Exhausted

Hey all, sorry I did not post for a couple of nights but I was really tired. Was it from my job? Of course. On Thursday night, it could have been an okay night but an inexperienced aide made it somewhat agitating....I had just came from a resident's room and assessed the resident, everything okay. Resident had surgery lately and was having post anxiety which was enough to deal with alone. I had probably already been in resident's room 3 or 4 times already....anyway about 10 minutes after I came from resident's room, aide informs me that they are going to send resident out because residenet wants to go to the hospital. I asked why, of course aide could not tell me. I asked was resident in pain, answer was no, so again asked what was the problem? The aide then tells me that resident just wants to go because resident would feel better. I am like okay, it is the resident's right so I ask do you know what to do, and aide replies yes...just then the phone rings, it is emergency paramedics. I then look at aide and ask did you call 911? Aide response was yes, I then say why would you call 911 for this, this is not an emergency. No reply. I spent an hour in the resident's room dealing with this incident. When I did go into the resident's room, resident had personal Dr. on the phone. To cut through the chase, resident never went out to the hospital,(which I had already assessed, they did not need to go). I assumed the aide knew that you call a family member for non emergencies, 911 for emergencies, but they obviously did not. I have to go back to the basics.... NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING. The only person who came out on the bad end of the stick in this situation was ME!!!! Med pass late...residents hollering at me because I have to wake them up...oh and let's not forget the extra paperwork I had to do because 911 was called. I bit my tongue but I really wanted to wring this kid's neck for putting that on me. However in assisted living aides need no formal training which was what the problem was. Enough venting for now, until the next blog......
I apologize for the second and third person language, just trying to remember HIPPA

Good or Bad Night...Don't know

Arrived at work today at 3pm sharp. Was in a pretty good mood. I did not feel up to par because of the excessive eating over the weekend. But I got report and did a med count on the narcs and was done with that at 3:30 pm. which was very good. I then went over to the other side of the building and did the same. Nothing going on in the whole building, everything calm, a few people out on Dr's. appt....very quiet, it was quieter than I had ever known it to be since I had been working there. I got a good start on med pass, no one paged or even called me for about 2 and 1/2 hours. I was done with med pass at 6:30!! If you can believe that. I did some paperwork after that and decided to start pulling my 9pm meds at about 8. At 8:30 I am just getting ready to start my night med pass when a new resident (whom I had no idea was even in the building)called and wanted v/s. I decided to get that out of the way. I took resident vitals and they were extremely high... blood pressure, heart rate.... everything. Protocol was followed (sorry can't go into details because of HIPPA). Resident did not go to hospital (their choice). The incident took up about 45 mins. I have a strong feeling this is going to be an every night ordeal with this resident. Resident drinks cokes, and eats a lot of junk...that was noticeable when I walked in the room. I got back to med pass...ended up getting done at 11pm with med pass. Of course as usual, I had some angry residents because their meds were late but there was nothing I could do...I am getting used to the griping. Thank goodness I had done paperwork earlier or I would have been there all night. Checked on this resident again before I went home and v/s were much better. Ended up clocking out at 10 after 12. I have asked myself why would I get upset when someone needs medical attention..is it because I am tired...is it because I am nervous being a new nurse..after all I did go to nursing school to be able to do this very thing. There was a slight panic because I still could not find phone numbers, etc. I had no knowledge of this resident which did not help the situation. I have come to the conclusion it is because I am still very nervous and apprehensive because I am the only nurse in the whole building...no experienced nurses I can turn to. Is this a bad thing? I don't know...since it forces me to make my own nursing decisions it could be a good thing because I definitely need to get the experience. Tonight because of my actions everything turned out good. This incident was what any new nurse would hope would not happen on their shift. Now that it is over, I feel that I would handle a situation like this again in a calmly manner...not panicked. I hope tomorrow will be a good night...until the next blog....

Adam Yausch

It is with great sadness to hear that Adam Yausch of The Beastie Boys has been diagnosed with cancer of the salivary glands, mainly the parotid gland. The salivary gland is any of the saliva-secreting exocrine glands of the oral cavity. Saliva helps to keep the teeth and mouth clean. It also contains some antibodies and an enzyme called lysozyme that help reduce bacterial growth. Saliva is manufactured by three pairs of glands namely: the parotid, the submandibular or submaxillary, and the sublingual glands. The parotid is the largest of the group. It is located inferior and anterior to the ear. The submandibular are located near the body of the jaw and the sublingual glands are under the tongue. All of these glands empty through the ducts into the oral cavity.

Memmler's The Human Body in Health and Disease 10th Edition

until the next blog....

