(I say "normal" because NOTHING ever goes as planned out, especially when it's in regards to health care)
0635-0645: Arrive at hospital, stop at locker and load up pockets and drop lunch off in fridge
0645-0715: Get report, check charts, attempt to wake up so I appear awake when I wake up patients
0645-0715: Organize all my papers, answer the phone, look up lab results, find out who gets what meds when
0715-0750: Meet and greet my patients, wake them up, apologize for waking their delightful sleep on their comfy hospital beds (yeah, right! (about the comfy part)), do my morning assessment (breakfast usually arrives between 0730 and 815ish),
0750-0830: Pass meds and help sit up/get out of bed for breakfast, eat my own breakfast
0830-0930: Set up for baths and chart my morning assessment and anything else I can, talk to the daughter who always call about Mama
0930-1100: "Stuff" like calling docs, implementing orders, perhaps discharging people, maybe getting report on a patient being transferred to me, passing noon meds, sending people off to tests/procedures
1100-1330: Various jobs like answering call bells, potty breaks (for me), potty breaks (for the patients), perhaps getting report a new patient being admitted, maybe discharging someone, fetching water, snacks, bedpans, dressing changes if needed, answering phone calls, calling docs, implementing orders...doing stuff that needs to be done before I go to lunch, dodge all the extra 15 bodies around the nurses station, look for lost charts, talk to the daughter called about Mama, even though she called this morning, set up people for lunch, get some out of bed for lunch
1330-1430: Take half an hour to for lunch, and cover for the other nurse to eat, answer call bells, think about threatening to take call bell buttons away, pass afternoon meds, potty breaks (for patients), wonder where that new patient is that I got report on at 10, getting patients back from tests and procedures, dodge all the extra 20 bodies around the nurses station, talking to family members who insist that auntie didn't get bathed all day, when I personally bathed her this morning, but she's confused so she doesn't know what she's saying, reassure the family that's upset because granny is restrained and explain that she was pulling at her Central Lne (and if she pulls it out, she could bleed to death before someone stopped her), explain to "loony tunes" that he can't get out of bed because he'll fall cause he has no legs from the thigh down.
1430-1630: Enjoy the solitude of not having more than 4 extra people in the nurses sation, discharge someone else, finally get that admit from the ER, then realize that half the stuff they said they did (labs, etc.) wasn't done, pass late afternoon meds, draw some labs, restart some IV's, send for more tests, get more ice water and snacks, attempt to make some patients realize that they don't have to press the call bell every 5 minutes, I will not for that they're here
1630-1730: Finish up charting, check labs I drew, call doctors, find out who's coming in tonight, set up patients dinner, get some out of bed for dinner
1730-1830: Pass evening meds, tell the patients that between 6:45 and 7:15 I will be giving report and to try to keep off the call bell until we're done, get charts ready, fill out report papers, empty out pockets of extra trash I carry for no reason...
1830-1845: Anxiously await the next shift's arrival, try to keep busy so I don't check my watch every 2 minutes
1845-1915: Give report, and leave the hospital
Wow, that makes me tired already....for a Monday....take all that goes on, divide it into maybe three groups: start of shift to middle of shift, middle of shift to late afternoon, afternoon 'til end of shift, AND mix them up, like a deck of cards in the hands of a toddler. In each group these things are continuously going on:
That about sums it up for a Monday. There's just no way to take a picture of, it'd have to be one of those time lapsed photos, then compare it with a "normal" Sunday. Nothing happens on Sunday, except for two weekends ago, when everything happened. I guess it keeps it interesting. I mean, that's why I picked hospital nursing versus a doctor's office or something, the variety. How boring would it be if you could predict what would happen. I mean, it'd make it easier, I guess, knowing that there'd be nothing to make your lunch happen after 4pm...
About half of our full time staff is leaving in the near future (one person has already left), two nurses are preggo, so they'll be out, soon, as well. One doctor was commenting on the fact the Diane left two weeks ago, and asked Laura when she's leaving (December), looked at me, and said "When are you gone?" I was like "Yeah right, I'm stuck." Not literally stuck, but I'll probably be here at least 2 years or so. I mean, I wouldn't know where to go!
