a week off

Yep, a whole week off...one extra day cuz I was sick. Beware of food brought in for "pot luck". I usually have a pretty strong stomach, but it really got me. Easter dinner...better with family. So, my neice is here for a week. I get to play the cool Aunt..as close to being a Mom as I ever wanted. Seems weird what with everyone else in my family having one or more off spring. I'm lucky I just get to enjoy them all. So, we will be spending a lot of time at the above scene...the pool, so she can got back home to the frozen north with a little tan and make her friends jealous. My oldest sister is in the happiest place on earth...Disneyland...don't envy her. She is there with her 4 kids and 5 grandkids...sounds like fun to some...can't wait to see the pics. Be safe and find some time to enjoy a day off.
Remember non noc nocere.

Busy,busy,busy

Well, this is one of my favorite places...it's called the hole in the rock. It's in Papago Park in Phoenix. It doesn't look like it from this picture but you can stand in the hole and look out over the city. We stopped there on our way home from a baseball game last week. Yep, baseball is alive and well in the Cactus league..we saw the D-backs and the A's. It was actually a pretty hot day...about 85 and sunny.
My nephew has made the trip to Iraq...he is currently about 11km southeast of Baghdad. Still doesn't seem real to me. Please keep him in your prayers.
Got some bad news from a traveler friend, her husband's sister's body was found Tuesday near a lake in York PA. She was a high school teacher and had gone out for a hike Sunday and went missing. They suspect foul play but are awaiting the autopsy results.It just makes me shake my head, what is happening to this country when you can't even go for a hike in rural PA and return safely? Please also keep them in your thoughts.
I've been working my 4 to 5 twelve hour shifts a week. It's been really heavy at work...one of my patients was on the floor the other morning when I went in to see him...ya gotta love to start your day that way. We had to use the Get-a-lift to get him off the floor...he's a big guy and really sick too. I was really impressed, even the nurse manager came in to help. I've had a couple of nice old guys the last couple of days as well, they love to talk about the state of the country. I love to get the time to talk to them, some of them have such great stories.
Well, headed out to the game again...Cubs vs. Rockies...be back with pics.
Remember first do no harm.

One of those patients

We've all had them...the patient that just won't leave...every time you go into work you just hope they have gone home or to another floor or anywhere that you won't have to take care of them. It's not that they are a difficult patient or even really sick...maybe that's what irritates me. I like my patients to come in sick and go home better not linger in annoyanceville forever. Mine most recent one is still on the unit and I have had him everyday that I have worked now for 2 weeks straight. He has TGV(transposition of the great vessels of the heart) and he needs a transplant...the doc is trying to prove it by bringing him in and putting him on dobutamine, now he's dobutamine dependant. It's a fight with the insurance where to send him for the transplant...but he's not even on the list yet. Makes going to work just a little more annoying.

Had a great trip to Las Vegas...saw the new Palazzo and a great little place just off the strip called Tuscany.It's always changing, they are building a lot of new stuff. We followed our friends advice and took the southern route from Phoenix into Las Vegas. We got to go through little towns like Searchlight Nevada...plus we hit Arizona, California and Nevada...always a plus to hit as many states as possible in your travels. The ever present question...did we win...well, yeah we won some we lost some but, it didn't affect our financial standing so, it was a good trip. Still waiting to hit the big one...as always first do no harm.

