So this is my whiney post....in that I NEED TO VENT.....
To cover staffing (since many nurses are being laid off...who would have thought that would EVER happen??? Nursing is one of the most stable job fields in the country!), my manager has moved me to what is called "midshift". Technically you come in from noon to midnight. You either get a group to care for, assist with what was usually fast track (except fast track is closed as that wing is reserved for the CoVid-19 patients we never got, or you do Triage. Now I like doing triage, it get's hairy when a lot of people sign in at one time, but you get the most interesting conversations and back-stories with people. Sounds ok right???? Well the unanticipated problem is that mid-shift, means the busy time, and with us running the entire shift 1 RN and 1 tech short, you hit the floor running. Everyone is taking turns triaging , unless their patient is circling the drain...and guess what, the day nurses get to CHOOSE which patient's YOU take over...so...yup...the needy, the confused, the patient's with lots of stat orders...guess which one you are getting...ALL OF THEM. The easy peasy, give a Tylenol and discharge...THOSE are not your patient's...Put on your BIG girl panties...because you arn't getting a potty break or a lunch break until 11 pm tonight, if you are lucky.
So Friday I had one of those shifts that makes you wanna pull your hair out, except I didn't have to because the little old lady in 4 was doing it for me. I gave her her call bell when I got there and showed her how to use it...and believe me, she took to the teaching well. Her provider and family members had all skedaddled before I got there...and now I know why...they needed to REST! To say she was independent is an understatement. To say she was impatient...well a rattlesnake had nothing on her. To be honest, I felt quite sorry for her...for the 1st 2 hours. But after being scratched, clawed and my hair pulled, I was not quite as happy to run to her room. I got there at 12 noon and she went to the floor as an admit at 8 pm. I will say that was the busiest 8 hours I have had in a while. I clocked 16,652 steps .... 30 steps at a time from the nurse station to her bedside, get whatever she wanted, come back, go back to the station, for her to think of something else she needed. Nothing satisfied her. Get her up, put her down, put my head up, put my head down, get me a drink, get me a fan, sit me up, lay me down, put me on the potty, why do I need medication, why do I need an IV, why can't you feed me, where is the food, why don't you have food, why don't you just stay in here. Why do you raise your voice when I scratch you....it hurt?? Oh look you are bleeding, why did you put your hair up like that ? (after she managed to get my ponytail with both hands as she drug me down onto the potty chair with her...LOL) She may have only weighed about 170, but my back was killing me by the time I took her upstairs!
I had gotten a TDC pt in bed 6, which is pretty much the room we use for any incarcerated patient, because it is at the end of the hall, and we don't have people walking by trying to see in the room and rubber-necking. After about 4 hrs of hearing me in and out of the other room, the officers were laughing at me...well until they saw the little lady was actually drawing blood on me (scratches)....dang...anyway, I finally got her comfortable, or she was a wore out as I was, because I had her sleeping when I took her upstairs...and it wasn't from medication. Upstairs, could not find the receiving nurse, so I put this lady in her bed, by myself and called for the nurse to the bedside so I could do a safe hand-off.
After lady in 4 went up, the rest of the night was pretty much ok, until I got the trama, guy with abrasions literally all over most his body from a motor vehicle incident. Went to CT with him, did all the usual stuff, IV, VITALS, so on. Came back, it was 10:00 pm, 1 hr to I'm off, still had no lunch break after 11 hrs, I did drink some tea so I wouldn't go into renal failure...anyway, now I have all these abraisons that have to have asphalt scrubbed out of them. Horribly painful for him, labor intensive for me...and thank God a tech had arrived, We worked side by side....Poor guy. Anyway, by the time 12 pm rolled around, I still needed 30 min to finish charting (1/2 a peanut butter sandwich in my hand!!!! Manna from heaven.). A storm was rolling in and I was trying to beat the wind and rain. I got out...soaked with sweat, exhausted and drove home. Not too much rain driving, missed the dead hawg in the road (I've hit 2 dead hawgs and messed up my car so I am getting better at finding them in the dark.LOL.)
