Sometimes I really wish life had a remote control to it. You know, you can rewind to relive awesome moments, rewind to redo bad moments ...or maybe rewind to remember moments... like last Sunday for me, but thats a whole different story. :-p
Well, right now I'd like to fast forward. Fast forward to Wednesday. Fast forward to the weekend so I can get a sense of what happens when the Doctor and I no longer see each other at work every day and whether or not we'll still talk. ...Fast forward to when my apartment is once again furnished so I dont have to sit on my living room floor or eat at my desk. ...Fast forward to when I can walk out of my room and not be super depressed when I see Laura's empty bedroom. (...Or just fast forward to if/when Laura moves back to DC, but I have no idea when that will be so I may end up fast forwarding through quite a bit of time.) Mreh.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
the waiting game
I hate this game. In every sense. I am impatient and I hate the feeling of helplessness (hello, Type A here, thus I like to be in control of situations). I hated that I had to sit and wait for hours to find out if I passed the nclex. I hate that after you put yourself out there and ask a boy out, you just have to sit and wait for his answer (but thats another story :-p).
But really, I HATE the waiting game when it comes to work. I understand that some situations are minor enough that waiting, seeing, and monitoring is appropriate - like if someone's staples look a little red and inflamed. Could just be irritation, so cont to monitor and if the redness/swelling increases, ok we'll take some action. That is legit and I understand that. But typically if a situation warrants reporting off to the doctor, some kind of action needs to be taken. For example this conversation took place during my last night shift at around 3am:
"My patient is complaining of shortness of breath. His O2 Sats are good: 99% on RA, but I put on O2 for comfort and he says he still feels like he just cant catch his breath and feels tightness in his upper abdomen" (I am 95% sure this patient has a fluid collection in his abdomen which would explain the tightness, and all the fluid pushing up on his diaphragm would explain the difficulty breathing, but I still need to tell the doctor so that maybe we can order a couple tests to confirm. Plus, whenever a patient complains of SOB, it is never ever good.)
"Ok, we can order chest x-ray and maybe an ABG in the morning. Just watch him for now. His Sats are fine, right?"
"Yeah... but he's on 3L of O2 and still feels short of breath"
"Yeah, ok, we'll order some tests in the morning."
WTF. Why? Why do you have to put off ordering these tests till the morning? Why the hell would you put it off for 3.5 hours till the rest of the team gets here when you know that as soon as they take one look at him, they'll order exactly what you just suggested? You're the freakin senior resident! Just order the damn tests. I dont know if its b/c they're not used to how sick our patients are or what, but the waiting game never ends well with our patients. It is not a good game to play with these people. How is it that they dont understand that? Ugh. Frustration.
But really, I HATE the waiting game when it comes to work. I understand that some situations are minor enough that waiting, seeing, and monitoring is appropriate - like if someone's staples look a little red and inflamed. Could just be irritation, so cont to monitor and if the redness/swelling increases, ok we'll take some action. That is legit and I understand that. But typically if a situation warrants reporting off to the doctor, some kind of action needs to be taken. For example this conversation took place during my last night shift at around 3am:
"My patient is complaining of shortness of breath. His O2 Sats are good: 99% on RA, but I put on O2 for comfort and he says he still feels like he just cant catch his breath and feels tightness in his upper abdomen" (I am 95% sure this patient has a fluid collection in his abdomen which would explain the tightness, and all the fluid pushing up on his diaphragm would explain the difficulty breathing, but I still need to tell the doctor so that maybe we can order a couple tests to confirm. Plus, whenever a patient complains of SOB, it is never ever good.)
"Ok, we can order chest x-ray and maybe an ABG in the morning. Just watch him for now. His Sats are fine, right?"
"Yeah... but he's on 3L of O2 and still feels short of breath"
"Yeah, ok, we'll order some tests in the morning."
WTF. Why? Why do you have to put off ordering these tests till the morning? Why the hell would you put it off for 3.5 hours till the rest of the team gets here when you know that as soon as they take one look at him, they'll order exactly what you just suggested? You're the freakin senior resident! Just order the damn tests. I dont know if its b/c they're not used to how sick our patients are or what, but the waiting game never ends well with our patients. It is not a good game to play with these people. How is it that they dont understand that? Ugh. Frustration.
Monday, January 11, 2010
ohhh boys
Sorry its been a while since the last post, nothing too exciting has been going on unfortunately. Christmas was good, I finished my stretch of days at work and it actually wasnt too bad since I'm friends with the doctor who was there most of the time so that definitely made coming into work way better. NYE was ok. We went to the waterfront where the bars there had open bar. It would've been tons of fun, had I not had to be sober mom the entire night and take care of my ridiculously drunken friends. oh well, it happens. The night all in all wasnt a total bust. :)
Anyway....