CPR

Nothing wakes you up faster in the morning than a code.It was not my patient but I found myself there in the room...the monitor looked like V-Tach and the alarms were going off.I went quickly to the room asking who's patient she was. I looked at her and knew she was not breathing. My second responder (her nurse) entered the room and I told her to call the code...I flattened her bed and suddenly the room was full of people...the ambu bag was being tossed to the head of the bed, as I was putting it together the resp. therapist appeared and started bagging. I started the compressions, then came the AED pads and finally the backboard. I asked for a switch and the next person stepped in after the first shock...still no viable rhythm. More drugs ,more CPR, the ET tube was finally in and another shock and she was back...now, the entire room is completely full of people,student nurses are in the door way looking in with a look of shock,terror, and awe on their faces. You know they are thinking I hope that never happens to me. Well, me too but, it will. The patient was sent off to the ICU. Our patient population is getting older and sicker and the people who are in the ICU's are ones who would have been dead 10 years ago. So, the ones on the PCU's and Tele and SDU's are the ones who would have been in the ICU 10 years ago. And the patients on your med-surg floors would have been in the SDU or Tele floors and the ones who would have been on med surg are now in skilled nursing facilities or rehab centers and so on. It's scary to me, but it's reality. This is the second code I've been in since January when I got to this hospital. 2 codes in 2 months, those aren't good odds. I hope that pattern changes.
I have decided to stay here in Arizona until June, well, actually, the hospital asked if I'd stay and I accepted. Yeah, it'll be pretty hot by then,but, the money is good and the overtime is avaliable. This hospital is changing over to computer charting just like Good Sam did, so, luckily I already have had the classes and worked with the system...am easy transition for me.
Our little house in Columbus is still on the market,but we have started the search here for another one. It's a buyers market so, we hope to profit from that.
Remember first, do no harm.

Barrett Jackson '08

If you watched any of the Barrett Jackson car auction last week on Speed..you saw this boat. No, that's not me in the pic but I was there. I love being in Scottsdale in January. I cannot get enough of the cars. I remember watching it years ago before I started traveling... and just thinking how great would it be if I could go and see all those cars. And, now I've done it three times...I could walk around there for days. You could tell people are holding on to their money this year because not many cars got over $500,000. Still, it's a fun thing to do.

Work is going well, I am getting in all the extra hours I want. The floor is laid out well and they are all private rooms. No more taking care of the patient in the bed by the window and the one by the door, who is someone else's patient, asks you for something every time you go in the room. The patients are mostly cardiac, there's a little med-surg thrown in there for fun. I can't tell you how nice it is to take care of an uncomplicated cath pt or even better and AICD or a pacemaker. Yeah, the patient turn over is pretty quick but, I love it. The charge nurses are very helpful and my coworkers are friendly. I had to float the other day and they were even friendly. There are quite a few travelers and most of them are Arizona residents. It's interesting, some of them have been there over a year..pretty unheard of in other parts of the country.

The apartment is very nice and quite. It's great having our friends in walking distance. We are headed to Vegas the end of next month...lots of working till then.

First do no harm.

New assignment

This is just one of the great pics sent to my by my nephew from his training in the desert in California. I know he worked his butt off and I hope all the training will keep him safe when he has to go to war.
I had my first day of orientation yesterday at Desert Hospital in Mesa. I so got off the hook. Since I just left Good Sam I didn't have to take any tests or stay for the computer class. Yeah! I didn't even have to get a new badge..I'm most happy about that. Lets face it, I have to get a new badge just about every 3 months. I do not photograph well most of the time so, when I get a picture I like I want to keep it. So, even though it was raining it was a good day. I was there about an hour and a half, got to see the unit where I will be working and met the manager. Then I was pretty much done. The rest of the week looks to be measuring up pretty much the same. I work about 8 hours tomorrow and 4 hours on Thursday. I get to orient of Friday and Saturday then on my own on Sunday...pretty easy week...then only 12 more to go.
Love, love, love the new apartment. It's so quiet and it's nice to have friends so close by. This place has a great workout room...lots of weight machines and 3 treadmills, 1 bike, 1 elliptical and 2 racket balls courts. I talked my husband into buying rackets and he actually went with me yesterday. We had a blast..next time we are going to look up the rules before we go. We just had a great time trying to hit the ball...neither one of us got hurt too badly. I got him in the nose with the ball once and we each got ourselves a couple of times. But, we stayed there for an hour!
I can only hope that trend continues!
Remember first do no harm!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year all. We had an awesome New Years Eve. I worked until 7:30 but it was an easy day. We drove to our traveler friends apartment..we were a little worried because or the Insight bowl ending in Tempe (yeah Pokes!) and road closures for the block party afterward. Luckily the freeway was not too busy and we got to our destination without a problem. It was a nice quiet evening, some tv and some poker with a splash of Napa Valley Sparkling wine. I hope it was a great night for all of you as well and I hope you all made some good resolutions. May the year of the Rat prove to be prosperous for all of us!! Non noc nocere.