Got home just as the storm hit, and it was a dozy. We got 2 inches of rain, mixed with a little hail I think. I had sweated through all my clothes and wanted a shower, but it was lightening and thundering and the power was popping on and off (we have a well pump) so a shower was out, I had to take a basin bath. Dave told me I stunk...of work sweat...and that he had never in the whole 14 years he knew me to come home smelling bad...lol...I told him I earned every cent of my money that night...and had the sweat to prove it.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Wuhan Flu, Chinese Flu, CoVid19, The Year That America Changed 4-Ever
I have watched so many video's and Presidential updates, and Governor Abbott (Texas), and heard from the Hospital leadership, read the CDC web-site...my mind is exhausted. We are only in the early days of this pandemic and already the nurses are getting exhausted. Long hours, shortage of supplies (they say we have plenty publicly...but staff meetings....well not knowing how long what we have has to last...it is getting scary). We have people running in the door and stealing our box of masks (set out in triage for the "coughers"). Supplies disappearing out of the rooms as boxes of gloves just walk out...(peoples pockets, bags, ect.).
People are going insane...the whole Toilet paper hoarding thing and toilet paper wars....our grand-children may look back and laugh someday, but right now...the insanity is real.Toilet paper??? Well I figure we go through about 2 rolls a week. People who are on quarantine or who are "sheltering" in place, are going to be using at least double their usual amount. Why? Because all hours normally spent at work or school, with the natural body elimination processes happening elsewhere... well that is all happening at home now.
I think back to the stories my grandparents told of the Great Depression and how they survived it. People shared...there may have been little to go around, but they shared. Jobs were scarce. Clothes were repurposed to make clothing for children or quilts for the cold winter. Gardens were planted if someone was able to hang onto their land. Produce was shared or canned for winter. People just simply knew how to survive without Star-bucks and McDonalds. Today, a majority of the population only buy enough to last 2-3 days at the most. The idea of buying food for a 2 week period is foreign to them. Most people simply do not know how much they consume!
We are only two people, but we do consume a lot. Egg's 1 dozen a week (no problem between Ben's Chicken's and our Ducks we could eat only eggs if we had to...I hope not!), Noodles, oh, perhaps one package a week, rice 2 lbs a week (we also make home-made dog food with it), Meat …. well there ya go....probably 4 lb Beef a week and 2-4 lbs of chicken a week. Veggies, canned (bleh, not much unless it is my own canned pinto beans...which I love and eat at least a quart a week) , frozen veggies 4-5 packages a week, cilantro, jalapeno's celery, lettuce, tomatoes, avocadoes, onions....yes yes yes, we love our fresh produce (not much growing here except cactus...which by the way is edible), bread a loaf a week, sometime more, one gallon of tea a week (plus 6-8 of the individual size for my work), bottled water 1/2 case a week (we are blessed with good well water, the bottled water is just convenient for work), then there is juice (a 6 pkg of the small apple juice weekly, 1 large orange juice every 2 weeks and the same for grapefruit juice)...then there is the luxuries...beer and wine, 1 box of wine a week and a 12 pack of been a week. I will occasional bake a cake or buy a small cake, we don't do many sweets. I do love my Tortillia chips though! Mandatory that I have two bags on hand at all times! LOL. The dogs and ducks consume 40 lb of dry dog food every 2 weeks. That is just for 2 people and 2 dogs and 8 ducks. When I go to the grocery store every two weeks, my buggy looks like I am stocking up for the Apocalypses (because we live 22 miles out of town I try to get everything on one trip to avoiding wasting extra gas and time).