Nasty People With Nasty Habits

Just returned from a much needed weekend getaway with my family, that is my 2 nephews and my brother. We went to Sandusky, Ohio to Put-N-Bay which is a seaside community which is very much like a resort. It is an Island, we had to take the ferry to get there, it was very relaxing. But the thing that was noticeable to my brother and I(we both are in the nursing field, in different ways) is that when each of us went to the restrooms, he in the men's I in the ladies, was how many people came out and did not wash their hands. We both thought this was disgusting. The thing that really got us is when we were in a restaurant on the way back and again went to our respective lavatories and heard the people in the stalls next to us relieving themselves (#1 and #2) flush the commode and come right out of the bathroom, and see these same people at the food buffet with their hands all over the same utensils everyone is going to use to serve themselves. We both looked at these people in disgust!! Being a nurse now I find myself being much more aware of unsanitary conditions such as this. If people could only figure out that this is exactly how most people get sick and die they would take the time to wash their hands and do their part in stopping to spread these types of germs! Something as simple as handwashing could keep so many people from getting sick, especially at a food buffet where so many people are exposed. Things like this make me want to carry my own plastic gloves to the buffet, eventually I more than likely will if I continue to see Nasty People like this. Let's all do our part in stopping the spread of germs...WASH YOUR HANDS!....until the next blog

LNC

Just a few more weeks and I will be attending a weekend class to put the finishing touches on my long awaited career goal. I am a Paralegal and a LPN. I will be attending this class to be certified as a Legal Nurse Consultant. This will definitely be a huge salary jump and I am looking forward to it. If any of you reading this post are legal nurse consultants or know of anybody who is I would love to hear from you. Until the next blog...

Grateful for my co-worker

Clocked in at 3 p.m. as I have done since I have started working, nothing seemed out of the ordinary as I walked to the nurse's station from the time clock, however once I reached this cubby hole of a nurse's station, I could tell that it was not going to be an easy night. There were several people at the station, all trying to tie up their odds and ends before leaving for the weekend. It was too congested for me, but I had to sit and bear it. The off going nurse could not even give me report because of all the interruptions. She instructed me that a re-admit was coming with a LOT of new orders...paperwork that I did not know how to do. By the time she was finished giving me report it was 4:30. My day was ruined, med pass was certainly already behind and to top it off, I was informed the facility physician was making his rounds today. I was definitely panicked by this point, I did not know what to do first, and since she was officially off duty, I had all cell phones, walkie talkies on my person, and of course all the calls started. I was really sweating it when she told me not to worry, she would stay over and take care of this new admit. Boy was I relieved! Now all I had to do was start med pass, however I felt sorry for her because this patient had too many complex orders that this facility did not deal with. I was informed that it was the "friday evening push off". I asked what that was and she told me that is when any and everybody (healthcare professional) will try and send a patient anywhere just to get them out of their hair and let someone else deal with the problem of the patient because of it being Friday people (healthcare professionals) wanted to hurry and go home from their jobs. So our facility was the victim of the "fepo" because no one wanted to deal with this patient/resident. Anyway, as I knew when the day started, I was behind all night long, which in turn caused resident's to be irate because their meds were late, but it could have been much worse had it not been for my co-worker which I was eternally grateful, because she definitely did not have to stay and help me. If my co-worker were in trouble, I ask myself would I have stayed on a Friday an extra 2 and 1/2 hrs? I would like to think that I would but I do not really know, that remains to be seen, I would have to be in the position for me to answer truthfully. Anyway, until the next blog...

Too Good To Be True!

Arrived on the job early eager to work. Since I had been off for 3 days I was rested and had a very positve attitude about the day. It all started good, I got report on both units, passed meds on the one unit and was back on the other unit at 4:30, which put me ahead of schedule. I was feeling pretty happy at this time that it was going to be a good day. Things slowly started to take a negative turn. The first negative thing that happened: I was passing meds when a resident wanted a pain pill. I obliged and went down the hall and gave her one. She stated she wanted 2. I then told her to go ahead and take the one and I would be back with the other one since she did have an order for 2. She then became irate and stated that if we had to argue about it, she just wouldn't take it. I had no idea where that came from so explained to her that it was okay I will get the other pill, but she refused, huffed and told me to get out of the room. Now understand, this was the first time I had ever seen this resident since I had been working there. She had been out of the facility for awhile (before I started working), any way I proceeded to finish my med pass. By this time it was time to go and hunt residents down whom were not in their rooms or available (something which I hate doing, it takes up so much time) during med pass. But this was okay, I was still doing good on time. By this time I am praying the night stays quiet...so far...so good! Okay, time to start med pass again, last pass of the night...a good med pass, I was done at 10:15!! I am getting good at this...all I had to do was some paper work and a little charting and I am out at 11!!! About 10:20, a new resident called on the nurses phone, she was irate, said some unpleasantries to me...I had to stop what I was doing and deal with this woman's aggravation, she went on and on and I finally calmed her down. I guess I said what she wanted to hear however at this time of the night, nothing is going to be done. I cannot go into detail about what happened (you know about HIPPA guys)but to cut through the chase, I came out of her room at 11:00 and because of the incident, that presents with more paperwork not to mention the paperwork and charting I had yet to get to before I had to deal with her. I WAS OH SO CLOSE!!!!!!!! I ended up clocking out at 12:15 in the morning and still had to leave some paperwork for the next shift which they are not going to be happy with, but what could I do?? I was tired and could not think anymore and I needed to get out before the aides started calling me about something else. I knew it was too good to be true to be able to finish all of my work and still get out on time. I hope tomorrow will be better. My goal every night is simply just to clock out on time on a nightly basis. Until the next blog.....

