Life after JCAHO

Well, that was fun. My third week on dayshift and we had our lovely JCAHO inspection. Wasn't that fun? The whole hospital got painted and scrubbed clean. The entire staff was on edge...that part was not fun and never is. Of course my heart stopped when I saw all the suits walk on the floor. But, I was brave and stood my ground researching in my patient's chart, as the walked by I was able to breathe a silent sigh of relief. Ok, I admit it we were "well staffed" that week and there wasn't much activity on the floor...I don't know how that happened but it worked. The hospital over all did well and now we are just waiting for the state to come through. I think it's easier for me to follow the rules since I just learned them and haven't had time to formulate any bad ones associated with this particular hospital. So, all in all I'm very happy with my move from San Pablo.
We've done some more sightseeing...went to the Geyser here in Calistoga and the Petrified forest...not terribly exciting but it was one of those touristy things to do. We did a little garage saling which was fun, saw some interesting things, one guy was selling birdhouses and step stools made of wineboxes. They were very pretty and well done but what would we do with them? Unfortunately they wouldn't pack well. We also went to an estate sale and we were amazed at the condition of the house. Especially here in Napa where the houses are selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was very small and was not well cared for and there was a lot of stuff there...obviously a collector. Estate sales can be sad when you think about why they occur and the fact that a bunch of strangers are digging through this persons stuff but, it is part of the cycle of life.
This past week at work has been pretty peaceful. My boss is very visible on the unit and also very helpful. He got a little anxious during the JCAHO thing but all in all one of the best managers I have worked for so far. I am contemplating extending my contract at this point but, there is a patient who has been on the floor for an extended period of time and it doesn't look like they will be leaving very soon. I have been assigned to this person for almost the entire time I have been at this hospital and it has been difficult. The patient is very angry and demanding and difficult to care for. If it weren't for this patient I would probably sign on for another eight weeks right now. Also, there is the threat of a strike here in California and I am holding out for some possible strike pay. It's nice to have options.
Well, take care all and remember first do no harm.