More Studying.

What I do is I go to work. I am to busy to learn anything. So I come home and read about all the drugs I have been pushing all day. What the patients diagnosis were. And this is a scenario over and over and over again. One day maybe I will just know it and than what will I do? Learn something else I suppose! The learning never ends. One of my favorite writers over here and  Just Keep Breathing  is learning lots of new skills at his new place of employment–it sounds just dandy, and he gets to do stuff. He will be an intubator and insert-er!  And that just sounds cool! I want to sign up to be an intubator and inserter!

This is your day spa…

Welcome to your spa hospital.  I am nurse Lana, and I will be your nurse today, so just relax and slip into this 100% silk  hospital gown.  Wait for me, I will be back to assess your lungs and your vital signs, and your cardiac rhythm.  It seems as though, dear patient you are experiencing an abnormal rhythm called atrial fibrillation. I will similutaneously administer per MD orders: an anticoagulant IV, a calcium channel blocker IV, an inotropic antiarrhythmic, and maybe even a beta blocker: all in an attempt to control your ventricular response to your fibrillating atria.  Because here at your local spa hospital I can take care of all of your needs in addition to your arrythmia. I know the palpitations, and slight shortness of breath and decreasing cardiac output is meaningless to you, and you would rather me scratch your back and rub your feet instead   of titrating your heparin, sticking you with needles, or taking your blood pressure so often.

Turning anger into Love

  I have been researching and the effects of stress and anger are just well…devastating.

Anger should neither be suppressed nor should it be explosive.

I read in a book titled “How to turn your anger into Love” authored by By Reshmi M.Siddique, Ph.D. and Mahmood I. Siddique, D.O. ; that anger can be useful if used in an appropriate manner.  I am finding the book to be a great read!

Anyway this photo reminds me of myself, my mother and my sister and maybe one friend of mine. (laughing)

School of Nursing far away

I aced all my tests in nursing school. I just knew how to answer the question with a gut feeling almost. Of course I studied hard all the time, cooking dinner, in the car, everywhere! For some reason unbeknown to me I became licensed and get a job and my brain somehow got drained and what I have retained is the minimum basics, back to safety. I can be safe, but I can not satisfy my patients and keep everyone happy. It is just insane. Maybe if I went to this school here I would be the perfect nurse right out of nursing school. Like this nurse here. ← she is learning “nursing manipulations”  My school never taught me how to manipulate anything!

No these are not students in some top notch culinary school, these are nursing students.

I sort of like their little hats! Anyway the school is somewhere in Europe but they teach American Curriculum, in an attempt to come over here and work I suppose.

The day from…WhyLand

And she cried and cried.

It was one of those crazy days.

My friend had a rough, tearful day. 2 blood transfusions on 2 different patients, at the same time. ( The charge nurse had to take over one)–4 out 6 patients confused.  Family members administering strange mixtures of green herbal drinks at the bedside enhancing anti-coagulation therapy no doubt, loved ones chasing the nurse down the hallway with half advance directive forms half filled out. Low mag levels, all kinds of craziness.  Pages and pages of now orders. Patients leaving for tests coming back from tests. Patients tachycardic, atrial fibrillation etc…more and more drugs… Left my friend with some tears and the questions, “Why am I doing this to myself?” She really felt herself getting sick which I can explain in further detail at another time about those stress chemicals that you can just feel being released sometimes.

Seriously though, I am upset too and secretly feel guilty because my group was ok. I do not want my friend to be upset! The turn over rate where I work seems to be high from what I see so far and I do not want her to leave! I am clinging on to my resources here! Holding on tightly!

At the end of the day my friend tells the charge nurse she is upset. After a brief discussion I interrupt and ask, “Is is this crazy everywhere?” My charge nurse says yes that in all her experience Telemetry floors are crazy and busy. I mean honestly I really want to know!

Now do not misunderstand me. I like telemetry. I just want to know if sometimes it is not progressive care unit (what does that mean?) Or progressively dangerous unit?