People are simply not using the good brain God gave them. I went to the store two days ago to get my produce, some bread and try to round out my monthly shopping before all the food was gone. I didn't even bother going down the water isle, as I saw people fighting over the last case of water (now mind you this was at 7:30 in the morning and store had been open for only 30 minutes), I bought two different bottles of detergent as my brand was gone, and I still need to wash my uniforms and shoes (well mostly undershirts and shoes since the hospital is trying to decrease the possibly spread of the flu, but having the nurses change into hospital scrubs at work, and then back into street clothes at the end of shift), everything I wear into and out of the hospital I consider "contaminated" because you cannot possibly not touch stuff after changing...so they have to be laundered, I degress. There was no bleach (it's ok, I ordered some before the pandemic hit, so I am good for now), they did have fresh milk, so I texted my friend who was looking for milk for her little boy, they were putting out fresh produce, so it was fairly stocked. People in front of me in line had a lot of stuff pulled off the line to place back because they were not following the concept of rationing certain items to "2" per person. They literally had two carts filled up with every kind of soda pop available. No nutritional value what-so-ever! No food in either cart... really... none.
I do see people stepping up to try to help each other. I carried extra chicken and duck eggs to work and placed in employee fridge to give to anyone that needed them. Another lady that also has chickens did the same thing. The stores here have been out of eggs for about a week. Somewhere, some egg producer is probably trying to get his eggs shipped out. Here, the people I work with were glad to have free eggs. The duck eggs were the last to go....American's think only the chicken eggs are good...my Pilipino friend was ecstatic to get Duck Eggs!!!!! She told me a new way to do them, and I am going to try it...you soak them for a week in salt water, then boil them....! I am looking forward to this delicacy.
A church group has offered to start sewing some of the-hand-made surgical masks for the hospital, CDC estimates that the supplies will be running out in the coming weeks and is suggesting nurses cover their faces with bandana's to avoid getting the Corona virus...anyone who is working with this, knows that is a horrible suggestion...we are placing these patient's in the strictest of respiratory isolation (the same precautions we take for TB). Basically CDC is saying, "something is better than nothing" ...but get ready to kiss your ass goodbye, cause a bandana is basically nothing!" So we are appreciative of our community! Actually I am looking at a design to do myself today...I have sewing machine, fabric...and time on my hands (not really, but not working today except the mandatory call in meeting that I got up early on my day off for...again...but...staying in the loop is very fluid now-a-days!)
The stock market....crazy beyond all belief. My retirement funds are probably all gone...but who knows....maybe I will just work until I die....ie: wearing a bandana for protective equipment...at least I have goggles and a gas mask. LOL.
Well the ramble is done.....time to check the web for the newest bad news....
I have watched so many video's and Presidential updates, and Governor Abbott (Texas), and heard from the Hospital leadership, read the CDC web-site...my mind is exhausted. We are only in the early days of this pandemic and already the nurses are getting exhausted. Long hours, shortage of supplies (they say we have plenty publicly...but staff meetings....well not knowing how long what we have has to last...it is getting scary). We have people running in the door and stealing our box of masks (set out in triage for the "coughers"). Supplies disappearing out of the rooms as boxes of gloves just walk out...(peoples pockets, bags, ect.).
People are going insane...the whole Toilet paper hoarding thing and toilet paper wars....our grand-children may look back and laugh someday, but right now...the insanity is real.Toilet paper??? Well I figure we go through about 2 rolls a week. People who are on quarantine or who are "sheltering" in place, are going to be using at least double their usual amount. Why? Because all hours normally spent at work or school, with the natural body elimination processes happening elsewhere... well that is all happening at home now.
I think back to the stories my grandparents told of the Great Depression and how they survived it. People shared...there may have been little to go around, but they shared. Jobs were scarce. Clothes were repurposed to make clothing for children or quilts for the cold winter. Gardens were planted if someone was able to hang onto their land. Produce was shared or canned for winter. People just simply knew how to survive without Star-bucks and McDonalds. Today, a majority of the population only buy enough to last 2-3 days at the most. The idea of buying food for a 2 week period is foreign to them. Most people simply do not know how much they consume!
