kapachino

Tag: nursing

  • Job Happy

    It’s been a week, and I love my new job.

    I wake up thirty minutes later in the morning (still 5 a.m., but at least I don’t have to see the number 4 anymore), I catch the bus five minutes from my house, and sleep or read on the way in. The building I work in is brand new. I have my own mobile phone while I’m there, with a number specific to me, which is very convenient when waiting on phone calls from doctors and such. The people I work with obviously like each other and I’ve already started to become friends with someone my age. They’ve even started planning their Thanksgiving luncheon; I’m bringing mac and cheese.

    I have to be on orientation for a few weeks, so right now my days are fairly slow. Still, it’s exciting to come in each day and see what treatments we’ll be giving. We do a lot of chemo, iron, blood, lab draws, and injections. I get to form a relationship with the patients, but most of them are in pretty good shape since they’re outpatient, so overall it’s not too demanding. The documentation required is SO much less, and I leave every day right on time, instead of being forced to wait for the next shift to come on. It’s fantastic.

    Even though I haven’t worked four days in a row (let alone five) in years, I don’t feel overwhelmed at the thought of going back tomorrow. I’m excited to have a whole weekend to look forward to, and then hopefully years of job satisfaction to enjoy.

  • Why I’ll Never Be Super Nurse

    I work with a lady who I like to call Super Nurse. In addition to her full-time job in patient care on our unit, she is also in school to advance her degree. She is the chair of about a thousand committees. She is constantly conducting employee inservices and creating educational posters for the rest of us. She does research projects to figure out the best patient care. She plans all our parties. For a long time, I thought I wanted to be just like her.

    But then this year happened. We had a miscarriage, David dealt with debilitating pain and got both of his hips replaced, I developed food intolerances, and sunk into depression. My job, in which I formerly thrived, became a huge source of stress to me. I was the chair of a single committee, and even that was too much. Eventually, as you know, I went so far as to take a new job – one that I hope will be calmer.

    I’ve been feeling guilty about the decision. I’m not even thirty years old yet! I should have tons of energy! And yet here I am, wiped out at the end of every day, needing a regular schedule and less stress in my days. How am I ever going to be like Super Nurse?

    But then I realized that I have no idea what her life is like outside of work. Her job could be everything, her whole identity.

    I love being a nurse. I think it’s the perfect vocation for me, and it’s a fantastic profession. But it’s only part of me. I have way too many other interests and priorities to let it consume me.

    I want to be home every evening and weekend when David is there. I want to be more involved in my church. I want to read more, to see more shows, listen to more live music, run more races, take my dogs to the park more, make my house look pretty, learn to cook, and I even want to watch more TV. I want to have children, for goodness sake.

    I’ll probably never be like Super Nurse, but I’m okay with that. I’ll still be a darn good one.

  • an important week: some thoughts

    In about thirty minutes I’m going to make my epic return to work, and I wanted to take a second to get a few thoughts down before I go.

    ***

    One. After not working for awhile I’m wondering, will I remember how to do this? Will I remember how to manage my time, how to do all my skills, will I remember to do all the little pieces of charting that we’re required to do? I’m also wondering, how will people react to me today? After my two weeks off not only did I get a chemical peel that is still in the stages of healing (I know there will be some funny looks), but I’ve also decided to start wearing a lot less makeup.

    Two. Tomorrow I go in for an ultrasound to determine whether my follicles are ready, whatever that means. I have resisted the urge to Google the hell out of IUI’s because I don’t want to obsess over it, but it’s still hard to keep calm and think about other things. If all goes well I’ll be inseminated by the end of the week and in two weeks I could know for sure that I’m pregnant. That’s a weird thought. In two weeks the whole thing could have failed and I’ll have to deal with that disappointment. That’s a sad thought.

    Three. Somewhere in between working, doctor’s visits, and taking care of my husband and dogs, I intend to keep running despite the heat. I’ve decided to keep playing soccer this fall, and I’m tired of being out of shape. I also miss yoga, so I’d like to start back up with that this week. (See, I have to make decisions regardless of what happens with the IUI. I can’t not play soccer because I think I’ll be pregnant by then; that’s just asking for failure.)

    ***

    My thirty minutes are nearly up. Here’s hoping my first day of work goes well, and that I can stay awake till the end of my shift.

  • Things I Learned From My Husband’s Hospital Stay

    Partial family portrait at the hospital

    It was an interesting experience staying in the hospital with my husband for a few days and NOT being the nurse. Although there were a few frustrating moments, overall we had a great experience. We liked certain staff members more than others. And actually, I think the whole ordeal will make me a better nurse. Here are some things I learned:

    • When you walk into a patient’s room, introduce yourself. Even if you’re not assigned to that patient and are just helping out, let the patient know why you’re there. About a million people came in and out of our room and we didn’t know who half of them were. It was strange.
    • If you are taking care of a patient, let them know how long you will be there. They need to know who to ask for help. Also, it would be nice if you let them know when you’re leaving.
    • If you have to wake a patient up in the early morning to draw blood, don’t do it by bursting into the room and turning on the lights. Here’s an idea: gently rouse them and let them know you’ll be turning on the lights so they can brace themselves.
    • Remember what they taught you in nursing school: pain is what the patient says it is. Every patient reacts differently to pain medicine. Just because someone is getting what you think is a high dose, doesn’t mean it is effective. There is always something else you can do.
    • If you see family pictures put up, comment on them. Ask who they are, say that the babies are cute. It’ll make the patient feel like you care.
    • Just smile and be friendly already! You may be having a terrible day, but I guarantee your patients aren’t having the best day of their lives either. Your attitude makes a huge difference.

    We were in the hospital for three days. The surgery went well, and although he had a pretty high fever every day, they can’t find any cause for it. It was a rough time, painful for him and painful for me to watch him in pain and not be able to do anything. If we thought we were intimate before, we had no idea. But every day David looks better, moves better, feels better.

    We’re so happy to be home.

  • The Secret To A Successful Marriage

    I was checking on one of my patients, a sweet eighty-year-old lady, and was about to leave the room when she caught my hand.

    Her: Are you married? Let me see your ring. (Looks at ring.) Ooh, that’s so pretty! How long have you been married?

    Me: About a year and a half.

    Her: Aww, I bet he’s a good one.

    Me: Yep. I love him.

    Her: I think that’s so great. I’ve been married for sixty years now, and I still love mine. Of course when you get older it’s different. It was really hard when we found out that I had cancer, but you have to go somehow! My husband and I dealt with it and then he told me we’d just be together till the end. I told him we’d better be! He’d look like a dog if he divorced me now. And then he said he guessed it would make his widower possibilities pretty bleak.

    Me: I’m glad you can keep a sense of humor about it!

    Her: Well, you have to.