kapachino

Tag: nursing

  • a day in the life of this working mom

    1:00 AM – Meredith nurses, then back to sleep
    5:00 AM – My alarm goes off. Meredith nurses again and I press snooze a few times.
    5:27 AM – Time to get out of bed & get ready! Meredith is still sleeping so I get dressed and get breakfast prepared.
    5:50 AM  – Get Meredith up and dressed.
    6:00 AM – Say goodbye to David and make sure he gets out of bed.
    6:07 AM – Leave the house!

    6:10 AM – Drop Meredith at daycare and linger for a few minutes.
    6:14 AM – Leave daycare and start the drive to work.
    6:56 AM – Park at the remote lot and get on the train.7:08 AM – The train drops me off.
    7:14 AM – Arrive at work too early to clock in. Put things away in my locker and go get my patient assignment.
    7:23 AM – Clock in on the computer and start getting things ready for patients to arrive.
    7:45 AM – My first patient arrives.
    8:20 AM – Start the infusion & go pump.
    8:40 AM – Back at my desk I chart, check work email, and do open enrollment.
    9:29 AM – Discharge patient 1.
    9:35 AM – Patient 2 arrives.
    10:10 AM – Discover one of my patients is in the hospital.
    10:18 AM – There is a delay with patient 2 due to order clarification so I start on chart audits.
    10:27 AM – My dad visits Meredith at daycare and sends me pictures!   11:05 AM – Infusion started on patient 2.
    11:20 AM – Patient 3 arrives.
    12:00 PM – Discharge patient 2.
    12:15 PM – Patient 4 arrives.
    12:37 PM – Start patient 4’s infusion.
    1:04 PM – Start patient 3’s infusion (are you confused yet?).
    1:05 PM – Pumping again!
    1:25 PM – Eat lunch & read2:00 PM – Discharge patient 3. Chart & continue audits.
    2:46 PM – Start second infusion on patient 4.
    4:00 PM – Pass off the patient to another nurse and pump one last time.
    4:13 PM – Clock out!
    4:25 PM – Back on the train.
    4:35 PM – In my car, headed a different route home due to traffic.5:27 PM – Arrive at daycare to pick Meredith up. Have a conversation with the afternoon worker about her cloth diaper sizes. (The afternoon lady has OPINIONS.)

    5:36 PM – Finally home. Do chores to prepare for tomorrow while Meredith sits in her Bumbo.
    6:00 PM – Diaper change o’clock.
    6:10 PM – I have some cereal for dinner while I nurse Meredith because we’re both starving!
    6:25 PM – Do some reading on the couch.
    7:00 PM – Go to La Leche League. I bring Meredith and she nurses & sleeps. (On other days during this time I’d either be reading, watching TV, or at a family member’s house for dinner.)
    8:10 PM – After the meeting I talk with my friend Sara for awhile.
    9:00 PM – Home again. Put the diapers into the wash (oops, forgot about this earlier) & nurse Meredith while David takes my car to get gas.
    9:17 PM – Give Meredith a bath.
    9:30 PM – Diaper, dress, and nurse Meredith. We’re running behind because of the meeting, so I seriously consider skipping my shower.
    9:42 PM – Put the diapers into the dryer, then take a shower (mostly because I knew I was recording this day), and David hangs out with Meredith.
    10:00 PM – Blow-dry my hair (hate).
    10:17 PM – Get in bed and nurse Meredith to sleep!This was a fairly typical day, except that I’m usually in bed around 8 or 9. It’s manageable, but by Friday I’m certainly ready for the weekend!

  • Workplace Happiness

    Going to work is kind of necessary for most of us. Unless you are independently wealthy, have a sugar daddy, are still in school, or just make a lot of sacrifices and frugal choices to stay at home, you probably work. Usually it’s around 40 hours a week, some more, some less. That’s a huge chunk of time, so it makes sense that how you feel while at work is going to have a big impact on your overall happiness.

    I’d say the best way to stay happy at work is to love what you do. I’m a registered nurse, and I’m really glad I can say that I do love it. I work in outpatient oncology, and the bulk of what I do is administer chemo, blood products, and other IV medications. It’s different every day so I don’t get bored, challenges me mentally, and best of all allows me to meet people and affect them positively in the midst of tough circumstances. I’ve started making it my mission to give them a good experience in our clinic and hopefully begin or continue a positive relationship with them. When my patients are happy, it’s easy for me to be happy too.