Christmas spirit

There really is a Christmas spirit and it is alive and well. I have to share this story. A nice little old (80) lady, healthy and does everything for herself, lives alone. While driving to church, somehow got off the freeway before her exit, as she was driving down the road she runs into the curb and stops. A man following her stops and walks up to her door and asks if she needs help. She feels confused and says I don't know. He walks her to his vehicle, helps her inside then goes back to move her car to a parking lot. He asks where she was headed and she tells him to church, she is starting to remember now, at first she gives him the right name but the wrong address, then she says no and gives him the right address. He drives her to church and along the way calls her son to tell him what has happened. The stranger walks her into church and helps her sit down, then he's gone...She gets help from the other parishoners to get communion then to sit back down. Her son comes in and sits next to her, after the service she asks her son to take her back to her car...he says I think you should go to the hospital, she actually agrees and takes her to the hospital. She is doesn't remember why she turned off the freeway, that few minutes are just gone...but wow, was she lucky. All of her symptoms are gone and it was most likely a TIA but, how badly that scene could have turned out. It really made my day to hear that story.I hope it helps renew your belief in Christmas and the good left in the world. Merry Christmas and non noc nocere.

what do you think

Yep, that's me, Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona...we stopped there on our trip back from Oklahoma in November. We had stopped in Winslow before but never went to the corner. It was a nice day...a little cool then but they have been getting snow lately, it's up in the high country. Just one of those places you have to stop and see.

So, here's the scenario. 56 year old hispanic male comes in post op from ortho surgery after trauma, lets say he was hit by a car, it was a right femur fracture. He gets 2 units of blood post op. He codes at about 1am and doesn't make it. No real medical history to speak of. The first unit of blood was hung at about 1330. The second not until 1900. His iv infiltrated at some point in the afternoon and that's why it took so long for the second unit to go in. A couple of side notes...the same tubing was used for both units of blood. The tourniquet was accidentally left on his arm for over an hour. There was still a pulse in the arm. So, what do you think killed him...and what was the worst nursing error. What would you do if these were your nurses? or your family member?

first do NO HARM

GSW

Another sight on I-40, the largest cross I think in the Northern Hemisphere...in Groom Texas. You know everything is bigger in Texas. My husband just loves these action shots at 80 mph driving down the freeway he'll just pull out his camera and get a shot like this...amazing.
Ok, I know it's the holiday season and we should all be of good cheer and all that but, this week has just blown me away. This trauma stuff is just pitiful. I can't tell you how many gunshot victims I have taken care of this week. And most of them have no insurance, so the wonderful state of Arizona will help pay their bill. But, you have to give them all your info like a bank statement and your birth certificate...hard to find when you are laying in the hospital after being shot. So, you get to sit there until we can find someone to get the information and then the process takes like another week.
Then there are the illegals. I spoke with the case manager this week. We have a couple of people who need to go back home...and it's not going to be a short trip. $38,000 by ambulance. The hospital tried to send one person back yesterday with a medical person to transport by commercial airplane but, they wouldn't let him on because he didn't have a passport....duh, he's going back, he didn't have a passport to get here...how do we send him back now? I say call Sheriff Joe. Just really frustrating.
Then someone tells me that Santa Claus is not allowed to say HO HO HO anymore. What is up with that? Are we afraid he's going to offend someone? He has been saying HO HO HO for hundreds of years...the hoes know he isn't talking to them. Are we that afraid of offending someone, anyone? Now he's supposed to say HA HA HA...well, who is he laughing at? Yeah, are you laughin at me? Yeah, that's so much better.Ugh. It's hard enough for me to muster up some holiday spirit then I hear something like that...just kills it.
I'm looking forward to moving to a different hospital. I will be going to Banner Desert...sounds warm huh? It's in Mesa just south and east of Phoenix. We will be getting a new apartment...yeah no more music at 3am...I think any other company would have moved me to another complex as many times as I have complained...not real happy with Banner right now. We will be in the same complex as our friends from PA. The weather here has been pretty cool and a little rainy but still better than 30 degrees and snow.
My computer guru husband added a couple of things to my blog to make it a little more interesting. Can you find all 3?

