I had a whole different post in mind today, but then realized it needs to wait until next week. Oops!
So what does that leave me today? Very little!
What nursing related thing have I learned? I learn nothing when I'm not nursing. Well, this week, anyway. I have had some evolution as a person, and a patient. But nursing? Nada.
As a patient approaching 6 weeks post op from spinal fusion, I have learned...
...that the torso I see from the side in the mirror doesn't look like mine. My lordosis is gone.
...I am thankful to have cut my med list down so much.
...being really skinny means my hardware presses against my skin and incision site when I bend. I really hoped this would stop by now.
...I never knew how much I relied on pain to be the friend who cautioned me to hold back. I've felt anxiety over losing the pain.
...^^^^ that??? It's crazy.
...I CAN SLEEP ON MY BELLY!!!!!!!!
...I'm EXTREMELY bad at unknown. My post op appt this week will show whether I am fusing at all yet. I just want to know.
...the hardest lesson is this mountain of defeat I'm feeling after such a big few months. I'm seeing pics of graduation, celebrations of employment, and worthy bragging moments on my facebook historical posts. I felt like life was hard then, I celebrated something hopefully becoming easier. It didn't though.
I've lost my muchness, guys. Lots of it.
Bonus:
...it comforts me to know my LEO hubs and his coworkers have devised an apocalypse plan. I also just realized being nurses makes us all valuable (like, save the nurse, kill that guy instead, valuable).
So what have you learned? (And please, if you can, bring it back to nursey since I couldn't! (Sorry, mods!) We need to stay yellow.)
I am currently on my way to go see my grandparents today. This will be my first visit since my grandmothers Alzheimer's has really progressed to make her unrecognizable at times. So I'm feeling a bit of anxiety over that, but I didn't want to forget to post my sincere gratitude for all of the wonderful well wishes and support that you guys have given so far in this thread. Thank you! Thank you so much. Some of you have asked questions, and I promise I'll come back and answer them in a little while. Maybe tonight.
I've learned that tonsil stones are disgustingly awesome, and I love calling the parents and telling them their little darlings have these disgusting things in their throats. They freak. :)
I should have texted you. It would have been way more productive. :)
I also learned the more healthy I eat, the more I crave for cookies.
Amen! I'm tired of listening to all these silly people who talk about sugar cravings going away... they clearly don't have my body. Or my mind. Whatever it is that makes all those cravings happen.
Guess I'm not going to get my nails done today. I hate doing my own nails...it's one of the "me" things I insist on doing for myself but the more I think about it...guess I should research a bit more thoroughly... Plus, it's a weekend day, half the people around here will do the same thing. I have a day off this week so maybe by then I'll have researched it and feel better about it?
1. I got some of the nicest compliments this week! From a person I was precepting and from my boss (this is huge!)!
2. Every so often the caca will hit the fan at shift change. In a big time way. Like - two life and death emergencies hitting the OR at about shift change-ish. One was FAR more controlled and I helped that get settled and moved on to help in the other...
3. I understand the frustration of blood bank staff with respect to MTP (massive transfusion protocol). They're between a rock and a hard place. FFP is what slows that down. It's got to be hard for them to have a patient be put on MTP, the first cooler of 6/6/1 released and not even 15 minutes later we're calling for cooler 2? We were running blood as fast as we could check it. Blood products are also incredibly expensive and MTP is a *great* thing for patients but places *so much* stress on the blood bank folks. I would imagine it's especially fun for them when multiple patients are on MTP release.
4. You get this feeling when you know things just won't end well. The feeling is worse when your fears are confirmed (be it immediate, or delayed - next day, etc).
5. Sometimes all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put humpty dumpty together again. There are times that no matter *what* we try, there will *not* be a positive outcome. The feeling you get when having thrown all the resources possible, the best care we can, at a patient doesn't do anything to help them?
6. I made a small mistake this week (communication related - in no way a patient safety issue). I refused to let it bother me. How little I was affected by my mistake - how I chalked it up to an 'eh, if the worst I do is (insert issue here)' showed the tremendous amount of growth I've had since I started here years ago. I used to dwell on things and let them bother me. I owned it, apologized and moved on. I can see how I'd handle things differently in the future but stressing about something that's already done won't help.
7. I have the best coworkers - anesthesia, OR staff, surgeons. I've said it before and I'll say it again. :)
8. We have *the* most random conversations at work. Like, you don't even wanna know.
9. Our conversations are definitely part of our job satisfaction.
10. Being able to provide positive feedback about something I'd previously complained about? Really fun. I don't like complaining for no reason and felt like I needed to share positive feedback too. :)
5. Sometimes all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put humpty dumpty together again. There are times that no matter *what* we try, there will *not* be a positive outcome. The feeling you get when having thrown all the resources possible, the best care we can, at a patient doesn't do anything to help them?
