Off of night shift!

Hello everyone..yes I made it through the night shift about 2 and a half weeks total. It wasn't as difficult to stay awake as I had thought. It was harder to sleep...and now the change back is incredibly difficult. I'm tired but I can't seem to fall asleep when I want to. I start dayshift tomorrow so hopefully tonight will be different. Our little apartment is on the main drag so it's got the white noise I love to fall asleep to. We took a drive up highway 29 to Calistoga the other day. It's a beautiful drive that I'm sure we will take many times while we are here. There's one part of the road by the Beringer Winery that is shaded over by these beautiful trees..plus all along the roadside are the vineyards. It's really like no other place I've seen. There is also an Old Faithful here in California along highway 29..we'll be going back up to see that for sure. I'm working on getting pictures put up on the blog...bear with me. So dayshift starts next week and the Joint Commission will be here the first week of June. The whole place is in an uproar as you can imagine. I think it's easier for us travelers because we don't have the bad habits that the regular staffers do. We just do things like they showed us in orientation and we'll be ok. The hardest thing to remember to do is asking the patients their name and birthday with each pill or treatment. I think slowing down will help...easier said than done I know. Well, have a good week..

Napa California

Well, we have moved up to Napa California and so far things are better. Of course we have only been here less than 3 weeks, so I'm still apprehensive. I am working at Queen of the Valley Hospital on 2 North which is a telemetry/step down unit. The orientation was well organized and very helpful ,unlike some I have endured. I had a 2 day orientation..one day on my floor and one day in ICU..why ICU I have no idea. I am not an ICU nurse nore do I aspire to be. Way too much going on there and way too many tubes. I also don't think I like the Step Down unit idea either...at this hospital the patients on step down can have multiple drips, vent or art line...not my cup of tea. The staff for the most part is very helpful. In orientation they actually said that "At the Queen of the Valley we speak English." Yeah it sounded nice but of course once you are really out there it's not so...especially on night shift. Yes, I am doing night shift for a couple of weeks just to get my foot in the door and out of the bad situation in San Pablo. It should only be one more week and it is killing me. I am tired all the time. Hats off to all you night shift people who only work nights, I'm glad you are there. The weather here in Napa has been excellent sunny and not to warm but just warm enough. The vineyards offer hot air balloon rides at sunrise so in the mornings when I leave work I can see them in the sky...really spectacular. We opted for the housing allowance and so far it has worked to our advantage. We found a nice small, older complex that is very close to the hospital. We haven't done much sightseeing yet what with being on nights and all but will keep you updated when we do. As always...first do no harm.