Float

I floated to the towers (main hospital) yesterday. It was a great new experience. I started out quite nervous, but the other nurses made me feel welcome, and once I got into the routine, it went well. Had two discharges, then had 3 patients for a while, and then like lightening the craziness started. We got six admits within about 2 hours. I felt bad for not getting the admission health profiles done, but the other two nurses didn't finish all of theirs either so that made me feel a little better. I loved the setup of the unit/pod. So many more computers! Thinking back on the experience, it feels like I was in a different world and a different hospital!

Coworkers

I truly enjoy working with my coworkers. Like Denise on nights. She was telling another nurse about the fantastic book she read, and had brought in a copy for that coworker. I was intrigued and asked her about it. She said she could bring in another copy, and I just for whatever reason that she had two copies. No. She believes in this book so much that she went out and bought me a copy! How awesome is that?! It's "The Power of Intention" and I will write again about it after I've read it. :)

I saw a favorite patient and her family down in the wound clinic the other day. We had heard she was down there and myself and a CNA went trotting down to say hi. We caught her waiting in the lobby, and it was just so great to see her. She gave us smiles and squeezed our hands. She is a wonderful person. Then I turned around and saw another favorite patient, who just happened to have been in the exact same room and bed but a month or two prior. She looked fantastic! It was a surprise and a pleasure seeing her as well!

Overtime

I can't decide if I want to work overtime tomorrow. I'm super tired, but could use the money, and I would have the same patients (not sure if that's completely a good thing) :) A known busy day is better than an unknown busy day? I don't really want to, but I'll still have 3 days off even if I work tomorrow. And Chris is out of town, so I would just be doing errands and spending time with the pets... argh.

So close to death

A coworker of mine is in the ICU, on life support, with no brain activity. :( She had been in the hospital for another issue and was about to be discharged when she had a heartache and several strokes (so I've been told). It's all very sad. I keep thinking about her, and being with her when she was alive... and now I can't comprehend that I will no longer experience that. I went to visit her in the ICU. I held her hand. I told her that we missed her. I told her I'd be thinking of her. In my heart, I knew she wasn't there but I still wanted to say those things aloud, to her, to the universe.

God bless you Pat!

:(

Just found out a coworker is in the hospital after having a heart attack... wish I could go visit, but I think she's in ICU. My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

Students

I've had the pleasure of working with students on two separate occasions. Luckily I got two very motivated and enthusiastic students. I heard a horror story from another RN about a lazy student with a bad attitude. That would not fly. I enjoy working with students because I normally kind of narrate things in my head, so this way I just get to say everything out loud. :) Plus I love explaining what I'm doing. And I always learn something when I'm with a student.

My advice for students:
*Don't be afraid to try.
*Don't ever think you know everything, and always being open to learning.
*You're going to make mistakes. Learn from it and move on.
*Try your very best everyday.
*Be kind. Be compassionate.

Extra shifts

Our unit has been understaffed lately, and I got called for an extra shift today... I thought about it, but really didn't want to. Then I realized I didn't have any insulin syringes left for my cat, and chose to stay home so I could go get more.

Had some really great patients last week. I was switched back to the 3rd floor after being on the 5th floor for a couple of weeks. Whenever I get switched to the other floor, I always wonder how my patients are doing on the previous floor. There was a rapid response so another nurse and I ran upstairs to see if they needed help. They didn't but we stayed around for a few minutes just in case. It was actually on a patient that I had the previous week so that was surprising. I stopped and talked to his wife, and boy was she scared. I would be too! He turned out to be okay, thank goodness. I was also able to stop and talk to a previous patient's husband for a few minutes - he's so nice! I actually ran into his daughter and grandson at Chick Fil-A a few days before so I wanted to relate that to him. :) They are just a supremely nice family of a very radiate patient. She had a stroke, and cannot say much, but you can tell that she is still in there understanding what's going on. She and her family are an inspiration.

It's also a bit sad when patients go home after being on the unit for a month or two (or three). It just doesn't feel the same without them there... but then you move on, and get more patients, and feel connected to them. :)

Online Complaining

I recently read a previous classmate complaining about her work on Facebook. I honestly believe this is the downfall of online social networking and shows an immaturity/ignorance on the part of the complainer. It would be so easy for bosses and managers and future employers to come across this information that it makes no sense to display it for everyone to see. Yes, most people need to vent, but not in a public forum.

So busy

Wow, worked 3 - 12s and they were incredibly busy. My second day was sad... one of my younger patients had cancer that had spread to the brain, and the doctor told the patient that hospice was the best option. Oh but then the doctor didn't tell either the internal med doc or the oncologist, so the hospice person and I had to do the honors. The internal med doctor was not too pleased about not being told this important piece of information. Don't shoot the messenger!

And then I never know what to say to people who are basically being discharged to go home to die. This is my second patient that has left for hospice care. I just tell them that it has been a pleasure taking care of them and they will be in my thoughts.... argh.

A Week Off

I planned a week off of work because I thought I might be going out of town with my boyfriend to Hawaii. Well, this wasn't the time his work decided to send him to Hawaii, so we went to San Diego for a couple days. He's probably going to move there for his work, and wants me to come with him. I applied for a few jobs to see what was out there. Why is it that companies always want applicants to have 1-2 years experience? Who am I going to get this experience from if no one will hire me? I want to get into L&D which requires 1 year experience, and the HR recruiter told me to apply for their new grad program that starts in June. I honestly don't mind starting at the bottom, in fact I love learning and think this would be a great opportunity, but I do have a little experience. I hope they see that. Plus, the application process starts the end of February, and I would probably move in April. Do I wait to hear about this program, or do try and accept another job? I haven't even told my family that I'm thinking about moving.

