would a considerable drive to return here for all the packing and such.
However, in September I will reach the point of no return. Meaning if I do not take an assignment by then I will not be able to take one after. Assignments are usually 13 weeks and I need to have to completed the assignment by no later than mid december to arrange the other move to my final destination.
I decided if there are no offers on the house by the end of this month I will submit for a few assignments. There are tons of assignments out there as prior companies are ringing my phone off of the hook.
So hopefully the next two weeks I have an indication on what to do.
The ups are that I can get out of here and just stay in a critical care area, preferably a CVICU.
The downs are that I would have to leave the house while it is on the market and that adds expense to ensure that it is being maintained. Plus, if it sells it would require coming back and coordinating the move as well as packing up some stuff and taking it with me.
Another down is that I would be many many hours from here and it would a considerable drive to return here for all the packing and such.
However, in September I will reach the point of no return. Meaning if I do not take an assignment by then I will not be able to take one after. Assignments are usually 13 weeks and I need to have to completed the assignment by no later than mid december to arrange the other move to my final destination.
I decided if there are no offers on the house by the end of this month I will submit for a few assignments. There are tons of assignments out there as prior companies are ringing my phone off of the hook.
So hopefully the next two weeks I have an indication on what to do.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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