Still getting attached

Yep that's me by a palm tree and a pond in the desert, ok it's not really in the desert, it's in Scottsdale/Phoenix area. It's a little park called Papago Park that we have visited quite often. It's a nice little oasis. This has been a long week, just really busy at work. I'm finally allowing myself a few days off to relax. I've been taking care of this patient off and on for the last month, and he finally got to go home yesterday. He was flown from a small town north of Phoenix with bilateral collapsed lungs, and has had chest tubes ever since. The diagnosis came back, and it was not a good one. Mesothelioma, that's my second patient this month with the same diagnosis, both worked construction. I lost my own father to lung cancer so it hits me pretty hard sometime to take care of these guys. So, this guy really wanted to go home as you can imagine, I mean his wife and daughter were here but he just wanted to be home. Good Sam hospital has a floor of rooms that families can rent so they can be in the building to visit the patient whenever they are needed. It's really nice for the patient and the family, especially when they live so far away. Unfortunately, the small hospital that he is going to cannot do any type of extensive surgery if it's needed or anything like that. He had to agree to be a DNR in order to go back home. Isn't that sad? I mean this guy is far from the edge he still gets up every morning and shaves and reads the paper, aside from the chest tubes to constant wall suction, he's what we refer to as a walky talky. I would go in every morning and say hello even when he wasn't my patient for the day. Yesterday we shared a tear when he told me about the conditions of his return to home. He was funny and cranky and made me smile and I think he looked forward to seeing me. It's nice to make that connection with your patients and their families. I know we are not supposed to get attached, but sometimes I can't help it. It may take a little out of me when they go but, if it makes their stay more comfortable, what's the harm? Death and terminal illnesses are not some of my favorite subjects. (Much like trachs and colostomies.) But , they have been a major part of my career. Of course, I think death is as much mental as it is physical. I had a patient quite recently that I helped take out to his car in a wheelchair, he got up into the car and petted his dog who was waiting in the car, he died the next day in his home. I guess he was ready. When you have a terminal illness, a lot of times it's a matter of being comfortable with the situation that makes it ok for you to go. I believe we have some control over it...anyway...on to better subjects.
The weather here has been warm about 100 still and, you guessed it, sunny. It should be cooling down soon...either way it's not going to be cold anytime soon. And, that makes me very happy, coming from Cleveland I have had more that enough cold to last a really,really,really long time. Well, remember first do no harm.

Raining again?

That's right I said it was raining again...only this time inside my apartment. There's a first for everything. Traveling for 5 years never had a flood. And who would think, right here in the desert.The sprinkler head in the living room in the apartment above us broke about 4 in the morning on Thursday. I woke to the sound of water running..only it was coming down inside the window in the living room. It was a pretty freaky sight. The water was coming through the ceiling fan and all the sprinkler heads and the vents from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen. Every phone number I called for the complex went to voice mail so I had to call 911. Yeah the cops came and so did a bunch of firemen, but the alarm that was going off got turned off and so did the water. The firemen did decide to put some holes in our ceiling, it was interesting. The poor guy who lives above us had just had a flood a month or so ago I felt so bad for him. But my company ,Banner professional registry and travel, was right on top of things. They called the apartment complex and got them to find me a new apartment. So we moved in the next day. They made it so simple and they were very caring and helpful. It's so nice to have a company care.
Work is great, I really enjoy working at Good Sam. The staff that is there is very knowledgeable and helpful. I never feel alone. Plus, I am all about the overtime and there's plenty of it. I have been working 4 or 5 days a week. The pay has been great especially after not working regularly for a month. Well, as always first do no harm.

Good Sam

Hi all, I've been kind of busy can you tell? The above picture shows that it's hot in Phoenix even the cacti are starting to die. It's been over 100 degrees since I arrived...but what did I expect it's Phoenix right? The monsoon season is almost over, so they tell me. Hopefully the humidity will go down...100 degrees and 50% humidity kinda sucks.
The hospital is just as I remembered. Orientation was a little brutal 6:45 to 5:00 in the classroom with different people speaking and a lot of movies and overhead projector things. We got to see the facility's bomb dog...first that I have seen in my travels. In fact, I don't think they had them last time I was here. The second day was 6 hours of computer training...not too bad.
My husband got here 2 days after orientation so we were able to spend some time together before I actually had to work. I had my 2 days of orientation on the floor which were relatively easy...then they canceled me on Labor day. Boy was I mad. I had to pick up a registry day which wasn't too bad. I worked at Banner Desert in Mesa on their tele floor. It was set up oddly but I got the hang of it by the end of the day. I have been able to work the rest of my days at Good Sam. A few people have recognized me from the last time I was there and I have seen some familiar faces. It's not a bad place to work but it's really busy. It makes the days go quickly though. We usually have a 4:1 ratio with one NA for 15 patients. We normally have a transport nurse and a charge nurse for resource. The only difficult times are when you have someone to go to dialysis and the nurse has to take them or if the travel nurse is busy and you have to take them.
Most of the patients are cardiac cath or post open heart surgery so they are pretty motivated. Much unlike the patients I cared for in Salinas which were highly unmotivated. It makes the job easier if the patients want to learn and get better.
There is a large traveler population at this facility which makes you not feel alone. The staff is mostly traveler friendly and they don't go out of their way to give you the worst assignments. As with everywhere else it comes down to how you present yourself. I went through my orientation with a couple of first time travelers and they are going to have a difficult time I think. The worst thing you can do when you first start a travel assignment is talk too much about yourself, especially to the staff. It's always better to listen and not get too personal too early. We all want to fit in but do it slowly rather than quickly. Also, the staff really doesn't want to hear about how things are better at your other hospital.
Just a little advice for ya...well as always first do no harm....