Archive for December, 2009
I have way too much crap and clutter. A lot of it has traveled with me from California. And a lot of it is clothes. I don’t hoard clothes nor am I a shopaholic. It’s just, I’ve been roughly the same size since sophomore year (aside from the jeans). So things accumulate and when I buy something new, I don’t always throw away older shirts because they still fit.
So I’m going to attempt to throw stuff away and clear my mind and head.
Blah.
So, I spent my Christmas Eve night to Christmas Morning in the PICU. 8pm-8am.
“Why?!!?” asks my father-in-law. Cause the hospitals don’t sleep, of course!
Here’s a run through of my night! Of course, throughout the whole night I put up orders and answer the many telephone calls. But you can’t write all that in.
Night in the PICU:
730pm: cram food in mouth and say bye to hubby for night
745: park and begin running to building to clock in
750: stop halfway and remember badge is still in car
752: procure badge from car. resume running to hospital
800: Rush to the phone and clock in
830: get report and continue talking to day HUC while answering phones in between
915: do some orders
945: Read a magazine.
1030: getting a little bored. Night shift is not as busy as day shift.
1100: new admission coming in. A baby/pre-toddler was left at home with an elementary-age kid and got strangled by a telephone cord while parents were away.
140am: Morning MARs (medical administration records) print out. Happy feeling since that means a good chunk of the night is done with.
145: new patient arrives
215: learn what “sloughing of bowels” is. Basically, your bowel is dead and the dead bowel excretes itself- it’s pooped out essentially. And it is a smell you will never, ever forget. The very experienced Air Care nurse almost threw up.
245: Orders for new admission.
300: Assist by running supplies to room for procedure/line insertions
320: Run, not walk, downstairs to the old hospital to get emergency released blood.
330: Pediatric Rapid Response upstairs
400: False alarm, rapid response patient is not coming down.
430: Feeling a little sleepy. Copious amounts of Dr. Pepper are failing me.
445: Family member passes out in waiting room. Adult Code Blue called overhead.
450: Waiting room/hallway filled with doctors, nurses, VAST team, RT’s….the whole nine yards
515: Patient wheeled to the Emergency Dept.
530: Family members for original admission show up. Chaplain paged.
600: Start doing change of shift work. Make up cards for day shift.
645: Pass out cards, finish other work that needs to be switched from night to day.
800: Give report to Day HUC.
815: Clock out
820: Get in car.
840: Arrive at home.
[photo cred here.]
To my lovely nursing school readers:
I just want to put this out there. If you haven’t picked up Hogan’s, RUN- don’t walk-, to your nearest bookstore and pick it up. It’s amazing.
We were given the cumulative NCLEX Hogan’s as part of our textbooks and it is great for recapping a subject or having it broken down in an easier way. It looks like this:
But there are also the more unit specific books that you can get for around $20 online or at Barnes and Nobles.
Like this one on Fluids and Electrolytes:
That one saved my life in my med-surg semester.
Hope it helps!
Love,
Laney
I was out of school not even 5 days when we got the email for N-3000 requirements. It was to the tune of “Enjoy your break…but don’t forget that the first day of class is a lab so come in proper clinical/lab attire. Oh, and we need your immunization records and CPR cards. Oh, and we need verification that all your online training in modules A-Q are done by the first day of class. Oh, and tuition is due by the first day so you can go to orientation. Oh, and your new syllabus and schedules are up. OH! Enjoy your break!”
And then of course, working 3 in a row is always a picnic. I’ve got my 3rd day tomorrow which will undoubtedly mean I’ll be grumpy.
And Ishaq/I just picked/ended a stupid/superstupid argument/misunderstanding –> a further worsened mood.
Good one, world. You win this round.
Let’s be friends tomorrow? “Pretty, please?”
Dash made my night so much better. By like ten.trillion times. Best friends are…well, the best! And for that I’m grateful.
Love,
Laney
[photo cred here]
There is this website called Gives Me Hope which is made by the same folks who made F my Life. Anyways, this site is for people to upload statements about what occurred in their lives, something they witnessed, felt, etc- and the only stipulation is that it ends with GMH (Gives me hope).
ex: “I come from a large family where money is tight. My dad has called me a few times asking if the gift wrapped christmas gifts the kids have recieved are from me. They aren’t. Today I found a pile of reciepts belonging to my girlfriend, for all the gifts my siblings have annonomously recieved. GMH.”
You can check out that nifty website here.
I promise I have a point to all of this. Anyways, there was this kid on my floor who had awful lungs. Needed a double transplant and got one too. This kid was in the hospital for ages. AGES!