Negative Pressure.

I have been reading….and there still are some uses for these external pressure ventilators.

 

This is the modern negative pressure respirator!

She looks so peaceful!

This is just one of those concepts that amazes me.

It was this before…… 

This.

 

 

Paging Dr. Zorro

The patient has many different providers, nurses, one surgeon, one attending, one GI, one ID, one cardiology, one pulmonary, patient managment, physical therapy, pharmacist, social worker. It is possible, not unrealistic.  I feel at times as if I am in the middle of a tornado.  I do not want to seem to be complaining.  Honestly. I love being a nurse ♥. I just do not like being on the phone all day. I want to hang up and start nursing. It is hard, and maybe one day we will find a better way of communicating important information: for the patients, and for everyone else.

 

Oh! The sticky notes! How can you say what you need to say on a sticky note, still be concise, without demanding ?

Dear MD: Can I have this and this for this patient because of this and that? Signed: Nurse

If it is Zorro MD: I would not have to write a sticky note.  Zorro finds his nurses to find out how Zorro’s patients are doing.  

Sticky notes and phone calls. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey I am new at this so of course it will be hard right? I totally understand that. There are just so many things that I never learned in nursing school.

Ahhhhhh..I lost my stethoscope at work.

I think that black stethoscope in the picture is mine…it ran off with the red stethoscope and now they are happily stethoscoping together in some drawer somewhere nooone ever opens.

See I always feel like something is choking me around my neck, so I frequently take my stethoscope off and forget about it.

So now I do not have one anymore!

At some point I am going to have to buy a new one.

24 Hour Care

Nursing care is a 24 hour job? Right?

I am quite sure that is what I learned in school.

It does seem however that tonight I had the most unfortunate experience of a cold shoulder, and maybe even a dirty look!

I do not want it to be that way! I will most certainly rant and rave about this in another post I am sure, just not tonight.

Who is Zorro MD?

Just who is Zorro MD? 

In literature and movies there is the original Zorro, introduced in 1919 in a weekly magazine later released as the novel, “The Mark of Zorro.” There have been many movies featuring Zorro since then and they are usually about the original Zorro or descendants of Zorro or those taking on the mask and hence role of Zorro.As in literature and movies about Zorro, this website has many Zorro MDs as well. There is the original Zorro MD-whose personality and signature prompted the spontaneous idea and characterization of Zorro MD. The story is simple actually.

 So who is Zorro MD?

The original Zorro MD was given the label Zorro based on his signature that seemed to be found in many of my patient’s charts, but I soon found out that Zorro was a great teacher, super nice, funny and did not mind being called “Zorro.” The original Zorro is the only one who knows about this character of Zorro MD–although the original Zorro does not know about this place.There have been a few more Zorros added to my list of Zorro MD since the original Zorro MD. Generally to be included under this fictional umbrella of Zorro MD the aspiring Zorro usually tends to be informative to patients and staff, teaching, and is nice. The kind of MD that informs the nurse of now orders because they are important: instead of coming back 2 hours later and screaming at the nurse see the comments by one reader here: http://www.grahamazon.com/2007/08/dont-make-me-be-an-intern/ (which I have to say thankfully no one has ever yelled at me!) That would just feel unprofessional. (And I would also doubt the competence of the yeller.)

Zorro would never yell at anyone. Zorro always leaves his in house cell number so that the nurse can call when clarification is needed, or anything, even if it is just reassurance.  Zorro is trusted.  Zorro is professional. Zorro is not perfect (no one is) but Zorro knows his stuff, and seems to somehow, cover everything. Zorro is funny. Zorro likes being called Zorro!  

To read more about Zorro MD: there is a category on the left side labeled Zorro. That is where references to Zorro can be found. Remember: There are many Zorros including the original Zorro and some of these Zorros are real, some are not. This is all apart of one creative endeavour. It is Zorroistic.