PASS!!

Highlight of the day: FIRE DRILL!!!!! Guess who got to break the glass, pull the cord down, and break out the extinguisher?!?!?!
ME!
When the "Inspector" came up, he started talking about blah blah blah, and then he mentioned "so now you can have her call 6111 (our own private emergency line, because like any of us will remember that number), and then you go break the glass and pull the handle," and that got my attention. Julia called the number, and I skipped over to Break the Glass! I can't believe we actually got to break something! Usually we just "simulate" breaking the glass. Not this time! So I tell Rachelle (Part of the "Alert" in PASS) and she jumps in with, "I wanna break the glass! How come I didn't get to break it? Do you have an extra glass?" and he did!
So of course, I went to grab my camera, which was conveniently in my bag, and we broke the glass again! Fun!!!! All hell broke loose, alarms were going off, mass amounts of people showed up, some bringing extra fire extinguishers, and we had to gather around after we shut all the doors, and answer a million questions. Of course, with traveling, I have to do Fire Safety Tests every 3 months on average for the past 4 years, so I had all t he answers.
Pull! Aim! Squeeze! Sweep! (PASS with the extinguisher at the base of the fire)
RACE! Rescue! Alert! Contain! Evacuate! (but they didn't let us actually evacuate...it would have been nice to have left the floor and gone outside for a while and wait for hot fire fighters to show up. Alas.)
It is good to be me! Even thought there were no firefighters around today.

What's on

When you think of a nurse, do you think of the white caps, white dresses and capes? Or do you think of the white shoes? Maybe you think of scrubs. The hospital I am working at now is one of the most laid back hospitals, in terms of uniform policy enforcement. Our manager, who would be the one to enforce those rules, loves the freedom to wear whatever, and exercises that. She also encourages it. It's great!
So, in honor of St. Patricks Day, my favorite holiday (besides my birthday) I have been wearing a St. Patricks Day T-shirt with my scrub pants. While it is a little challenging to be without many pockets, the response is very positive! Today is my kelley green "Ireland" shirt with grey-green pants and yellow and green socks. One of these days I am going to figure out how to put pictures on this thing, and give visuals. What are you wearing for St. Patricks Day? Anything worth celebrating, is worth celebrating all month long!!!! It's good to be me, and kiss me, I'm Irish!!!

That's nice

Sometimes, like today, I have the best patients. They are the ones I get to know. I get to know their family. Thier friends. It's nice. They know my name and I actually remember theirs! Since I am usually horrible with names, it is very nice that I can just look at my papers with their name on it, or their armband. It makes it easier to be able to cheat before I enter the room.
But some people you just remember. Like today. Some of my patients today I have taken care of many, many times before. My patient, who inspired this particular blog, got stuck being in a semi-private room with a puking roommate. Speaking from experience, I knew it was safe to say he would not have gotten much sleep last night, and knowing him, he likes to sleep in.
Days like this I love the autonomy of being able to flex my "nice nurse muscle" and let him sleep in. I didn't ignore him, and lucky for him, he did not have any morning meds due. So I let him sleep. It put a smile on my face to afford him those few extra hours. Not wanting him to think he was without a nurse, I wrote him a note to the effect of "I get to be your nurse today, and you looked so peaceful sleeping, I'm gonna let you keep right at it. You don't have any pills, and I will be checking in on you, but call if you need me. Your nurse, Laura"
He didn't wake up till about 11:30, and when I peeked in at 12, he was all smiles and so happy for the "beauty sleep" as he put it. And he loved the note. I think I may have mentioned the green Ireland shirt I was wearing today too.
Things like that make me feel really good. I guess every nurse became a nurse "to make a difference in a person's life," but I really enjoy when I can make being stuck in a tiny hospital room a little better. Days like this, little things like that, well, I love my job! It's good to be me.

No comment.

Favorite, or at least very amusing, quotes of the week from patients:

74 year old woman to our CCP (clinical care partner, also a woman) "Turn around and let me see your bum-diddly-umptus. Are you working again tomorrow?"

Mother of a 32 year old patient: "Can you add some soda bicarbonate to his iv fluid?"

Me (patients nurse) "Are you having any pain now?"
Patient: "No pain, but my stomach really hurts."

65 year old man: "I don't know why it is asking for so much to allow me to take a half hour to take this dressing off so you, the wound nurse, the attending physician and all the residents, fellows, and interns can see it all at one time. That is why you need better communication so we can work as a team. If we schedule this, it works better, don't you think?"



And my "internal dialog" that goes along with each quote, respectively.

~My what? And yes, I will be working tomorrow, but I will be sure to request to not have to take care of you!

~"Would you prefer diet or regular? Coke or Pepsi bicarbonate? Maybe both, since you wanted bi-carbonate." (The proper word she was looking for was "sodium" not soda.) But please, if you want to kill the patient, please do it at home, not here.

~I didn't realize "pain" and "hurt" were different things!

~"You are right sir, we should all get together and plan this so all 15 of us can arrange our time to suite your whim. While we are on it, if you could please schedule your next bowel movement so I know when it will be......



It's good to be me. Or at least amusing.