While catching up with a high school friend last week, we naturally ran across the subject of boys. We made a deal that if she had a DTR convo with the boy she's been dating for the last 3 months and figure out if they're boyfriend/girlfriend status, then I would ask out this boy that I like. I was all about it at the time of the convo since I do want to hang out with him and I do want to figure out if there's any potential, but now that its actually time to ask him out I am totally chickening out! Which is sooo not like me. Normally I'm the type of girl who can talk to a boy, no problem. I hate all that stupid crap where its like, "wait a minute, I was the one who texted him last" or "we just talked 2 days ago, I should probably wait another day before I talk to him." Its complete BS. If I want to talk to a guy, I'm gonna do it. I dont care. ...Well apparently now I care b/c I'm semi-freaking out just thinking about having to ask him to hang out. We've hung out before in a group setting out at a bar, and we may have done the late night hook up... :-p But the entire purpose of this deal that I made with my friend is to get me and this guy to spend time outside of a bar setting, get out of the random hook up mentality and actually just hang out with him. And as it turns out, this week is Restaurant Week in DC. Pretty perfect timing, dont you think? Now I just have to muster up the courage to ask him... Maybe dinner is a little too formal / date-ish? Maybe I should suggest a movie instead? ahhh I hate boys... (Actually I kinda hate myself for freaking out about this. I mean, he's just a stupid boy... :-p)
Anyway....
While catching up with a high school friend last week, we naturally ran across the subject of boys. We made a deal that if she had a DTR convo with the boy she's been dating for the last 3 months and figure out if they're boyfriend/girlfriend status, then I would ask out this boy that I like. I was all about it at the time of the convo since I do want to hang out with him and I do want to figure out if there's any potential, but now that its actually time to ask him out I am totally chickening out! Which is sooo not like me. Normally I'm the type of girl who can talk to a boy, no problem. I hate all that stupid crap where its like, "wait a minute, I was the one who texted him last" or "we just talked 2 days ago, I should probably wait another day before I talk to him." Its complete BS. If I want to talk to a guy, I'm gonna do it. I dont care. ...Well apparently now I care b/c I'm semi-freaking out just thinking about having to ask him to hang out. We've hung out before in a group setting out at a bar, and we may have done the late night hook up... :-p But the entire purpose of this deal that I made with my friend is to get me and this guy to spend time outside of a bar setting, get out of the random hook up mentality and actually just hang out with him. And as it turns out, this week is Restaurant Week in DC. Pretty perfect timing, dont you think? Now I just have to muster up the courage to ask him... Maybe dinner is a little too formal / date-ish? Maybe I should suggest a movie instead? ahhh I hate boys... (Actually I kinda hate myself for freaking out about this. I mean, he's just a stupid boy... :-p)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go
I love being a nurse, I really really do. And for the most part I love the hours - relatively flexible schedule; work 3 days, off for 4, and because of it, you can essentially get a week off without ever taking vacation time. What I do not love is the fact that the hospital never closes. I have worked the last 4 Thanksgivings and tomorrow will be my 4 Christmas I've had to go into work. (Not to mention the fact that I had to work during the blizzard last weekend when everyone else in the DC area was snowed in. They shut down everything from office buildings to public transit to the bars. But obv not the hospitals.) And this year my Christmas schedule is particularly crappy: work Wed, Thurs, Fri (Christmas day); off Sat; work Sun, Mon, Tues. I am just slightly depressed that instead of being at home with the fam and the little cousins right now, I'm alone in my apt trying to fall asleep b/c I have to be up in less than 5 hours to go to work. I just keep telling myself that I'm lucky I have a good job, I have fun co-workers and cute doctors to spend my days with, and for the most part I like my patients. Plus I get 5 days off for New Years. Siiiigh... I love my job. I make a difference in people's lives on a daily basis. I love my job, I love my job, I love my job...
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
This is where I work
In case you havent heard/seen the news, GUH just finished up a 13-way kidney swap. Yes, if you're familiar with the Grey's episode where they did a kidney swap it's kind of like that. Only this is real life. (I get annoyed when people are like, "oh thats no big deal. they did that on Grey's." Riiight. If they thought it up for some primetime drama then clearly performing the actually surgeries is no big thing.) PSHT.
Anyway, it was originally going to be 16 or 17, I think, but for various reasons a few didnt work out so the final number was 13, which is still the largest ever in the country, and the only one to involve a child. Pretty cool. And yes, I personally have taken care of a number of the patients including the ones mentioned in the article and the ones interviewed in the video, which is also pretty cool. :)
Check out the video of their press conference too. It just warms my heart. :)
Anyway, it was originally going to be 16 or 17, I think, but for various reasons a few didnt work out so the final number was 13, which is still the largest ever in the country, and the only one to involve a child. Pretty cool. And yes, I personally have taken care of a number of the patients including the ones mentioned in the article and the ones interviewed in the video, which is also pretty cool. :)
Check out the video of their press conference too. It just warms my heart. :)
doctor love
Instead of writing about how much I hate doctors I thought I'd write about this one doctor I love. Well, actually there are 2 doctors I love:
The 1st doctor (Dr. V) is actually a 4th year and I have known him since he was an intern and fresh out of med school and he's a lot of fun to work with. It amazes me how much he's improved as a doctor. All the other doctors turn to him for the answers and for advice and approval. I had an issue with a patient and when I walked into the doctors' room he was there along with the intern, the med students, and the 2 fellows. No one knew what to do so they all looked at him and he very calmly, nonchalantly just threw out the answer and they all agreed. Then the other day we were in the middle of a code and I was the recording nurse. The code was not very well run and everyone kinda seemed all over the place, plus the medicine resident couldnt get a fem line in the patient. Dr. V walked into the room, calmly asked for an update, and took control. (His confidence makes him all the more attractive.) He got the line in and then took the time to teach the other doctor and give him some pointers. He is awesome and I love him.