    Sometimes, however, I’m running late, I run into a lot of snags with a patient, things get hectic, I forget to drink water or don’t have time to eat lunch, I didn’t get enough sleep, etc. It’s during those times that I have to take extra steps to get through the day happily. They include:

    >Coffee. I drink some every morning on the way to work, but if that’s not enough I’ll turn to the clinic pot for an extra boost.

    >Gum. Sometimes it’s all I need to get a little burst of energy until I have a chance to sit down and eat.

    >Ask for help. I’m not the only nurse there, and we’re a team. Lots of people are glad to help ease my burden.

    >Vent. Whether it’s calling my husband or talking to a coworker, sometimes I just need to get out my frustrations and I feel better.

    >Positive self-talk. I remind myself that I’m only there until 4 p.m., put myself in the place of my patients (immediate perspective), or remember all the great experiences I’ve had at work. I also try and think about something I look forward to, like picking up my daughter from daycare.

    These are just some examples. How do YOU stay happy and engaged at work?

    ***
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  • Notes From A Working Mother

    Well guys, I did it. I made it through a whole week of work! I have so many things to say I don’t even know where to start. I guess with the fact that I am not, as feared, now incompetent at my job. I’m pleased to report that I remember how to do everything, and not only that but I am more awesome at it than before. This is obviously due to the fact that I was grossly pregnant for about a million years and I am no longer thus, meaning I have TONS of energy that I’m not used to having, and also my hands are no longer numb, well, two fingertips are and probably always will be, but that doesn’t even count, and anyway I can start IV’s again!

    So work went really well, except for one day where I left forty minutes late (not acceptable), but I suspect (but don’t want to believe) that I was given an easier-than-normal assignment and that this will not last. Well, whatever, I won’t think about that.

    Yesterday at work everyone was supposed to wear pink for breast cancer awareness month, which is October. My manager even texted us all at 5:30 a.m. to remind us. And that’s fine and good and all, but my pink scrubs don’t currently fit. I tried them on and they were looking more like leggings. It’s pretty embarrassing when you outgrow scrubs, even fitted ones, I mean they have a DRAWSTRING. So I wore a pair of blue scrubs that do fit, and of course EVERYONE was wearing pink including the GUYS. That means that everyone was asking me, “Why didn’t you wear pink?” And I could have just said that I don’t own pink scrubs, except for the fact that I used to wear them all the time. So I had to spend the whole morning telling people about the baby weight I put on and haven’t lost yet. THAT was fun.

    ***

    Enough about work. Let’s talk baby! She spends Monday through Thursday in daycare, and Fridays my mom is off work and keeps her. She did awesome. My dad drives around for work and was able to stop by and visit her every day, sending me a picture each time. Witness:

    Monday: Dad feeds her a bottle (hence the drool)

    Tuesday: The fuzziest hair of all time

    Wednesday: Just chillin’ with Pops

    Thursday: All the single ladies, put your hands up

    And then there was Friday, when I made my mom text more than she ever has in her life to keep me updated. She sent me lots of pictures, but I couldn’t stop looking at this one:

    The cuteness is overwhelming. First of all, her smile. Anytime she smiles I melt, but this is a serious grin. The squinty eyes, the dimple, the double chin, ahhhh. Secondly, the huge Astros onesie. It’s a size 18 months which is all my mom had at her house, because apparently what I sent her in got dirty and Mom didn’t want to try to put her in the backup clothes I sent since they said “up to 11 pounds” and Meredith is over 12 (even though, for the record, they totally fit). Finally, she’s sitting in a Bumbo! We don’t have one, so this was the first time she got to try it out and I’m so proud of her for sitting in it so well.

    But back to daycare. I’m going to be honest and say that it feels very wrong to be dropping her off there all day. The first few times I didn’t know if I’d be able to continue to do it. BUT it has gotten easier. And the more I get to know the people there the more I like them. There are only three other babies there, and the director and assistant director are both very involved so I know she gets a lot of attention. One awesome thing is that they LOVE her cloth diapers! I thought I’d be lucky to find a place that accepted them, but it’s so much better that they are actually happy about it. And Meredith is happy there so far; my dad says that every time he comes by she’s smiling and content. So I know everything will be okay, despite my inability to not cry about it.

