First Week on the Job....check

Don't wake me up if I am dreaming...but my new job is absolutely, positively wonderful. I cannot get over how it feels to be staffed appropriately. I did not have to answer a single phone nor the call light nor did I have to transport my patients anywhere. We have people that do all that stuff! What this does allow is for me to have time with my patients, time to get medications, time to chart. The only drawback is that the shifts go by slowly because I'm not overwhelmed with things that need to be done.

I'm not complaining...I'd rather have some slow downtime, then a fast-paced underappreciated frenzy. The jury is still out on what I think of the nurses there. It is a mixture of countries...some of which have a very thick accent & I cannot understand much of what they are saying. If I'm having trouble, I can only imagine the elderly population with their hearing not quite in tact. I have one more week of orientation although I feel ready to be on my own already.

The only drawback has been the drive. I get home later in the morning & have to wake up earlier in the afternoon to get ready for work...so I'm losing about an hour of sleep. I'll adjust.

What a shock it is that Michael Jackson died. Another one taken away via drug overdose. When will people learn to stop abusing drugs? It's unfortunate...even though he was strange & a recluse the last 15 yrs, I will miss the guy. He was a big part of the music scene in the 80's when I was growing up & now when I see all his videos being shown non-stop on tv...it reminds me of being young again. It's also interesting how everyone just remembers the good & forgets the bad. I guess that's how it's supposed to be when someone passes away.

Not much else is going on....it's nice having a quiet weekend at home. Nothing to do, nowhere to be....just relaxing. Well, there is plenty to do, but I don't want to do anything. So I rest...and relax.

Have a great week!!!!

RIP Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett & Ed McMahon

First Night on New Job Complete...check

As you know...I went into work last night from 11 pm to 7 am. First night on the job....and it was an easy night. I was there with 2 others from my old job...we were to get acquainted with the unit and do some CBL's (computer based learning). Everyone was friendly....even the travelers whose jobs we are taking away. We got a tour of the entire hospital and I met up with one of my friends that has been working there since we graduated from nursing school.

Her floor is super nice....oncology. That floor & the new cardiac floor are simply beautiful. Large patient rooms - all private - with 50" flat screen tv's that have internet capability. Couches in the rooms so a family member can stay the night comfortably. The bathrooms are big too. I'm thinking that it's probably more space than a 1 bedroom in Manhattan!

My floor on the other hand...it's part of the old portion of the hospital. We have all private rooms except for 2. I think we can have 47 patients on the floor. There were a few confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus...aka swine flu. Nice to know I've been officially exposed to it. Anyways...the rooms are small, but decent. They had something like 4 admissions, one rapid response and one patient complaining of chest pain. They were saying "We're so busy tonight." Huh??? They don't know what busy is.

The pharmacy is open 24 hrs, we have a unit secretary 24/7, 3 techs and like 10 nurses. I know it's all new & I'm sure we'll find some things to complain about eventually...but for now I will enjoy the good stuff. We are also getting a cost of living raise in August or September. Keep the good stuff coming!

I start my official orientation Monday night...it will last 2 weeks or a total of 6 shifts. It looks like I'll have the same preceptor from start to finish. Hopefully she's nice & teaches well. I submitted my schedule today & am hoping there won't be any problems with it. We shall see. All in all...it was a good night!

Have a Happy Father's Day!

New Hire Orientation complete...check

It feels like this week has been the longest week ever...because I've had to be out of the house by 6 am every morning to make it to orientation. I am not a morning person. I can stay up through the night & be fine with the morning hours....but to sleep & have to wake up in the morning....ugh, I don't know how people do it. I've been having to nap & struggle to stay awake during orientation. Days are just not my thing.

The first day of orientation was great...listened to the CEO and other administrators talk...very enthusiastic. I had a good feeling when I left orientation on that first day. Sadly...it kinda went downhill as the week progressed. That doesn't mean I have any regrets about leaving....it just means my expectations were way high after the first day & I should have known that nursing orientation & computer training could not compete with being welcomed to the hospital.

I'm glad the early mornings are over though. Tonight I am scheduled for 8 hours...to get familiar with the unit, do a scavenger hunt, computer based learning modules, etc. Two others from my former hospital will be there with me...so it should make things go a bit smoother. It really helped having 6 of us in orientation together.

I went out Wednesday night for dinner with some former co-workers & found out one of them had resigned & is starting at my new hospital next week. I know a few others are interviewing. Administration is trying to avoid responsibility & have told our co-workers that we left because of money & because of our clinical leaders not helping us enough. That wasn't it at all & they know it. Four of us met with the chief nursing officer...so there was no doubt as to the reasons we left. It's discouraging hearing how they are trying to blame others, but hopefully those that still work there realize they are lying.