My boyfriend tells me something like 'I looked it up and there are 11,000 nursing jobs in San Diego [or CA, can't remember what he said]' Okay, well a lot of those I'm not qualified for with either education or experience (i.e., NP, ICU, ER), and a lot of those I probably don't want to work at (i.e. home health, nursing home), so don't always believe the statistics outright. :)

I will find a great job at a great company, I will find a great job at a great company, I will find a great job at a great company.

Back to work tomorrow!

Emotionally draining

I tend to avoid emotionally draining patients, so much that I asked another nurse to switch a patient. She was designee and could have had 4 patients but insisted on 5 so she didn't get an admit. I actually don't mind getting admits because they usually don't come until the afternoon and by then I usually have most of my meds, assessments and charting done. The admit didn't even come until about 6pm. And I even got the admission health profile done, so I was happy with that. She ended up being impulsive, climbing over the 4 side rails so had to go into an enclosure bed (this was figured out on night shift; I had a feeling she wouldn't stay in bed, thank goodness for bed alarms and her being fairly steady on her feet).

These 3 days of work went fairly well. I lucked out with not having any patients on contact isolation. I'd rather have restraints than contact isolations. :)

Two lovely ladies from Face in the Mirror came by to pamper our patients with a history of or current dianosis of cancer. They were so pleasant and compassionate, and I'm sure the patients appreciated it.

Another day...

It was a better day than last Friday and Saturday! One day I had a patient leave AMA with an external fixator! Craziness. I won't go into details out of respect for the HIPAA gods, but it was a difficult patient that I did everything to satisfy her to no avail. I'm sure she'll be one of the lucky ones to get a satisfaction survey.

I really don't mind patients that have feeding tubes because then you can put the meds thru the tube and most of the time they don't eat anything PO. Granted, you have to remember to turn it on for the lunch bolus, and then in the afternoon, but that's usually not too difficult.

Off to eat dinner... rice krispies! Yum! I'm on the cereal diet due to waking up early and not wanting to cook; and getting home late and not wanting to cook. At least I usually eat something better for lunch.

Feline Diabetes

I found out a few months ago that my cat has diabetes. I switched to a low sugar food (of course that I can only get at the vet), and every two weeks I bring my cat into the vet for a blood glucose curve. So far he's up to 4 units, and I know based on how he's acting that he needs at least 5 or 6 units, if not more. It's been interesting because I've definitely seen the 3 common signs firsthand: polyuria, polydipsia and polyphagia. Man, this cat is hungry! He's even started to eat the dog food when his food is gone. And even though he is eating a bunch, he's still losing weight which is common in uncontrolled diabetes. Due to the lack of insulin, the cells aren't able to bring in the nutrients, and even though he's eating, his body is still telling him he's hungry because the cells are starving.

Also, I've got yet another cold sore (HSV1 - oral, not HSV2 - genital). I know my triggers - not enough sleep, caffeine (soda & coffee), wine, decreased immunity - and yet I continue to partake of these beverages. I'm even on a daily valtrex (anti-viral), but if I drink too much caffeine and alcohol, the virus will overpower my body. Luckily the daily anti-viral helps to keep the cold sores small. Plus, the accutane does not make the situation better because it drys out my skin so much that it creates tiny fissures, which I suppose allows the virus to spread to the outside. So I've put on my morning abreva, and will use the Aquaphor since the dermatologist said to keep it moist, and hopefully it will go away soon.

I HATE having a cold sore and going to work. I just feel dirty or contagious, and I'm afraid that my patients will judge me or think I am less competent because of this sore on my mouth. I am so good about not touching it and washing my hands a lot though. I get these because my mom kissed me as a child when she had one - *sigh*, life's not fair. But then I remember that this is only temporary, I've survived these before, and things definitely could be a lot worse because I've seen "worse" and "unfair" at work.

Days off

I work three 12 hour shifts each week, and I prefer to work 2-3 days in a row, so that I get to know the patients better. However, this leaves me with 4 days in a row off, and while I am definitely not complaining, I sometimes am at a loss for things to do since everyone else I know is usually working. I have plenty of magazines to read and cleaning to do, and I enjoy taking my dog to the dog park (probably more for me than him). I shall make a sidenote that I am currently on isoretinin (accutane), and during this last month of being on it, I have noticed a decreased motivation to do most anything, which can be a major side effect of the medication, and subsequently part of the reason why my doctor has decided this will be my 6th and final month, even though she wanted me to do one more month. Other side effects noticed that I was promised would go away: increased dry eye, nighttime blurred vision, hair loss... but, oh, the clear skin is all worth it (granted, if these side effects truly do reverse). I still have some minor scarring and am wondering if microdermabrasion is a good option once the accutane clears my system.

Off to meet a friend for lunch... I'd better finish getting ready so I'm not late.

New to blogging

I decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon, and use this as a way to keep track of my experiences and lessons learned as an RN. Being a nurse definitely has its ups and downs, but when a patient thanks you, it is all worth it. I learn something new every day, and as I have only had my license for about a year, I still have a lot to learn. Please join this journey with me, and feel free to offer advice, feedback or lessons you've learned throughout your journey.