Finally A Good Day

Got to work on Sunday 3-11 and the nurse going off duty gave me report and obviously had one of the worst days a nurse could have on the job. A lot of changes are going on for the better in the facility, (construction, etc.) so residents are not in their comfort zone right now. Again the families of residents can be hell on a nurse. Families had consistently called this nurse and rammed her for the construction and other changes that were causing their loved one to be upset, because the residents were calling the family members several times a day (work, home, etc.)which in turn was aggravating the family member, so family members took it out on the nurse. If people would think in the first place, why would anyone call a nurse to jump on her back about the construction, or maintenance, etc.? After what the nurse had told me, I just knew my evening was going to be just as bad but I WAS BLESSED as I did pray before I went on duty, (you need it in this profession). I actually had a pretty good night and I EVEN GOT a 20 MINUTE BREAK!!! I guess miracles do happen!! And what was even better, I ACTUALLY CLOCKED OUT AT TEN MINUTES AFTER 11!!! However I know I was to enjoy this one night because it probably won't happen again for awhile and as for the other nurse..I really felt for her because I know my time is coming...until the next blog...
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Irritating day

Today started out a really good day at work. Just as I had hoped most of the residents were out with friends or family. One resident whom the staff would deem "out there" was supposedly going to be gone all weekend but the family brought the resident back in the evening, so I guess they could not deal with this resident any longer than they could. Surprisingly the resident was not a problem the rest of the evevning. The problem was another resident who by all accounts is merely an attention seeker, anything to get it. The resident called the cops. So there went my nice peaceful night and of course med pass again was behind, all over this trifling incident that should have never happened. I have yet to even get a lunch break since I have started working there but then again none of the nurses do. But there is one bright side: the time sure goes by fast....but I personally hate constantly running behind, even though tonight wasn't that bad it was irritating to have to stop and deal with this attention seeking resident when there were so many other pressing things to do, but I am home now in the comfort of my domain typing this blog, surprisingly even though this is my first time sitting down since three o'clock, I am not physically tired, I guess my andrenaline is still going, so that means a sleepless night....until the next blog....

Am I going to like being a nurse?

Well, I guess the title says it all, I am a new graduate, have had my nursing license for 1 month and already I am trying to decide is this really for me. I have worked PRN in one nursing home, and am now working in an assisted living facility, although I am okay with being on the floor passing medications and doing tube feeds, I feel like I will never learn all of the paperwork that goes with it, it is ridiculous how much paperwork has to be done on a nightly basis. What I absolutely hate is dealing with the families of the residents. Although I know they are simply concerned about their loved ones, it can be too much to deal with when you have 40-50 other residents that need attention and you have to deal with an irate family member complaining because their mother or father is calling them at work complaining about something that is not related to healthcare matters and they expect the nurse to keep the resident from calling them at work. That was something that really got under my skin, especially as busy as I was, it was shift change, and of course that incident set me back on my med pass for the night among a host of other things. I truly believe it is incidents like this that is one main reason why there is never enough staff. It can be stressful. I guess I will have to learn to deal with it since it comes with the territory. Tommorrow is another day, hopefully a few of the residents will be out of the facility visiting family since it is Saturday. This may be a terrible thing to think since the facililty is their home but at present this is how I feel, so let's wait and see....until tomorrow...........

Sad Day for the World

I, like the rest of the world have been saddened by the death of Michael Jackson. Being a musician myself the ceremony really touched me...these artists really sang from the heart. I do not know who the Asian girl was that sang We Are The World, but after her performance today I am sure a lot of people are wondering the same thing, she really carried the song! I am sure we will be hearing a lot about her in the near future. I personally will be watching for her. My heart to the family but we should not forget about others whom have passed and we should remember to pray for their souls and their families as well in their time of mourning.