Maybe I'm just weird, but I still feel enormous satisfaction in those situations. I love taking care of the super sick patients regardless of the outcomes. Those are the days I know I worked hard, I was a real advocate that day, I was absolutely on top of my game, and I did everything I could. That's enough for me to have a good day and go home satisfied with myself - especially if the family doesn't come up to see the body until after shift change. That part always makes it a little less satisfying.
I forgot to mention this previously, but I learned I am getting a nurse apprentice in a couple of weeks. That's what we call it when we have one of those nursing students between their junior and senior years follow us around for ten weeks during the summertime. I will have my own personal CNA II to help me with things, and she will also be able to assess and give meds (with me supervising), so this could be fun. However... I already have her name so I looked her up on Facebook, and she is a leader in her sorority and very blonde. Good god. I don't know who thought it was a good match to put a sorority chick who honest to God uses the word "kewl" on her Facebook page with me... but we will see if both of us survive the experience. If it's terrible, at least it's only ten weeks, and we don't have to hire her when she graduates next year unless we want to.
I forgot to add: lately I have seen special needs pts I worked with in the community come into my facility and are doing well and progressing; I love to see the progress of my pts and families; it is truly the nursing process in action.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
2. Every so often the caca will hit the fan at shift change. In a big time way. Like - two life and death emergencies hitting the OR at about shift change-ish. One was FAR more controlled and I helped that get settled and moved on to help in the other...
3. I understand the frustration of blood bank staff with respect to MTP (massive transfusion protocol). They're between a rock and a hard place. FFP is what slows that down. It's got to be hard for them to have a patient be put on MTP, the first cooler of 6/6/1 released and not even 15 minutes later we're calling for cooler 2? We were running blood as fast as we could check it. Blood products are also incredibly expensive and MTP is a *great* thing for patients but places *so much* stress on the blood bank folks. I would imagine it's especially fun for them when multiple patients are on MTP release.
4. You get this feeling when you know things just won't end well. The feeling is worse when your fears are confirmed (be it immediate, or delayed - next day, etc).
5. Sometimes all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put humpty dumpty together again. There are times that no matter *what* we try, there will *not* be a positive outcome. The feeling you get when having thrown all the resources possible, the best care we can, at a patient doesn't do anything to help them?
Been there, done that. Gotta love it when you're in the locker room, half changed to walk out the door, and you hear "any available cardiac staff call charge" Or when you're the call team and already working when you hear that there's a chest trauma on the way up... better start calling for volunteers, because we're already working
8. We have *the* most random conversations at work. Like, you don't even wanna know.
Oh, I know what you're talking about. We have one whose husband owns the only "adult" store in town. I'm sure you can imagine the topics that come up from that. There is definitely not too much that is sacred when it comes to OR conversations...
Can't say that I've learned too much this week... although I remembered my previous lesson and did not cover call for the person who asked.
I've learned that tonsil stones are disgustingly awesome, and I love calling the parents and telling them their little darlings have these disgusting things in their throats. They freak. :)
one of my adult co-workers had those and had to have her tonsils out 6 weeks before she got married!
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Still waiting on my husband to get into training for his job. I don't know why on earth it's taking so damn long! They said there are a lot of people ahead of him so he just has to wait for an email. Ugh. He's gonna apply for any kind of job he can get until he gets into training.
On another also depressing note, I found out a friend has cancer & has been in the hospital for 3 weeks. [emoji17] That's all the information I have. I don't know why she's been in the hospital for so long or what type of cancer she has. Hopefully I will get to visit her soon.
Been there, done that. Gotta love it when you're in the locker room, half changed to walk out the door, and you hear "any available cardiac staff call charge" Or when you're the call team and already working when you hear that there's a chest trauma on the way up... better start calling for volunteers, because we're already working
Yep. Or you just arrived, haven't changed yet, night shift is not anywhere to be found and there's an emergency so they just grab two people and tell you to get the emergency started? Yay. Or the day I did three back to back emergencies comprising my entire day? Or when you get pulled out of your assignment to go cover the emergency that is already in the room without any set up complete? Yay...
Oh, I know what you're talking about. We have one whose husband owns the only "adult" store in town. I'm sure you can imagine the topics that come up from that. There is definitely not too much that is sacred when it comes to OR conversations...
We do tend to stay off politics and religion but even then, that's dependent on your audience. You learn who you can say what around. We'd never get away with these conversations in any other environment. There is a line but there's not much on the other side of that line.
ixchel
4,547 Posts
I am currently on my way to go see my grandparents today. This will be my first visit since my grandmothers Alzheimer's has really progressed to make her unrecognizable at times. So I'm feeling a bit of anxiety over that, but I didn't want to forget to post my sincere gratitude for all of the wonderful well wishes and support that you guys have given so far in this thread. Thank you! Thank you so much. Some of you have asked questions, and I promise I'll come back and answer them in a little while. Maybe tonight.