Work Update and a Broken Nose

My days at work have been getting better. Thank goodness! My days still fly by. I don't know how to explain it. I'm just in a constant busy state..and I'm constantly running out of time. And before I know it, its 6:00 and I'm scrambling to get my stuff done before shift change.

My patience was tested today and yesterday. I have had a patient who is constantly telling me that the Dr. has ordered certain medications/procedures, and I check the orders, and tell her that no, the MD didn't order that. Then she absolutely insists upon me calling the doctor, because he has "surely made a mistake" and he is a resident, and residents don't know any thing. I called the doctor (bless his heart- he was very nice and understanding) on 4 separate occasions about 4 different things. It was beyond ridiculous. That is the only way I can explain it.

I think I broke my nose. Yes. Brad and I were playing basketball with our high school students on Wednesday, and Brad and I went after the ball at the same time. Brad rose up with the ball and his head met my nose. I heard it pop. I'm not sure if that means it fractured...but it is (still ) swollen and a little bruised. It's so sore! I don't really want a xray because I know they won't do anything for it unless it needs to be reset...and i don't think it is crooked or anything...at least I hope not.

On My Own: Day 2

Today was my second day on my own. Today made yesterday seem like a blissful day in heaven. I can pretty much tell you about my day by telling you my lunch break was at 5pm and I only had time to eat a granola bar.

Yes that is right. Today I arrived at work at 6:30 am, took 5 minutes at 5pm to avoid slipping into a coma, and clocked out at 8:46pm. My sweet, sweet husband met me at Amigo's for 75 cent taco night. I self medicated with a Dr. Pepper. That seemed to take the edge off. ;)

I had six patients today. I felt like I was in a tornado. Hard to explain. It's like one of my dreams when I have a ton of patients and they all need me and I can't get to them. I have to stop myself and say: First I will go to my pt with a blood sugar of 35 [no seriously, this is a true story] and once I pull some Dextrose, give it, and make sure my patient doesn't go unconscious, I can go to my patient that is having chest pain at a level of 9 out of 10 and give him morphine. Then I can go to my next patient and explain why her MD discontinued all of her pain medicine. FUN! Then I can start my assessments (which is what I was supposed to be doing this entire time) and maybe chart some.

But really, I am loving my job. I truly love to help people. And I hate to pass up my patient with horrible sharp chest pain to help another patient, but I am really only one person. I don't like days like today because I feel like I don't get to do everything I need to do for my patients. I don't get to teach them about their condition, I don't get to talk to them about their concerns, I don't get to talk to them about their family, and I don't get to walk with them in the hallway. I just do what I can. One day I hope to eat at normal times, have bathroom breaks, and be able to spend time with my patients....is that too much to ask?!? :) Probably. :)

I can't believe time is passing so quickly. In just a few more weeks I will be on my own. Yikes. There is so much still to learn! I am finally starting to feel like I am getting the hang of things. I am still pretty nervous when I have to call a doctor or when a family member asks me a question I don't know the answer to. I still feel like I am behind all day, and I am rushing to get things wrapped up in time for shift change...and I am usually leaving 30-45 minutes late. On Saturday I actually sat down for about 20 minutes and I didn't have anything to do. It was an odd feeling.

We went to Dollywood on Tuesday with the middle school students. It was so crowded, but we had fun. I rained toward the end of the day, so we got rain checks and we are going back next tuesday.

I've been on a gluten free diet for about 3 weeks now. Not seeing much of a difference. I don't know if I'm happy or sad about that. Happy because maybe it's not Celiac's Disease. Sad because if it was Celiac's Disease at least I would be in controll of fixing it....and if it's not CD...then what is it? I finally found a GF bread that is kind of normal. It's $6 for a small loaf, but I think I will try to make some croutons and bread crumbs out of it. I'm not much of a sandwich eater anyway. I want to try to make one new recipe per week, but our schedule has been so busy we haven't had much time. We have made GF Crepes, GF mac and cheese, GF cornbread, and Shepard's pie (which is normally GF, but I found a awesome recipe for a crock pot).

Last night I made a bean soup and cooked it in the crock pot over night. This morning when I woke up, I went downstairs to pack some for my luch. I got a quick taste and as a result got what might be a 3rd degree burn on the roof of my mouth.

I knew it was going to be a bad day.

