That's the thing about nurses....most of them carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. They are so busy taking care of others...patients, family, friends...that they forget to take care of themselves & the stress will eat you up. So far I've been able to avoid that...I try not to take life too seriously. Of course there are times/problems that have to be serious, but you also need to find the balance. I think I have that. My biggest problem right now is deciding whether to return my smartphone or not...so I can't complain.
Speaking of smartphones...now I'm leaning towards keeping it...because after all, it was FREE. And it's beginning to be convenient. I have 2 days left to decide & I don't have a sure answer either way. I like seeing my email right on the screen & the test messaging is fun. I'm not obsessed, in fact, I leave it plugged in most of the time when I'm at home & only pick it up to answer a text or make a phone call. So I don't know....if it wasn't free, I'd be more inclined to return it...but it was. These are my options...switch back to the 1500 min/5 line plan with no internet & pay $160 a month, or keep the 3000 min/5 line plan with 2 phones having unlimited internet for $190 a month. I can't get rid of any of the lines...they are all being well used. Decisions, decisions. Still love my ipad, but it's not like I can stick my ipad in my pocket!
I'm trying to plan something fun for Spring Break. It's the 2nd week in March. Do I go to Atlanta? My niece & nephew have been wanting to go...check out the zoo, aquarium...world of coke......OR.......do I just get a place near the beach? The weather in Florida has been amazing. I'm just going to wait & see what the weather is like the closer it gets & decide from there. I'm also checking out cruises...to the Caribbean, for later this year. Gotta have something to look forward to & the Caribbean is always paradise....as long as there's no hurricanes looming. Can't predict that.
Work was exhausting this weekend & not just cause of the crying nurses. We're supposed to only have 3 patients per nurse...because we have no techs. But lately they've been pushing us to 4...which doesn't sound like much, but most of these patients are totals & if they aren't totals...they are demanding. It wears me out. Maybe I'm getting older, I don't know if that's the reason. I had a patient on Saturday night....alcoholic who quit drinking in December. Not because he wanted to, but because he was told he needed a new liver & could not be on the transplant list until he was 6 months sober. Well, I can tell you right now...he's not going to make it to 6 months. His liver is failing & now his kidneys are failing. It's a slow, painful way to die. His issue that night for me was his potassium level. That morning it was 5.4....a little high, but livable. When I got there that night, it was 6.7. Eeekkk...don't like that AT ALL. The day nurse gave all the meds the doctor ordered & redraw was at 8. The results = 7.5. Scaring me now...because that can be deadly if left untreated. The patient's main concern = ice chips. I was trying to "educate" him on potassium levels because all he did was complain when I was giving him the medications we were using to try to get his potassium lower. I don't believe he understood, because all he wanted were ice chips. I gave regular insulin, D50, Diuril, Bumex, calcium gluconate, Kayexelate....2 liters of sodium bicarb. Amazingly I got it back down to 5.4...but I knew it wouldn't last. Hospice was being consulted. :(
I got a Baker Act at 3 am Monday morning. She took a bottle of Tramadol & then tried to convince me she just followed the directions of "take one as needed." Uhhh, ok. She's got a 5 month old baby at home....and her drug screen was positive for cocaine. Sad!
The next 2 weekends I work 3 nights in a row. I'm already dreading it!
1 comment:
Yikes! Sounds like you need a beach vacation. Love when patients just don't "get it"! Like finding the channel for Survior when you are trying to do an EKG or grabbing juice while they de-sat!
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