04/09 WILTW: Confused LOLs

Libby1987 · Apr 9, 2016

I learned during a tough week at work that I am most motivated. over all things, by being able to make things happen.

Lauraingalls, BSN, RN · Apr 9, 2016

Cracklingkraken,

You could have a low grade UTI. Pee in a cup this week!

I learned that group projects that consist of 10 people are not a good idea.

I also learned that I was invited to join Sigma Theta Tau and I am happy to have achieved this with managing school with 3 middleschoolers and husband.

Purple_roses · Apr 9, 2016

I was on spring break this past week, so I learned that I have a new favorite IPA and that my cousin will always be my sister and best friend. If only she lived closer!

Spring break also gave me a ridiculous case of senioritis--ridiculous because I still have a bit over a year left of nursing school. But, it is exciting to think that I'll start applying for jobs in January. I started peeking at job postings in the area I would like to eventually live in, and was pleased to find several postings that said "ADN required" with no mention of "BSN preferred." Crossing my fingers for the future!

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Apr 9, 2016

This week was a full week of learning, meetings, overtime and advocacy.

I learned:

1. That I can be a great staff teacher; my staff educator taught a group of us how to be "super users" of certain items so newbies can learn how to set up and use certain items in the Trauma room, ie rapid infuser, and art lines, which I excel in setup as well as teaching setup- in my short stint in the PICU 70 percent of my patients had an art line, so I was constantly zeroing and manning setups for my kiddos. I receive such positive feedback; I'm looking forward to learning as much for the unit; my goal is to become a super user for more subjects and I am seriously contemplating a post baccalaureate in teaching that is available at a college where we get tuition reimbursement.

2. Negotiating a union contract is and arduous task, but when people are committed to improving pt safety better educational opportunities and trying to promote employee satisfaction, it makes it easier; I didn't realize how much of an advocate I was until I sat down in from of top management and a lawyer and became aggressively assertive and expressed the issues that we are having on my unit, and hear the stories on how a mass exodus of nurses-100 and counting have severely affected our ability to provide pt care. It was a great feeling to hear from my nurse peers who are in this fight that I was great at the bargaining table and it helped them be able to speak up, as well as come together from various units despite those differences we hear on here about inter-unit differences and frustration and understand that the problem is MANAGEMENT.

3. Planning a wedding takes hard work; by next week I shall have a date and a venue-fingers crossed!

luvsltcrn · Apr 9, 2016

This week I learned that when I have things not going well in my personal life it is very difficult to put on a happy face at work. It also really lowers my patience and makes being professional way more challenging.

allnurses Guide · Apr 9, 2016

This week I learned that my soon to be ex-boss is really just phoning it in, and should retire. I am so glad I am leaving soon.

I learned that there is nothing funnier than a group of tipsy middle aged nurses figuring out how to use Snapchat. I almost wet myself several times.

ixchel · Apr 9, 2016

Hello, everyone! ixchel has been a trooper, juggling many things on her plate, so I have relieved her for this coming week. Here are some of the things I've humbly learned throughout this week:
1. That confused LOL who presses the call light constantly, and presses it several times while you're in the room with her, is charming for the first 5 minutes you meet her. Every time the call light goes off after that makes you want to run in the opposite direction, as fast as you can. Now, I understand what people mean when they say they hear a call light going off during the night. I've been hearing call lights ever since I got home.
2. I'm almost as giddy as my patient when his Foley and wound V.A.C. are removed after weeks of being hospitalized.
3. I emptied my first colostomy bag and was able to teach my fellow cohorts how to do it as well. I've never felt so happy to see a BM (On a side note, am I the only one who notices that my BMs smell like my pt's later on in the day?).
4. A positive Kernig's and Brudzinski's sign are indicative of meningeal irritation and that's not good.
5. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram negative bacteria that is multidrug resistant. Also, not good.
6. Just plastering a smile on your face throughout the shift can really brighten people's days. Although internally, I might not be feeling it, I don't let it show because, come on, the people in the hospital need a LOT more cheering up than I do.
7. Don't inject air into Dilaudid because it will blow the end off the vial. Thankfully, I did not do this, and my instructor told me not to before I even started drawing it up. I also got to flush a central port.
8. My sarcasm and dark/dry humor is not wasted on my clinical mates.
9. There are doctors who don't see some tasks as "beneath them". Garbed in isolation dress, I poked my head out to have a fellow mate grab me some iced water. Seeing my searching gaze, a passing doctor - who was easy on the eyes - asked me what I needed and then brought me some water for my patient.
10. I've been having trouble with frequent urination, including waking up in the middle of the night, even though my bladder isn't that full. It's been irritating, and I'm wondering if I should go see my doctor sometime. I haven't been too concerned, but since it's been persisting for a month now, I do wonder... I've ran through, in my head, the possibilities of diabetes, cancer, and hyperthyroidism with my current symptoms.
So, what have you learned this week?