Holiday trip

We made the trip from Phoenix to Oklahoma mostly on I-40. There are a few attractions on I-40 in Texas that you just have to stop at once. We actually made a couple of fun stops just to break up the monotony of driving. One was the famous Cadillac ranch..it's by Amarillo on I-40. It was a sunny day and about 40 degrees figured we could brave it easily. Wow, we forgot about the wind..it's one of those winds that no matter which way you turned it was still in your face. Of course we weren't the only ones to stop, there were plenty of people braving the cold. There are 10 Cadillacs buried nose down and completely covered with graffiti..we added ours with a Sharpie...no spray paint available. I'm glad we stopped when we did...I had suggested stopping on our way back but when we left to come home we left at 6am and it was snowing. The pics turned out pretty good. We also stopped at the Continental Divide on our way east...no real picture taking spots there.

We had a great time in Oklahoma. It was great to see my family. Pulls at the old heart strings when you leave though. On the trip back we stopped in Winslow Arizona and took some pics there...they'll be on the next blog. Having trouble with windows vista and windows xp, they don't see to want to play together. I have to get my live in computer geek to help me.

Still waiting to go back to work...I signed up with the agency for Monday Tuesday and Wednesday...no needs...I called the hospital where I am contracted and no luck there either. I start my week tomorrow, so, we are going to find something fun to do today.

Non noc nocere.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving all. We made the 16 hour trip to visit family in Oklahoma City, I actually got to drive a couple of hours. I am thankful for so many things...all my wonderful family, my friends, the ability to work and persue my dreams. With all the bad things we as nurses see on a daily basis, it make me thnkful for the littlest things. Hope ya'll have a great holiday and be safe wherever you travel. Thanks to those who are working today.

So Close

Looking good,huh? I spent a few days in Columbus this past week trying to help my husband finish up our house. It was a great feeling to help out. I wish time were slower. It's funny how when I am at work time is so slow but when I was at the house time flew. The last thing to do is sand the floors, we got most of the painting done while I was there. As you can see above we got the new counter tops in and a new sink with stick on tile back splash...doesn't look too bad does it?

Work has been pretty good. I have mostly been on med surg overflow...with all the other travelers so work has been fun. I have said for years I would love to open a hospital that has only experienced travelers working there. As a whole we seem to be very flexible easy going people. In general we don't complain when we get an admission or have a busy day. We ask for help when we need it and remind our fellow nurses of things that weren't done rather than writing them up. I know there are some exceptions but for the most part I would rather work with travelers than staffers. I hope that doesn't offend anyone. To their benefit, staffers do know the little subtle things of the unit and usually share them with the rest of us.

Did have some interesting patients this week. More GSW than I have had in my entire career..4 this week. Had a tough guy who had an off roading accident and sat at home for 10 days with a hemopneumothorax and a torn spleen. Amazing what drugs will do huh? Positive for meth and marijuana on admission...but how else could he have been able to stay home with that pain? Yeah, he's pretty tough, amazing he's still alive. I also had the pleasure of caring for a very sweet young woman who has recurrent melanoma with mets to the brain spine and lung...shes so positive, but it still tears at your heart. I know the ultimate outcome...just makes me sad. No other days on tele here at Good Sam although I pass my friends in the halls, I don't get to work with them.

The weather is beautiful. I have good friends here. I miss my family and most of all my husband. But, I continue to work to help us reach our goal of being financially free. Thanks for reading and coming along for the journey. Non noc nocere.

