Wednesday, April 25, 2007

6 weeks left

So, can you tell by the title how well my new job is going? The difference from the west coast is just incredible. First the nurse patient ratio is 7 to 1. There is no one watching your telemetry monitor. This hospital (Grant) has one monitor in each of the 4 halls about half way down. At the end of each hall is a LED screen which flashes the room number and the rhythm in orange letters. Any alarms show up in red and there is a slight noise when it happens but, nothing that would really get your attention. I have to wear a pager, a locator and a cell phone. These are issued to me from a department in the basement where 4 -6 people sit and answer ALL patient call lights. Then they page whoever is assigned to that patient. I personally think the money would be better spent on tele monitor techs. All of the discharges are on the day shift so nights gets all the admissions. It's a little hard to get used to.
My first orientation night I got the scoop on the whole floor, why people are unhappy, why they are leaving, how many have left, who to watch out for. It's a great thing. The staff is unhappy, management is all new on the floor and they are very young. I don't think I will be staying past my 8 weeks unless I really have to. I just thank my stars that I know what else is out there as far as nursing jobs, so I am not stuck somewhere like this. I will be doing my one or two days of overtime a week because I need to.
My traveler friend and her husband just went from Reno to Redding CA. They are in a 2 bedroom house with a fenced in yard and loving it. She just started her job, but sounds happier than I am with the facility.
The weather is typical Ohio. Warm and sunny, then hot and muggy, then cold and gray and rainy. It's been nice being around my brother and my Aunt and Uncle. My Uncle got moved to a rehab facility for PT/OT/and speech therapy. It was a shock to both my Aunt and Uncle how these places operate. The beds are old, the equipment is old, and you have to wait a good while for your call light to be answered. I just hope he works hard and can go back home very soon.
Well, say a little prayer for me to tolerate these next few weeks. Remember first do no harm.

1 comment:

JLeonard said...

Hospital sounds like a joy to work at. See why they need travelers. Im in Roswell, NM. Start Tuesday. So I have a day to explore. Love the pic in the last post. Husband lucky guy...LOL! Have fun and drop a line. Jim