Thank you so much for starting the thread this week, crackle!

Your #10 - you need to see your MD asap!

This week I got to learn (in writing, no less) that I am officially employed. What a horrible month it was waiting for that! I still have room for legal recourse if it becomes necessary. I hope to god it never does.

I wasn't afraid of surgery before because the employment crap was stealing my brain energy. Now that's resolved. Now I have extra brain energy. OMG I am allowing a person to not only slice my back open but to also remove an entire level of my spine, 2 discs, grind up bone (which might include my iliac crest), and then glue it all together with actual SCREWS.

I type better without autocorrect. (Cue farawyn proofreading.)

The employment uncertainty has lead to the decision to delay school again. I haven't cried about this yet, but I know the tears will arrive.

A repeat from the end of last week's thread - football players sustain essentially shaken baby syndrome over their entire football playing lives multiple times a game. This is a fact that was not researched and then denied by the NFL until this decade. The condition was named chronic traumatic encephalopathy and has lead to the suicide of multiple players due to the literal torture they have felt with this condition. As of 5 years ago, it was estimated roughly a third of football players will end up with this disorder.

In a recent study it was discovered that those who are critical of others' spelling/grammar are also less agreeable people, and more introverted. I am introverted about my less agreeableness and I am okay with that.

That is all, I think. I didn't expect to have anything!

margin261 · Apr 9, 2016

Crackling- research interstitial cystitis & see if it sounds like your problem. But it is usually accompanied with a great deal of pain.

Most probably is UTI or even anxiety (even if you aren't actually consciously feeling all that anxious!)

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Apr 9, 2016

So, what have you learned this week?

I've learned that when I make the statement "I do not have the time," I really do have the time if I think long and hard, especially since I now work from home.

I have the time, but do not always have the motivation. That's the defining difference.

smf0903 · Apr 9, 2016

Funny that you mention LOL for this week...

I learned that:

Those confused LOL can whip out a string of profanities that could make just about anyone blush. I heard the F-word so many times during the last 12 hour shift that I think I'm good for the next 6 months or so.

Paranoia is a scary thing (another LOL). It makes me wonder how they come up with their conspiracy theories because some of them are real doozies.

It's amazing how electrolyte imbalances affect different people. We had a pt last week come in with K+ of 1.3 :eek: and you'd have never known...no s/sx except the lab result (I don't recall what EKG changes were present, but they were not crazy like you would expect). Then another patient came in with K+ of 3.3 with paresthesia and tetany.

I hope everyone had a great week!! :)

Farawyn · Apr 9, 2016

crackle, I love your lists.

Your number 3? Ummm. NO!!! :eek:

ixchel, you need to cap the "F" in Farawyn (practicing) I'm so happy about your job!

I've learned a lot about ED protocol on suicidal patients, and that is does vary, and that we need so much more education on mental illness and depression across the board.

I've learned more about myself and non nursing stuff within the last couple of days. Not all of it is bad, either. :)

But I don't want to derail crackle's thread.