Actually the whole day wasn't bad. Only the beginning and the end. Work was ok at first. I have felt kind of overwhelmed this week. I started out orientation with one patient. The next week I was supposed to have two patients. Well, that week I was actually only on the floor one of those days and the other days we had orientation/computer training classes. So then I went on vacation for a week, and when I cam back...BAM...I had 3 patients, and today I had 4. Of course I am still under a preceptor, but I am expected to do most everything on my own. I thought I was doing ok today, we discharged one patient and then got another one a couple of hours later. My first admission. (Which by the way, I can't believe I've gone this long without doing one!) Anyway, it was like 30 minutes before shift change.. and there were several things I hadn't completed on my other charts. Poor time management on my part for sure! I was running around like a crazy person, asking a bazillion questions, probably driving all the other nurses crazy. Long story short, I left feeling like a frustrated a couple of nurses, and I left without finishing everything I should have. What a bad nurse I am.

So tonight I made brownies. Gluten free brownies. That's right I'm back on the gluten free diet. Hooray. :/

Welp, I passed NCLEX. I am an official RN. It feels strange. It's time to start saving lives. ;0) I am really liking the unit I am on; I just don't feel like a real nurse yet. I wonder when that feeling will come. There is still so much I haven't done. LIke page/call doctors. I've only had to page a doctor once, and I ended up talking to a resident, and she was really nice to me :). Anyway, the thought of talking to a doctor scares me still.

We were in Colorado last week. We went to visit Brad's grandmother. Brad parent's flew with us and Monica's family met us there. We had a lot of fun, and got to go up to the mountains for a couple of days. We went to the lake that Brad and his grandparents would go for summer vacations. It was neat seeing all the places that were special to him. We got a lot of amazing pictures. I'll try to post them soom.

1st Nursing Interview!! Yikes!

So I had my first nursing interview today. I really wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. It almost seemed like I was interviewing the manager instead of the other way around. She really only asked my two questions about myself. Strange. The unit i interviewed for is considered a step-down (from ICU)...but I consider it med-surg. Eh. If you had asked me a month ago about a medical/surgical floor I would have said a big NO. THANK. YOU. But i guess the possibility of a job (anywhere) is exciting to me, so I can picture myself working on that unit. :/ The nurse to pt ratio is 1:5. yuck. That is a lot of patients. Especially compared to the 1:1-2 for an ICU nurse.

The main thing about this position that like is that it is a day shift. So I have to ask myself: Self, do I want to sacrifice a job that I prefer so that I can work an easier schedule? Or do I want to sacrifice a preferable schedule for a better position? Self says not feeling exhausted all the time matters more. :/

Another thing that excites me about this floor is that it is also used as an overflow for pediatrics and post-postpartum pts. So this unit doesn't always have peds/OB patients, but on occasion I would get to work with some kiddos and mommies :).

Anyway, the manager said she would be in touch with me within the week. At the end of the interview she made it sound like there is more than one person interested in the job, but during the interview she made it sound like I was the only one...so...I don't really know what to think. Hopefully I will talk to the VA during the next week and see what they have to offer.

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All full of questions,
April

Graduation is scary. Very scary. Beyond the aspect of accidentally killing someone, it is scary to think about where I will work and why I want to work there. Will I like it? Am I settling for something less than what I really want? For about a year now I have said I was hoping to start out in an ICU. Here are the questions I am now asking myself.

1.) Why do I really want to start out in the ICU? I think ICU interests me because I know I will learn how to stabilize patients and I will (hopefully) learn how to keep them stable. I guess I feel like that will make me feel confident in my nursing abilities...kind of like I can handle more.

2.) Why do I need to feel that confidence? Because I'm afraid of the feeling that my own lack of knowledge harmed someone.

3.) Will I be disappointed if I don't get an ICU position? Yes. I think. Maybe? I don't really know.

4.) If I don't start out in ICU, will I want to work there eventually? I don't think so...but perhaps?

5.Where else do I eventually want to work? I can definitely see myself in an ED somewhere. I would also like to eventually try out Labor and Delivery! :) yay babies!

6.) Days or Nights? Daaaaays! please, please days!! Nights and I don't function well together!



Sooo... i have an interview TOMORROW on a step down unit! I don't know exactly how i feel about it yet! Kind of excited about the possibility of having a job, but kind of bummed that it's not my ideal starting point. I don't know if I should take this job while it is available...or hold out for a better one.