We are only two people, but we do consume a lot. Egg's 1 dozen a week (no problem between Ben's Chicken's and our Ducks we could eat only eggs if we had to...I hope not!), Noodles, oh, perhaps one package a week, rice 2 lbs a week (we also make home-made dog food with it), Meat …. well there ya go....probably 4 lb Beef a week and 2-4 lbs of chicken a week. Veggies, canned (bleh, not much unless it is my own canned pinto beans...which I love and eat at least a quart a week) , frozen veggies 4-5 packages a week, cilantro, jalapeno's celery, lettuce, tomatoes, avocadoes, onions....yes yes yes, we love our fresh produce (not much growing here except cactus...which by the way is edible), bread a loaf a week, sometime more, one gallon of tea a week (plus 6-8 of the individual size for my work), bottled water 1/2 case a week (we are blessed with good well water, the bottled water is just convenient for work), then there is juice (a 6 pkg of the small apple juice weekly, 1 large orange juice every 2 weeks and the same for grapefruit juice)...then there is the luxuries...beer and wine, 1 box of wine a week and a 12 pack of been a week. I will occasional bake a cake or buy a small cake, we don't do many sweets. I do love my Tortillia chips though! Mandatory that I have two bags on hand at all times! LOL. The dogs and ducks consume 40 lb of dry dog food every 2 weeks. That is just for 2 people and 2 dogs and 8 ducks. When I go to the grocery store every two weeks, my buggy looks like I am stocking up for the Apocalypses (because we live 22 miles out of town I try to get everything on one trip to avoiding wasting extra gas and time).
People are simply not using the good brain God gave them. I went to the store two days ago to get my produce, some bread and try to round out my monthly shopping before all the food was gone. I didn't even bother going down the water isle, as I saw people fighting over the last case of water (now mind you this was at 7:30 in the morning and store had been open for only 30 minutes), I bought two different bottles of detergent as my brand was gone, and I still need to wash my uniforms and shoes (well mostly undershirts and shoes since the hospital is trying to decrease the possibly spread of the flu, but having the nurses change into hospital scrubs at work, and then back into street clothes at the end of shift), everything I wear into and out of the hospital I consider "contaminated" because you cannot possibly not touch stuff after changing...so they have to be laundered, I degress. There was no bleach (it's ok, I ordered some before the pandemic hit, so I am good for now), they did have fresh milk, so I texted my friend who was looking for milk for her little boy, they were putting out fresh produce, so it was fairly stocked. People in front of me in line had a lot of stuff pulled off the line to place back because they were not following the concept of rationing certain items to "2" per person. They literally had two carts filled up with every kind of soda pop available. No nutritional value what-so-ever! No food in either cart... really... none.
I do see people stepping up to try to help each other. I carried extra chicken and duck eggs to work and placed in employee fridge to give to anyone that needed them. Another lady that also has chickens did the same thing. The stores here have been out of eggs for about a week. Somewhere, some egg producer is probably trying to get his eggs shipped out. Here, the people I work with were glad to have free eggs. The duck eggs were the last to go....American's think only the chicken eggs are good...my Pilipino friend was ecstatic to get Duck Eggs!!!!! She told me a new way to do them, and I am going to try it...you soak them for a week in salt water, then boil them....! I am looking forward to this delicacy.
A church group has offered to start sewing some of the-hand-made surgical masks for the hospital, CDC estimates that the supplies will be running out in the coming weeks and is suggesting nurses cover their faces with bandana's to avoid getting the Corona virus...anyone who is working with this, knows that is a horrible suggestion...we are placing these patient's in the strictest of respiratory isolation (the same precautions we take for TB). Basically CDC is saying, "something is better than nothing" ...but get ready to kiss your ass goodbye, cause a bandana is basically nothing!" So we are appreciative of our community! Actually I am looking at a design to do myself today...I have sewing machine, fabric...and time on my hands (not really, but not working today except the mandatory call in meeting that I got up early on my day off for...again...but...staying in the loop is very fluid now-a-days!)
The stock market....crazy beyond all belief. My retirement funds are probably all gone...but who knows....maybe I will just work until I die....ie: wearing a bandana for protective equipment...at least I have goggles and a gas mask. LOL.
Well the ramble is done.....time to check the web for the newest bad news....
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