I just started my new job here in Denver. I work in BMT still, but there are 3 parts to the floor. The North (ICU stuff), the South (regular old BMT) and the Onc (not suprisingly, it's oncology stuff, with some BMT mixed in.)
It's great because I could work at any of the 3, so I get a little variety in my "nursing diet". It's also nice because the hospital uses the same charting system as a few of the other hospitals I have worked at, and figuring out the charting system, as well as figuring out where everything is, is pretty much the hardest part of a new job.
What was funny, though, was when I went to check the e-mail that we get here. Not too many hospitals have e-mail for each person. Usually, if we have to get the word out about whatever, we just post a piece of paper somewhere everyone will see it. Like the bathroom. Potty Press, I have seen it called. Otherwise, if it is more personalized, we fold the paper in half or in an envelope and stick it at the front desk with our name on it. High tech, I know.
Anyhow, I checked my e-mail, and of the 10 messages, 2 were from the manager. I opened each, and all it was was a list of people who had died. I assume they were patients.
How depressing!
There were 4 people listed in one, and 3 in the other. I hope this is not foreshadowing of how the rest of the assignment goes!
It is good to be me, though, because the people I work with have been really great, and there is only 3 other Laura's!
The reason they hired me was because they have 6 nurses who are pregnant and/or on maternity leave. Good grief! I have been warned repeatedly not to drink the water, and it has been pointed out frequently which chairs not to sit in!
Silly nurses! Babies come from storks!
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
I made it!
Grandma and I made it safe and sound through Vegas, Salt Lake City, and through Wyoming, and have arrived in Denver. Mom, Dad, Grandma and I are tearing up the town. It is good to be surrounded with family, and it's good to be me!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Happy Going Away...Right? Maybe not!
Yesterday I had my first going away party. The girls and 1 "male nurse" as my grandmother calls them (I just say nurse, but that is neither here nor there.) pooled together and bought pizza and salad for me. One girl, from Boston, bought me an ice cream cake. Yum! I think nurses have the most fattening, filling, calorie filled parties.
So the excitement builds as we pull out the cake since we are all caught up on charting and patient care, and everyone is drooling and the cake is set on the table, and we all lean over to see it as we open the box.
Now, I didn't expect writing, but I felt honored to see that she had, indeed, gotten one with the writing.
In beautiful, hand written red icing was "Happy Birthday!"
It's the thought that counts. It's still good to be me, and the cake was awesome!
So the excitement builds as we pull out the cake since we are all caught up on charting and patient care, and everyone is drooling and the cake is set on the table, and we all lean over to see it as we open the box.
Now, I didn't expect writing, but I felt honored to see that she had, indeed, gotten one with the writing.
In beautiful, hand written red icing was "Happy Birthday!"
It's the thought that counts. It's still good to be me, and the cake was awesome!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Sometimes God is sneaky in His blessings. Today, going to work, I took a different route to work, and then stopped for just a few minutes to pick up some chips and salsa for the first of 3 going away parties for me. It just took a few minutes, and I was back on the freeway in no time.
Minutes into the drive, up ahead I noticed flashing lights, and as I approached I could more clearly see the 6 police cars, the firetruck, the 2 ambulances, the 12 or so firefightes/EMT's, and the upside down car. 2 other cars, which I assume were witnesses to the crash, were pulled over just beyond that, and the drivers were walking briskly to the scene.
I passed by, and then, knowing about how far away that particular firehouse is, knowing about how long it takes emergency response to show up, I realized that the crash could very well have been me. I would have been me. It could have been me.
Cancer is hard to work with, but at least these patients have time. They can say their goodbyes. It's like a snooze button on an alarm clock of expiration.
I don't think the driver of the upside down car was alive. Just a hunch.
It is good to be me. I was blessed in a profound way today. I didn't die.
Minutes into the drive, up ahead I noticed flashing lights, and as I approached I could more clearly see the 6 police cars, the firetruck, the 2 ambulances, the 12 or so firefightes/EMT's, and the upside down car. 2 other cars, which I assume were witnesses to the crash, were pulled over just beyond that, and the drivers were walking briskly to the scene.
I passed by, and then, knowing about how far away that particular firehouse is, knowing about how long it takes emergency response to show up, I realized that the crash could very well have been me. I would have been me. It could have been me.
Cancer is hard to work with, but at least these patients have time. They can say their goodbyes. It's like a snooze button on an alarm clock of expiration.
I don't think the driver of the upside down car was alive. Just a hunch.
It is good to be me. I was blessed in a profound way today. I didn't die.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
My way
Next week will be my last week here at my current hospital, where I have been for the longest I have ever worked in a particular hospital. The joys of being a traveler!
So it goes without saying that of course I will be floated to another floor, where I don't know any of the other nurses, and am not particularly excited about working with med-surg patients, especially as ornery as mine, as well as the rest of them. It is not even 8 in the morning when I overhear a patient threatening a CCP "Well if I fall on my ass and break it it will be your fault and I'm going to sue you!"
The poor CCP was trying to help him and eliminate obsticles in his path. The patient insisted on holding onto a wheelchair as he walked, which is not a great idea if you also have to manage an IV pole, an NG tube, and you want to do it your way. Nevermind that us nurses and CCP's have years of experience with assisting people and getting them out of bed, and this was the first time the patient has ever been in the hospital and had surgery.
