Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Losing track of my days/nights

Time just flies by! I have been on the job for a month now, I can't believe it.  I worked Sunday night & got yelled for the first time by a patient's daughter & I got hung up on by a doctor.  Fun, fun, fun...let me tell you.  The daughter was upset because her father was moved from PCU to Med-surg & she was not notified.  We had told another daughter of this move, but I guess she didn't let the rest of the family know & the daughter that called me flipped out.  I apologized even though I really didn't do anything wrong - it's not our responsibility to notify every family member when a patient is moved to a different floor.  And the doctor ordered the move & she kept asking "Why did the doctor order it?"  That's something you need to ask the doctor, but of course I didn't say that to her.  I did, however, understand that she was upset because Hospice had been in that day to get the paperwork started with her father & he wasn't doing very well when she left that evening.  So I apologized & then let her know that we made sure her father was comfortable before we moved him to the other floor - which was the truth. 

As far as my second doctor call - it was 1 am & one of his patients couldn't sleep.  So I called the doctor's answering service, they gave me his home number & when I called it - I got his answering machine.  I didn't know what to say so I hung up - smooth, aren't I?  My preceptor said "call again."  This time he answered, I could tell I woke him up.  I told him what I was calling about & he starts asking me questions about the patient - like what was he admitted to the hospital for & what kind of medications was he on?  My preceptor was in the background saying "Doesn't he know who his patients are?"  So I get done reading off the list of meds & then I hear nothing at all.  "Hello????"  Nothing.  "HELLO????"  Nothing.  He hung up on me!  I tell my preceptor that he hung up.  She laughed & said he probably fell asleep.  Lovely!  Her reply..."call him back."  Ughhhhhhhh!  So I dial the # & say "I think we got disconnected."  He ended up ordering Restoril but he was talking so softly that I couldn't understand him.  I told him I couldn't hear him...so he mumbled it again.  I read it back & he said "yes, anything else?"  Nope, thank you.  Since it was after 11 pm, I had to go to the ER to get the medication (our pharmacy is closed from 11 pm to 6 am).  So after writing the order, I told my preceptor I was going to get the med & her reply was "Already?"  As if I had anything better to do.  My patient was restless & needed sleep - so why not get him his medication right away?  I went to the ER & came right back.  She said "You're fast!"  I figured the quicker my patient got his medication & went to sleep, the more time I had to do my charting.  I also got a new admit...a lady with syncope.  I got the lovely task of waking her up every 2 hours to do neuro checks.  She was really happy about that (NOT!).  She must have thought I was a pest.  Anyways, I'm starting to see the difference in how my night flows seems to depend on my preceptor.  R is very organized, she doesn't mess around & she doesn't try to find me busy work.  J isn't very organized & is very eager to have me experience anything & everything she possibly can during the shift - even if it means the charting is pushed back.  I prefer R's style, although I am appreciative of J trying to find me new opportunities.  I work Thursday night with J & then I'm off until next Tuesday...yay. 

That means I have Sunday off so I can watch the Daytona 500...yay.  Go Dale Jr. go! 

The charge nurse the other night made a comment about my eyes.  She says "You have A Bug's Life eyes."  Uhh, ok (not having any clue what she was talking about).  I thought she was saying I had bug eyes or something & I was thinking "How rude to say that to someone...lol."  Then she went on to explain the movie & how they have amazing eyes or something - I still have no idea what she is talking about, but I realized it was a compliment.  Today we went over to the cath lab, echo & where the stress tests are done.  The two nurses there start talking about how they like my rings - one of them has a Tanzanite stone (purple color) & they both start talking about how my eyes are a pretty color.  One said "I know your eyes are blue, but they look violet & sort of match your ring." Ummmmmm...huh?  When it rains it pours.

Speaking of work/class today...what a waste of a day.  We spent 3 hours doing nothing - just chatting with the nurses in these other areas because they had no patients that they could show us the procedures.  Then we had a cardiac class in the afternoon. 

I'm watching Jay Leno - he has John Travolta on.  He is just adorable.  I like listening to him talk...John Travolta that is.  Jay is ok, but John is amusing.  He has a new movie coming out...woo hoo.

I played volleyball last night - what an exciting Valentine's Day, huh?  To top it off, the team we were supposed to play didn't even show up!  We managed to get a few people to join us & had few competitive games.  Mark & I played on Danny's team...he's such a nice guy.  I've been talking to my guy friend Tracy again - I guess I missed him more than I thought I would.  I don't know if we are like a security blanket for one another or if there is something real there.  I guess time will tell.  You'd think I would know after 5 years, but I don't.  Sometimes he seems so ideal & other times it is so opposite.  I don't know what to think. 

Gina, Tami & I ran to Target during lunch today & ran into Kelly.  She showed us her engagement ring from Ivan.  We were shocked considering 2 months ago she was acting like they were only friends & nothing more.  Oh well, she seems happy & that's what matters. 

I found out today that another one of our classmates didn't pass the nclex - she was someone we thought for sure would pass.  Especially since she's been through a nursing program more than once (she moved to Florida from another state mid-way through the program & Florida wouldn't accept her previous nursing credits so she had to start from the beginning).  As far as the rest of my classmates, everyone but 1 person that has taken it has passed...so that's like 42 people.  Tami takes her exam tomorrow.  Gina & I are on the 28th....it's coming up!  Time to go study yet again.

 

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