Workin and waitin

Yeah it's hard to tell but the walls are painted and the woodwork is being salvaged. I guess we a re restoring and remodeling. Wish I could be there for the transformation more. It's coming down to the wire. I imposed a deadline to try to help speed things up. Hopefully my husband will be out here in Phoenix in the great weather by Halloween. Lots of little things left to do, paint, counter tops, ok some big things left to do too. We still need stairs out the back of the house and all the floors except the kitchen are hardwood and need sanded and stained. Some days I think it's easier to be here working.
Yesterday was not one of those days. I have been complaining about not being on tele, well, you know what they say about paybacks. I had 2 people go to the cath lab one after the other. My first lady came back with no closure device and had to be flat for 7 hours. She was nice enough to go into flash pulmonary edema and had one of those doctors that won't call you back. This poor old lady needs an aortic valve really badly. She had been NPO all night getting IV fluids at 125/hr. So, by the time she got back from the cath lab and I turned them to his prescribed rate of 100 for 3 hours , she got about 45 min of it before she started coughing and her lungs were crackles all the way up...just freaked me out. I called the doc for 45 min then I got the clinical manager. This poor little thing, her sats were in the low 80"s on room air. By the time we got the doc on the phone and the lasix in her her sats were 91 on 4 liters. Then, the jackass is like all worried about her and calls to check on her a couple of times. Then, he shows up at like 6pm and has to borrow my stethoscope to listen to her lungs. The patient tells him what a great nurse I am and he says yeah she is and caring too. What an ass. The poor thing has a long road ahead of her Monday she's having TEE,a pacemaker, an aortic valve replacement, and a MAZE procedure...she is 85. Tell me your thoughts on that...she is alert and oriented still lives alone and her family is very involved in her care. How would she fair in Hillary's world?
While that is happening I got a 32 year old who was admitted the nite before to the ICU for bilateral pyelonephritis and urosepsis. She had dopamine to keep her bp up and it infiltrated..they used the ante dote to save her skin. They sent her to med surg and when she got there her bp was 60/40...so we'll send her to tele for the dopamine this time. Oh, she needs a PICC but they are backed up so, she has IV fluids going at 250/hr and she needs another IV for the dopamine. The PICC nurse is arguing with me on the phone that the doc needs to come and put in a central line if she's that sick, he's really busy and won't get to her today. We get a second line in her but itsonly a 22. She is a pain in the butt rolling all over the bed. By the end of my shift it went bad. I tried to get another line twice and had to leave the next nurse with the same thing I got...one line but dopamine, IV fluids and antibiotics to go in. All this fun on no break and no lunch yet at 2:30 in the afternoon.
I got my second pt back from the cath lab...luckily she is ok and had gotten a closure device. But 2 hours into her 4 hour bedrest she starts crying and getting nauseated because her bladder is full and she can't go. No orders to straight cath her of course, I get the doc who says bladder scan her and if it's greater than 200 straight cath her. Meanwhile her bladder is hard as a rock and she's starting to lose her lunch...yeah I straight cathed her...850cc later( I clamped it off so she won't spasm) she is happy and smiling. Got a total of 1250cc from her. Bladderscan her...what am I stupid? Let's see him sit in a bed flat on his back being pumped with I fluids at 150/hr, after being given medicine with a side effect of urinary retention. And he has to wait for some doctor to call me back (at least a half an hour) only to give a stupid order to bladderscan him. So now I have to go find the machine (which takes at least another 10-15 minutes because every floor doesn't have one)to mash on his bladder (which hurts like heck because it's being stretched to capacity) with a cold hard ultrasound probe that weighs about a pound and a half, only to discover, that he needs his bladder emptied...oh, let me just wipe all the ultrasound gel off then go and get the straight cath kit and hope no one stops me and asks me a question or to do anything else for you while you lay there in agony. Guess they don't think about it because they never have to watch the patient or the family wait for the call back from them.
So, that was my day yesterday..oh plus I had a patient who went to dialysis and came back and wanted to go home but no doc I called would write the orders and I had discharged someone at 10am. Ya gotta love nursing.
Non noc nocere.

Just Work

Just biding my time...I have been working 4-5 days a week. I have worked a couple of shifts at Paradise Valley a little north and west of Phoenix. It's a different pace and a different clientele. The staff is really nice and it's paper charting so it was easy to pick up. I got sent home today from Good Sam...not really happy about that. I've been to Rehab and neuro and today to same day surgery/ procedures. I love working in same day procedures, start iv's send some labs then they leave and someone else finishes the job. We are still trying to finish our house and we need the cash flow, so I called the agency I work for to try to get 4 hours in..no luck, guess I'll have to watch baseball.