    ***

    One day this week I thought, “I should probably check the mail.” When I opened our box all that was inside was a key to the package compartment, and when I opened that it was full of our mail. I was so happy, because this answered a longstanding question I had about what they would do if the mailbox became too full. I was also happy because in the mail had arrived three issues of Martha Stewart Living, one of Elle Decor, and a Rearz fitted diaper that I won in a giveaway. This particular diaper requires a cover, which I do not have. So now of course I must buy one. I’m thinking of getting the Thirsties Duo Wrap, but anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

    ***

    I need to buy a dress for my brother’s wedding which is in TWO WEEKS. This is crazy because I never thought my brother would get married. But anyway, he is, and in two weeks, and I am the only bridesmaid other than the maid of honor, her sister. The bride has graciously allowed us to choose our own black dresses. I am looking for something with an empire waist (see: baby weight), in a silky material, and preferably with sleeves of some sort because her sister’s dress has sleeves and I want to kind of sort of match her.

    Maybe something like this faux wrap dress with cap sleeves:

     Or this, which I really like better, but it’s strapless:

     I don’t know. And now I’m realizing that I’ll need to buy shoes also. Well if I MUST.

    ***

    Oh! I forgot to mention another exciting thing. Up until this week my husband has been driving a truck and therefore we’ve only had one car with a car seat which makes things kind of difficult at times. We didn’t want to get a new car because we want to pay off our debt, but we were able to work out a deal with his dad and we ended up trading him our truck for his car. Now all we have to do is buy a car seat and then I’ll be able to drop Meredith off at daycare, take the bus to work, and then David can pick her up much earlier than I’d be able to. We want to get another convertible car seat, but since we have to buy this one ourselves, probably not another Britax like we have already. What are some good, economical choices?

    ***

    Cooking during the week now? Not going to happen for awhile, until I really get into a groove. I’ll be able to stock up on some weekends, but not this one. I’m too tired, have too many other things to do, and we have other things going on for dinner. I feel a little bit bad about that since it means I’ll have to take frozen meals to work for lunch next week, but I need a break from something. And that’s okay.

    ***

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I have about a million loads of laundry to do.

  • Today’s Success

    I don’t know why, but I woke up this morning feeling very emotionally precarious. I felt like I could cry at any moment, even though absolutely nothing bad had happened.

    I’ve been having difficulty at work starting IV’s. I hardly ever got to practice this skill while I worked in the hospital, and now I have to do it several times a week, sometimes multiple times a day. I might be successful 50% of the time, but I don’t think it’s that much. It’s very embarrassing to keep having to ask for help with this.

    On my way to work this morning I prayed that I wouldn’t have to start any. It’s almost Thanksgiving, I didn’t feel well, and I just wanted an easy day. Instead,  I had to start two IV’s – but I got them both on the first try. I think that’s better, overall, don’t you?

    That and chocolate have improved my outlook greatly.

  • Friday Things: To Focus On

    Now that I’ve pretty much gotten settled into my new routine, I took stock of my life and decided that there are a few things that I need to focus on in the immediate future, and here they are.

    Study for (and pass!) the OCN exam.

    This is a priority. I take the oncology certification test on November 30, and I really need to pass. First of all, I’m taking the day off work for it, and I will be SO embarrassed if I come back the next day having failed. But mostly, it cost $265 to apply to take, and another $250 for a review course. If I pass, I get reimbursed. That’s a big incentive.

    Get Cleo back in shape.

    My favorite pup has become a fatty. Recently I saw this picture of her from a few years back:

    And this is her now (oh the shame):

    So I’ll be upping the amount of walks and trips to the dog park and switching to “healthy weight” food. Poor girl can’t help it that she has a terrible metabolism.

    Prepare for Christmas!

    I’d like to go into December with a good handle on all things Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday, and I don’t want it to be stressful. These are some things I want to get done sooner rather than later:

    • Finalize my wish list
    • Figure out what to give my family and search for deals
    • Have a complete list of names & addresses for people to send cards, and make significant progress on getting them out
    • Learn to make apple cider
    • Make an advent calendar (this will involve some very simple sewing but I am kind of petrified)
    • Put up a tree and decorate!

    What are you focusing on these days?