The 2nd (we'll call McCutie b/c that name fits him perfectly) I legitimately have a crush on, but for real reasons - not just because he is sooo cute. :) He's sweet, funny, and sarcastic. AND he is so freakin smart and even though he's just an intern he doesnt take shit from the other doctors. But he's not one of those arrogant, condescending doctors. He actually knows his shit and therefore has a right to not take shit from other doctors (which is hot :) ). Plus it doesnt hurt that he actually cares about the patients and has great bedside manner. Whenever I had an issue with a patient I knew that he would actually address situation. One night I had a patient who had a HR in the 130s and respiratory rate of 40 (40!!) while he was asleep but otherwise stable. I told him about it and within 10 minutes he was in the room with me assessing the patient. He's only an intern and already such a good doctor and it makes me sad that he's not on our service anymore. He actually reminds me of a younger version of Dr. V, which means he'll grow up to be a fantastic doctor, which again is just plain hot. :) Siiiigh.
Why cant all doctors be as good as these 2? Or better yet, why dont these 2 just stay on our service forever? :)
The 1st doctor (Dr. V) is actually a 4th year and I have known him since he was an intern and fresh out of med school and he's a lot of fun to work with. It amazes me how much he's improved as a doctor. All the other doctors turn to him for the answers and for advice and approval. I had an issue with a patient and when I walked into the doctors' room he was there along with the intern, the med students, and the 2 fellows. No one knew what to do so they all looked at him and he very calmly, nonchalantly just threw out the answer and they all agreed. Then the other day we were in the middle of a code and I was the recording nurse. The code was not very well run and everyone kinda seemed all over the place, plus the medicine resident couldnt get a fem line in the patient. Dr. V walked into the room, calmly asked for an update, and took control. (His confidence makes him all the more attractive.) He got the line in and then took the time to teach the other doctor and give him some pointers. He is awesome and I love him.
The 2nd (we'll call McCutie b/c that name fits him perfectly) I legitimately have a crush on, but for real reasons - not just because he is sooo cute. :) He's sweet, funny, and sarcastic. AND he is so freakin smart and even though he's just an intern he doesnt take shit from the other doctors. But he's not one of those arrogant, condescending doctors. He actually knows his shit and therefore has a right to not take shit from other doctors (which is hot :) ). Plus it doesnt hurt that he actually cares about the patients and has great bedside manner. Whenever I had an issue with a patient I knew that he would actually address situation. One night I had a patient who had a HR in the 130s and respiratory rate of 40 (40!!) while he was asleep but otherwise stable. I told him about it and within 10 minutes he was in the room with me assessing the patient. He's only an intern and already such a good doctor and it makes me sad that he's not on our service anymore. He actually reminds me of a younger version of Dr. V, which means he'll grow up to be a fantastic doctor, which again is just plain hot. :) Siiiigh.
Why cant all doctors be as good as these 2? Or better yet, why dont these 2 just stay on our service forever? :)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
ACLS certified!
I finished a 2-day Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) class today which was really great! It basically incorporates Basic Life Support (which is essentially means CPR) and takes it one step further and teaches you what to do in an arrest situations: how to read a heart rhythm, how to treat said rhythm, when to shock, when not to shock, when to give meds, what meds to give, etc. Like a BLS class there's a written component and a demonstration. The demonstration part was kind of intense. Its one thing to read a scenario and decide what action to take based on multiple choice answers. Its completely different when you're given a simulation patient who can talk, breath, provide vitals, is crashing, and you have a team of 3-4 people just waiting for you to give them orders. Its only a simulation, but it still kinda gets your pumped up and makes you nervous. Plus, its not like ACLS is basic stuff; there is a ton of info to know like which drugs to give when, what doses to give in the various situations, when you can and cant shock, at what intensity do you shock, what if you start in one rhythm and your patient decompensates into something worse, what do you do then, etc etc. So you have to keep it all straight. If you dont, your already crashing patient will die. Like I said - intense. But it was really good, really interesting. Now I can put together all the stuff I learned in my EKG class and the cardiac drug class and know how to treat the various rhythms.
...but, as awesome as this class was and no matter how well you think you know your stuff, you'll never really know till you put it to use. And of course you only get better at it with practice. ...so, I kinda want a code situation to happen so that I can see just how prepared I am... As long as I'm certified though, I essentially could run a code! Pretty exciting!! :)
...but, as awesome as this class was and no matter how well you think you know your stuff, you'll never really know till you put it to use. And of course you only get better at it with practice. ...so, I kinda want a code situation to happen so that I can see just how prepared I am... As long as I'm certified though, I essentially could run a code! Pretty exciting!! :)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
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