I saw them and their guardian today- they were headed home. How awesome is that?
People always ask/assume that working in the PICU is depressing. Why would anyone want to work in the pediatric ICU?
It’s days like today that really remind you.
It’s cause miracles happen there. Babies live. Children get a second chance at a normal childhood. They get to go home with their parents in time for Christmas.
That gives me hope.
Love,
Laney
[photo cred here]
My husband is the coolest. He’s on this kick of finding some new adventure for our days off together (which is usually once a week).
Today’s adventure? Ishaq and I traveled 11 miles out of Durham today just to check out some antique mall. It was awful fun. We also ate at this cool little restaurant that specialized in New Orleans cuisine. Delicious! Next to the antique mall, there was this old school Blacksmith that was still functioning. Hillsborough is an old town that is supposedly up and coming. The downtown was one street with a bunch of brick buildings. We loved it! We also took a walk in the historic district and saw all these badass houses that looked very country and southern.
We watched Paper Hearts today. I love documentaries. I want to will make one. Soon. Updates to come [at some point in time?]
Anyways, the moral of the story is that today was a great day.
Happy Monday to all!
Love,
Laney
Today I spent the majority of the day at my in-laws house which was nice. My brother-in-law, the one after Ishaq and 3rd out of the 5, just turned eighteen!
When I was at home, I messed around on the computer and finally got around to uploading all my pictures from the last several months. Literally, from September until now. Ridiculous!
Anyways, there’s one of the pictures up above. I’m going to try to get back into posting a picture a day and/or with each blog.
I like the visual that goes with it.
I’ve played a ridiculous amount of Tekken 6 the last few days. I beat the whole scenario campaign.
NEED to clean my house.
Seriously. I’ll get around to it. Promise?
Love,
Laney
HUC: aka Health Unit Coordinators. Sometimes pronounced ‘huck’. Often referred to as the unit secretary.
For the record- we do more than just answer phones. We’re security. We’re your calendar. your Roledex. 411- Information. Guides. Pickup and delivery. Counselor with a shoulder to lean on for the families. Play pal for the patient. We know where everything is in the unit. We know where everyone is in the unit. And while some of you have between 1 and 6 patients, we have between 16-32. Because they are all our patients.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is- don’t take advantage of your HUC. Because we can choose to put you at the bottom of our list of things to do. For every request you ask of us, you can be sure another 3 nurses have beaten you to the punch.
I understand your need to delegate. I am in nursing school after all.
Do not delegate things to me when you are sitting and looking up blogs and/or Googling.
Do not send me to go get your blood when you are talking/Googling before I leave and after I return.
Do not sit at my desk and then complain that I asked you to hit the button and open the doors.
Do not sit at my desk, move my things, begin to chart, and then ask me if I needed my desk when I only stepped away to put your orders away.
When the newer nurses ask me how to do something in the CPOE system for themselves, don’t laugh about how it’s just easier to delegate when you’re standing right in front of me…because, well, it makes me want to find an excuse to ignore any and all of your requests.
It’s a very simple list. We love to help! So, don’t be rude. Okay? Thanks.
Love,
Laney
I’m a bad blogger. But with finals and Black Banding, work, and a husband and kittens to tend to- there were just not enough hours in the day!
So…updates. I crammed for my final. I got a 75 on it which made me nervous. The course requires an 80 as a passing grade and I got a 79.94 which rounds to an 80. I was a nervous wreck all last weekend because I had calculated it correctly but wouldn’t get the official word until Monday.
Luckily, I passed.
If I hadn’t, I would have had to go back to first semester b/c of the changing curriculum and that would have been $12,000 wasted down the drain.
Yesterday was my Black Banding ceremony. All the passing second semester students get pinned by a RN of their choosing which signifies that moving up into the position of upper class nursing student. Woo-hoo! My momma pinned me which made me want to cry. It was great! My wonderful husband was their filming and my awesome mother-in-law came as well. Afterwards, we all went out to eat at Ihop which was yummy.
Then Ishaq and I went to an art museum and then went home and slept.
Oh crap! I forgot to pick up my retainers yesterday and I need to call about that. I lost them when I moved cross country and by the time I found them- my teeth had already shifted. I’ve been without them for about 4 years now, so I decided I should get another set before my teeth move anymore. That would suck.
Ishaq and I have been eating healthier lately..ever since the nutrition project a couple of weeks ago. I feel great. And have actually been craving healthy foods like apples and carrots instead of cookies and chips all the time. Which is a nice change.
My house is a hot mess. Mreh.
I will [attempt] to update this more often.
Love,
Laney
photo from here
Follow Laney on Twitter