The accounting department is all screwed up too. Some of us got final paychecks, but no check for what was in our paid days off account. Others got their paid days off check, but no regular paycheck. It doesn't make sense. Aggravating. Annoying.

I'll let you know how tonight goes......hopefully the nurses will be welcoming to us & not feel like we are taking over their unit. As of right now...there are 6 of us starting in one unit. It's gonna feel like being right at home....hopefully. :)

Have a good weekend everyone!!!

ACLS = piece of cake!

The ACLS class was a piece of cake. I think it helped that all 7 of us work in PCU & are familiar with rhythms and the medications used during codes. He explained heart blocks in a way that I've never seen before & it was very helpful. I also got my BLS certification along with it. This was definitely much better than the bigger class settings.

Not too much else going on...been hanging out with my niece. I went to a Partylite/Pampered Chef party last night. I don't know what it is about Pampered Chef...but after 5 minutes of watching a demonstration, I suddenly feel like I am inspired to learn to cook. Of course I know that feeling passes after about 20 minutes, so all I got was a stone thing, a pizza cutter and an apple slicer. The lady tried to sell me a cookbook, but I said the only thing that stone thing will be used for is to bake frozen pizzas. I am so not a cook!! I passed on the candles...I swear I have enough already that I could open a store. It was a nice time though.

Have a good weekend!!

Ahhhh...one door closed

Monday night was my final night at work at the hospital where I started my nursing career. Wouldn't you know it...I ended it as a patient care tech...lol. I got to work and was told I'd be the admissions/discharge nurse. Not a good idea as I've only done 1 or 2 discharges in the past 3 months & I have no clue exactly how to do discharges because it seems every other week they are changing the process & I am not one to pay attention. I was lucky & found that they already had a nurse doing discharges...so I let her continue on her way while I hung out & talked/said final good-byes to some of my co-workers.

It was nice not having patients of my own as I was free to roam around the hospital doing as I pleased. I did end up doing 3 admissions...which was fine. I know the admission process & have no problems with it whatsoever. I got a call around 9:30 from my clinical leader asking "How are we supposed to find you when we need you?" It's not like this is a huge hospital...I'm either on the 2nd floor or the 3rd floor....just call the floor. I say this because I cannot stand carrying a spectralink phone around. Those things annoy me. She tells me I should have a phone & I should give my extension to the bed coordinator. Ummm, yeah...about that....not happening. It's my final night...I'm not running around that place like a mad woman to do admissions. If it was any other night...maybeeeeee, but not that night.

At 11 pm I became the patient care tech on the same floor where two others were also leaving that night....so it was fun. We worked hard, but it was still fun. Our co-workers brought in food & desserts. We had bought cards & chocolate as a thank you. It wasn't an emotional goodbye. A couple of co-workers seemed to be on the verge of tears, but we held it together pretty well. Our manager came to the floor early that morning & wished us the best of luck. That was nice of her. Boy did it feel good to walk out of there Tuesday morning...freedommmmmmmm. :)

Today I have a long day of ACLS (advance cardiac life support) class. It should be fun though as it's all my co-workers taking the class. A total of 7 of us. Hopefully it will go by quickly as I'm looking forward to a day of relaxation tomorrow.

Have a good day everyone!

Meeting with the CNO

I had the meeting with the CNO = Chief Nursing Officer. It lasted about 45 minutes. It was ok. She's easy to talk to & she must have asked 25 times for me to stay at the hospital. She kept asking "what will it take?" Sorry, a little too late. She took notes & it seems as though they are addressing a few issues...like lack of decent equipment & pharmacy straightening up their act (somewhat). They are not changing their minds on uniforms. I told her it's not that we dislike uniforms (yeah, we do)...we dislike the way it's being presented....like "wear this & the patients will be happier." What? Not only that...these "uniforms".....the nurses have to buy them (is that legal...to require us to pay for company uniforms?) from the manufacturer the hospital picks out. They say it will be about $20 for shirt/pants. That's sounding like some awfully cheap material.

Anyways, not my worry. I have 2 shifts left. It will be sad to go, but it really hasn't been that difficult. Not for a second have I seriously thought "maybe I should stay." It sure does make it easier when 5 others are going with. I heard last night that 2 ICU nurses quit. Apparently, there are more to come in the future. They created this though...if only they'd own up to it & lose the "it's my way or the high way" type attitude.

I worked Thurs & Friday nights. I won't go into all the details. It's been busy...our hospital is at max capacity...in June. This is unbelievable. I don't remember ever being this busy in the summer.