0635-0645: Arrive at hospital, stop at locker and load up pockets and drop lunch off in fridge
0645-0715: Get report, check charts, attempt to wake up so I appear awake when I wake up patients
0645-0715: Organize all my papers, answer the phone, look up lab results, find out who gets what meds when
0715-0750: Meet and greet my patients, wake them up, apologize for waking their delightful sleep on their comfy hospital beds (yeah, right! (about the comfy part)), do my morning assessment (breakfast usually arrives between 0730 and 815ish),
0750-0830: Pass meds and help sit up/get out of bed for breakfast, eat my own breakfast
0830-0930: Set up for baths and chart my morning assessment and anything else I can, talk to the daughter who always call about Mama
0930-1100: "Stuff" like calling docs, implementing orders, perhaps discharging people, maybe getting report on a patient being transferred to me, passing noon meds, sending people off to tests/procedures
1100-1330: Various jobs like answering call bells, potty breaks (for me), potty breaks (for the patients), perhaps getting report a new patient being admitted, maybe discharging someone, fetching water, snacks, bedpans, dressing changes if needed, answering phone calls, calling docs, implementing orders...doing stuff that needs to be done before I go to lunch, dodge all the extra 15 bodies around the nurses station, look for lost charts, talk to the daughter called about Mama, even though she called this morning, set up people for lunch, get some out of bed for lunch
1330-1430: Take half an hour to for lunch, and cover for the other nurse to eat, answer call bells, think about threatening to take call bell buttons away, pass afternoon meds, potty breaks (for patients), wonder where that new patient is that I got report on at 10, getting patients back from tests and procedures, dodge all the extra 20 bodies around the nurses station, talking to family members who insist that auntie didn't get bathed all day, when I personally bathed her this morning, but she's confused so she doesn't know what she's saying, reassure the family that's upset because granny is restrained and explain that she was pulling at her Central Lne (and if she pulls it out, she could bleed to death before someone stopped her), explain to "loony tunes" that he can't get out of bed because he'll fall cause he has no legs from the thigh down.
1430-1630: Enjoy the solitude of not having more than 4 extra people in the nurses sation, discharge someone else, finally get that admit from the ER, then realize that half the stuff they said they did (labs, etc.) wasn't done, pass late afternoon meds, draw some labs, restart some IV's, send for more tests, get more ice water and snacks, attempt to make some patients realize that they don't have to press the call bell every 5 minutes, I will not for that they're here
1630-1730: Finish up charting, check labs I drew, call doctors, find out who's coming in tonight, set up patients dinner, get some out of bed for dinner
1730-1830: Pass evening meds, tell the patients that between 6:45 and 7:15 I will be giving report and to try to keep off the call bell until we're done, get charts ready, fill out report papers, empty out pockets of extra trash I carry for no reason...
1830-1845: Anxiously await the next shift's arrival, try to keep busy so I don't check my watch every 2 minutes
1845-1915: Give report, and leave the hospital
Wow, that makes me tired already....for a Monday....take all that goes on, divide it into maybe three groups: start of shift to middle of shift, middle of shift to late afternoon, afternoon 'til end of shift, AND mix them up, like a deck of cards in the hands of a toddler. In each group these things are continuously going on:
- patients leaving for and coming back from tests
- paging doctors again, and again, and again
- avoiding the extra 7-20 people at the nurse's station
- discharge and admit patients
- get orders off charts and do them
- restrain myself from hiding call bells from select patients
- convincing patients who are confused to stay in bed
- potty breaks for every patient every half hour (because they're convinced they *might* have to go poo)
- givng pain medication, telling every one how long they have to wait before they can get more Dilaudid/Morphine/Vicodin/Percocet
- talking to patients and family members, explaining that the doctors have no schedule, have to see about 20-30 other patients today, and will be in before tonight
That about sums it up for a Monday. There's just no way to take a picture of, it'd have to be one of those time lapsed photos, then compare it with a "normal" Sunday. Nothing happens on Sunday, except for two weekends ago, when everything happened. I guess it keeps it interesting. I mean, that's why I picked hospital nursing versus a doctor's office or something, the variety. How boring would it be if you could predict what would happen. I mean, it'd make it easier, I guess, knowing that there'd be nothing to make your lunch happen after 4pm...
About half of our full time staff is leaving in the near future (one person has already left), two nurses are preggo, so they'll be out, soon, as well. One doctor was commenting on the fact the Diane left two weeks ago, and asked Laura when she's leaving (December), looked at me, and said "When are you gone?" I was like "Yeah right, I'm stuck." Not literally stuck, but I'll probably be here at least 2 years or so. I mean, I wouldn't know where to go!
Wow. I love my lazy, play-all-day-with-Stephen life. Wouldn't trade with you for anything! (Though, sometimes, I do kinda miss the busy life I had when I was the music manager at Crossway--filling out reports, helping customers, keeping track of all the Christian music artists' lives, answering phones, seeing sales reps, filling orders, creating displays, buying lots of stuff for the store to sell... Don't miss the stress, though.)
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