What I loved, though, was the response, after the CCP tried it "the hospital way", which would be that she would manage the pole, put the end of the tube in his pocket so it would be out of the way, and the path would be clear. Of course, the dear patient didn't think that was such a great idea, and so, after much debate, was allowed to use the wheelchair, which he insisted he keep only 1 hand on, and hold the NG tube with the other one, and of course refused to be touched. In my head, I am thinking, if he falls forward, the wheel chair will keep rolling and not help. If he falls backward, the wheelchair will roll over him. If he falls sideways, it will fall over him. But this is how he wants it, and we do try to respect our patients wishes.
After absorbing the previously mentioned threat, she ever so sweetly, after giving him the wheelchair, replied, "There you go sir, now if you fall on your ass it will be your fault and we will be sure to sue you!"
I tried to supress my laughter as the patient, in all his stubbornness, commented back, "That's fine."
It's good to be me, and soooo amusing to hear a patient triumph in his independance!
As my momma says, "some people just don't want to be helped!"
So it goes without saying that of course I will be floated to another floor, where I don't know any of the other nurses, and am not particularly excited about working with med-surg patients, especially as ornery as mine, as well as the rest of them. It is not even 8 in the morning when I overhear a patient threatening a CCP "Well if I fall on my ass and break it it will be your fault and I'm going to sue you!"
The poor CCP was trying to help him and eliminate obsticles in his path. The patient insisted on holding onto a wheelchair as he walked, which is not a great idea if you also have to manage an IV pole, an NG tube, and you want to do it your way. Nevermind that us nurses and CCP's have years of experience with assisting people and getting them out of bed, and this was the first time the patient has ever been in the hospital and had surgery.
What I loved, though, was the response, after the CCP tried it "the hospital way", which would be that she would manage the pole, put the end of the tube in his pocket so it would be out of the way, and the path would be clear. Of course, the dear patient didn't think that was such a great idea, and so, after much debate, was allowed to use the wheelchair, which he insisted he keep only 1 hand on, and hold the NG tube with the other one, and of course refused to be touched. In my head, I am thinking, if he falls forward, the wheel chair will keep rolling and not help. If he falls backward, the wheelchair will roll over him. If he falls sideways, it will fall over him. But this is how he wants it, and we do try to respect our patients wishes.
After absorbing the previously mentioned threat, she ever so sweetly, after giving him the wheelchair, replied, "There you go sir, now if you fall on your ass it will be your fault and we will be sure to sue you!"
I tried to supress my laughter as the patient, in all his stubbornness, commented back, "That's fine."
It's good to be me, and soooo amusing to hear a patient triumph in his independance!
As my momma says, "some people just don't want to be helped!"
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Heart sore
Some people you meet were meant for just that certain time period in your life, and then they disappear, but you are forever changed by them. This week has been especially hard for that. I am coming to the end of my assignment, so the goodbyes are starting.
One particular doctor beat me to the punch by letting me know his last day is in 2 days, but of course I will not be at work for those 2 days. He and his wife will be moving back to Illinois. Turns out some people like having 20 or more acres to live on. Us Californians don't have a clue as to what an acre is. Let alone how big that translates to. We are happy with anything more than 500 square feet, and it can be up in the air, like a highrise.
Anyhow, I digress.
This doctor is one of my alltime favorites. And for me to sing the praises of a doctor, well, that's just saying a lot. He inspires me to be even more caring, more concerned, more appreciative of my patients and has taught me so much about palliation.
My patient, who I was very busy with trying to get her to keep from coding on me but I managed to get transfered to the ICU, died. Yesterday she was walking around, changing her own bed linens much to our dismay. She was sweet. I enjoyed being her nurse. I enjoyed her.
I know one is more "final" than the other, but either way, I probably won't ever see either one again.
My heart is sore over losing them.
It is good to be me, but sometimes it is good to be surrounded by others whom you have come to have impressed upon your soul. I take them with me in my memories. It will have to be enough. And I have hopes of seeing them again. It happens sometimes.
One particular doctor beat me to the punch by letting me know his last day is in 2 days, but of course I will not be at work for those 2 days. He and his wife will be moving back to Illinois. Turns out some people like having 20 or more acres to live on. Us Californians don't have a clue as to what an acre is. Let alone how big that translates to. We are happy with anything more than 500 square feet, and it can be up in the air, like a highrise.
Anyhow, I digress.
This doctor is one of my alltime favorites. And for me to sing the praises of a doctor, well, that's just saying a lot. He inspires me to be even more caring, more concerned, more appreciative of my patients and has taught me so much about palliation.
My patient, who I was very busy with trying to get her to keep from coding on me but I managed to get transfered to the ICU, died. Yesterday she was walking around, changing her own bed linens much to our dismay. She was sweet. I enjoyed being her nurse. I enjoyed her.
I know one is more "final" than the other, but either way, I probably won't ever see either one again.
My heart is sore over losing them.
It is good to be me, but sometimes it is good to be surrounded by others whom you have come to have impressed upon your soul. I take them with me in my memories. It will have to be enough. And I have hopes of seeing them again. It happens sometimes.
Monday, April 09, 2007
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