The patient that stands out the most to me was someone that was taking Clindamycin at home. I'm not really sure what he was taking it for....I think some type of foot infection. He started to have blisters on his legs, so his doctor prescribed Gentamycin cream. After a few days of putting that on...he had blisters/sores all over his body. By the time he got to the hospital, he was in bad shape. They believe it's Stevens-Johnson syndrome. (If you're going to google it for pictures....be aware, they are quite graphic.) Basically from what I've read....Stevens-Johnson (in this case) is a reaction to antibiotics. It basically makes the skin start falling off. Who knew this could be caused by a reaction to antibiotics? I surely didn't & I've been a nurse for nearly 5 years.

And wouldn't you know it....the patient is the sweetest man ever. Why do things like this happen to the really nice people? He's in his mid-80's & it's unlikely he's going to recover from this. It can be deadly because when your first line of defense (skin) is sloughing away....it leaves you wide open for infection. He's already been confirmed to have MRSA in his wounds. There is a standing order to transfer him to a burn unit for skin grafting if his condition worsens. He's in his mid-80's....he's not going to survive that. And all because of an allergic reaction to antibiotics!!!

It's scary.....you could have a mild illness requiring antibiotics & end up like that. I had to do dressing changes on his legs & feet. Amazingly he wasn't in any pain, just complaining of a little bit of itching. I'm not sure how those open sores couldn't be painful. I think he is just one tough guy that won't admit to pain so as not to bother anyone. Plus he takes care of his sick, blind wife at home. Sad, sad situation. So not fair. It's one of the few times where I come home & think about a patient & their possible outcome...over & over. Sooo sad.

I had another patient with Dandy-Williams syndrome. What's that? I didn't know either. Some type of fluid build-up in the cerebellum (I believe). I'm going off of what I read this morning & I'm a bit tired...so I may be a bit off & I'm so tired I don't feel like googling it at the moment. Anyways...her diagnosis was uncontrolled hypertension...as a result of this fluid build-up. She was young too...early 40's. By the time I got her, the blood pressure was controlled. I think the highest was like 117/70. I fixed her! Just kidding.

I work Sunday & Monday night.....my last shift being Monday night. Wow! It's here. It's really here. Wednesday we have a private ACLS class...meaning it's just for 7 of us......7 of us that work together. Should be entertaining & I like the idea of no strangers...other than the instructor. Not sure how he's going to survive dealing with us, but it's gonna be a long day. 9 am to 6 pm. 4 out of the 7 are working the night before...meaning by the time we get to class....it's usually the time they'd be going to sleep after working 12 hours. Maybe I should bring a case of Red Bull....or pillows & blankets. :)

Thursday morning I get my routine check-up with my doctor. I've been putting it off for 6 months, but my thyroid medication refills have run out...so I'm forced to see him. I don't know what it is...he's a nice guy, I just so don't want to go see a doctor. Plus I've hit 40....which means mammogram time. Joy joy! Lucky me!

I'm looking forward to Thursday night...girls night with my best friends. Chili's....here we come!

Have a great weekend & week everyone!

Another One Bites the Dust

I'm sure you could have guessed from the title of this entry what I'm about to say....another nurse from my unit resigned tonight. Shocking! And she's going to the same hospital the rest of us are. I can only imagine what our management team is saying...probably something along the lines of WTF?

I have 4 shifts left...woo hoo. ACLS class next week. My mom has been at my house the last few days...making lots of progress on the remodeling. I wish I had taken some before pics, but oh well.

I splurged & bought a new king size mattress set. I'm a little irritated because even though they promised to deliver on Tuesday...they called & tried to push it off until Friday. I'm not a pushy person, but I made sure they knew I was annoyed...so supposedly it will be here sometime on Wednesday morning - although I'm fully expecting a call saying "We can't make it." I hate buying mattresses....it's about as much fun as buying a car & having to deal with the shady salesmen. It's taken me a long time to finally do this & I want it nowwwwww....well, actually I just want it when they promised to deliver it. Fingers crossed that it shows up on Wednesday & it's the one I ordered. In the back of my mind, they have you lay down on really nice beds in the store, but what shows up might look the same on the outside, but be totally cheap inside. Am I the only one that thinks like this?

I'll let ya know how it goes & try to snap a few pics of the changes I've made in my house!

p.s. Did everyone see the New Moon trailer on MTV Movie Awards the other night? For once, I am excited to see something related to the Twilight saga....mostly because of Jacob. It looks like they've done an awesome job with the werewolf aspect. Still another 5 1/2 months until it's released...sigh. I can only hope everyone else sees how lame Edward is......lol.