I was really wanting to talk to you about something other than my job and my wedding today. But, not yet. I have been taking care of patients completely on my own for about a week and a half now. One patient I have been the primary nurse for since about a month ago. I have built a strong relationship with her sister (she herself does not speak due to a stroke). Last Friday through Monday I took care of three patients, all of whom I knew and had taken care of before. Today, after one day off, I arrived at work and the first thing I noticed was that my patient for the past month wasn’t on the floor…
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Even when I have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning to go. Even when I have to clean poop out of an opening it shouldn’t be coming from. Even when the hospital shuts the water off on our floor without telling us, so that everyone goes to the bathroom and is unable to flush for hours and hours, and the rooms and hallways start to smell. Even when one of my patients spits up phlegm every five minutes into a cup that he leaves sitting at his bedside, and I have an attack of dry heaves in the bathroom just thinking about it. Even when another patient vomits all over himself and the floor. It’s worth it…
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Today as I was exiting the bus I looked at the bus driver and had the thought, “I wouldn’t want to have a job like that where all these people’s lives are in my hands. If she messed up we could all die.” Then I remembered what I do for a living.

Want to know what I’ve been up to? No problem: The Six Second ECG For the past three days, instead of working on the unit, I’ve been in class learning how to interpret EKGs. My brain has had just about enough! It’s also difficult to concentrate because this is something I will rarely encounter on my floor. So I’m trying to learn it well, but if I don’t get to practice, then I’ll probably just forget.