This week, I have learned... (8/8)

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in critical care.

This week, I have learned....

1. I have never in my adult life slept through an alarm clock. I only learned (realized?) that because last night was the first time ever that I DID sleep through and alarm clock.

2. I have learned the one thing that as a nurse, I hate to do most: convince patients with dementia to take their medications.

3. A bad day at work feels even worse when it's your first day back after vacation.

4. It still upsets me a bit deeply when Alzheimer's patients get shipped to us from a nursing home and they are absolutely terrified of us doing pretty much anything, regardless of how gentle we are. I know that a lot of dementia is irrational, but what if some kind of abuse really is happening regularly? It's sad. :(

5. My kid stole my telemetry/dysrhythmias book and notebook. He's been reading it at bedtime.

7. The coworker I dislike the most professionally (lazy, rude), turns out to be an amazing charge nurse. Pleasantly surprised!

8. I genuinely want to find a way to practice IV skills. I'm just so tired of being bad at them.

What have you learned this week?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

#8 YES! I'm no good at drawing blood or starting IVs, wanna practice on each other???

This week I realized things in my life are actually going well for me. I think my husband is my good luck charm.

I start A&P 1 & micro on the 17th. I'm excited & nervous all at the same time.

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1. Taking three days off this week gave me 5 fabulous (and much needed) days off.

2. Cleaning out closets/dressers and throwing stuff away can be very therapeutic.

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Specializes in critical care.

I forgot one:

Scratching/rubbing my legs and feet after taking off my compression socks is amazing.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I am in desperate need of another vacation! Unfortunately, the time I have won't cover more than an extra day, plus the schedule is already out and no one to switch with.

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Bailey's is perfectly acceptable in coffee at 0600 on a Saturday when you're up making cupcakes for cub scouts.

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1. Nonpulsatile LVAD/RVAD/BiVAD pts have funky looking rhythms/art line waveforms and I really have to attune myself to it. It freaked me out to see nurses silence alarms on a heart rate of 0 and a clear vtach rhythm...but the patients sitting up watching wheel of fortune, lol.

2. Nurses are hard patients to have.

3. Changing specialties is like starting over in nursing.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

This week I learned:

1. That if you continually accept low census days, you won't have much of a paycheck.

2. That a 20 year old female who lives in your upstairs would rather pay rent than clean their room- three months in a row

3. That an extra $200 (see #1 and #3 above) can come in pretty handy sometimes

4. That for the 40th consecutive year, Mr. Meanmaryjean and I have planned absolutely nothing to celebrate our wedding anniversary

5. That the end of my doctoral program (246 more days!)and my transition away from the bedside cannot come soon enough

6. That live-chatting the SYFY movie 'Lavalantula' with a policeman's wife from Iowa and a non-destructive testing mamager from Michigan (both of whom I've never met, BTW) is the most fun one can have from their recliner.

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Bailey's is perfectly acceptable in coffee at 0600 on a Saturday when you're up making cupcakes for cub scouts.

Absolutely! People got on me for wanting wine with my lunch on a day off last week. It's 5 o'clock somewhere. :up:

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

1. If you discharge someone, expect to take report on an admission about half an hour before your shift ends.

2. Never say that the day seems easy

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That my ICU does not have a good skills mix. Of the 12 nurses working my last shift, nine had less than one years experience. Flu season will be an absolute nightmare.

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Specializes in critical care.

More to add:

Being an HIV patient as a middle-aged black man married to a white man in a traditionally conservative Christian area is pretty terrible. This guy has a steady reputation of being mean to staff to the point that multiple have left his room in tears. I had him for the first time ever my last shift, and he was as sweet as sweet can be. All I did was listen and be nice to him. I left him alone when he wanted to be left alone. I treated him with respect and dignity. I couldn't imagine walking a mile in his shoes. :(

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