The house is coming along slowly but it should only be another 2 weeks...that sounds familiar, have I said that before? The kitchen is the next big obstacle but the island is already completed so we are part way there. That's the picture above..it was hand crafted by my awesome brother.The there's some painting and the floors.The next question is whether to rent or sell...we'll leave that up to the experts.

I have seen a few of my friends since I have been back here in Phoenix. It is nice to see the familiar faces. Just wishing I could work with them more. The floating thing is ok but it's already getting a little old. We'll see what happens.

First do no harm.

Working away

Work at the house continues, slowly the rooms are getting painted and the little things are getting done. Not fast enough for me or my husband though. It's been a long time apart to get this done. I know it will be worth it in the end. Just hard right now.

Hey all, the weather here has been great. Nice and cool in the mornings still a bit warm in the evenings but you won't hear me complain. I worked at my travel job on Saturday and Sunday....it was nice to be "home". I worked with my friends on Saturday and floated to Med surg on Sunday...hey if they want to pay me tele wages to work med surg I'm ok with that. They have Cerner Millenium computer charting...gonna take some time to get the flow of it. But, at least I feel comfortable with the hospital and the type of patients. I went to John C.Lincoln North Mountain on Friday with the agency. Very nice and well organized...it was PCU so I only had 3 patients with an aide. They have paper charting so that was easy but they use something called a med station instead of the pyxis...it was ok. Sometime I amaze myself at what I can do...just walk in and start working. They are using the new Alaris IV pump, I had done an inservice on it about a year ago but had never had hands on. I went in and figured it out without asking anyone. It was a good feeling for this old dog. Just like the medication/ drip test I had to take my first day of orientation here. I thought since I had tested at my agency that I wouldn't have to take any tests at Good Sam. Plus my friend that is here and working at a different Banner Facility didn't have to take any additional tests when she started, so I thought I was in the clear. Nope...I had to take it...and it was all figuring mcg/kg/min or how many mcg the patient was getting given the ml/hr. I freaked...I don't do that on a daily basis. Plus, I have my cheat sheets. I couldn't get it for about 10 minutes I sit there sweating..then i just started at the top and did it. I probably did it the really really long way but, I did it and I passed. I was so proud of myself. Little things that make your day huh?

Remember non noc nocere.

The Valley of the Sun

We decided to try the kitchen tile ourselves. I thought it might take 2 days, it took 2 days to prep and start and 2 more for my poor husband to finish alone. I spent 4 out of the 5 days in Columbus helping my husband at the house...I really enjoyed it. So much different than being a nurse. Just as physically demanding but not as emotionally draining. I'd love to do it full time.
How do you like the yellow? Different,huh? I thought it appropriate since I am now in the valley of the sun. It has been beautiful here in Phoenix, alright ,it rained a little, but, it's so much better than the east coast. I just love the views of the mountains. I also love watching the airplanes, they tend to stack up in the sky over the city...at night especially it's a cool sight. Some of my favorite times here have been spent watching the airplanes.

I have passed all my tests and start my orientation tomorrow. It seems I have 4 days of orientation scheduled for the hospital and probably 2 on the unit...they converted to paperless charting since I was here last. So, that's the reason for the extensive orientation.

I was able to get some work from the agency ,CNS, that I signed up with. Granted it was 30 miles away,but it was work. A newer hospital and the unit had just been remodeled , it was really busy and I got little to no orientation. I made it through though...did my 12 hours and drove the 45 min home.

Still debating about a car. My husband is supposed to join me out here in the next 3-4 weeks...I really don't want to own a vehicle and have another bill but renting a car is pretty darn expensive. Still trying to figure that one out.

The house is coming along...just taking longer than we thought.Keep the good thoughts coming.

Remember first do no harm.

6 days but who's counting

The bathroom is almost complete...as you can see we have a floor and a new bathtub and some paint. I will be helping to floor the kitchen when I get to Columbus...yep, I'll still be working.

Oh, it must be similar to being released from prison. This is a great feeling...I am almost out of this place. After 3 months I am really tired of my little studio apartment. I am sick of the drive to the hospital. I am REALLY tired of having to do everything myself and alone. The old phrase you don't know what you've got till it's gone is so true. I actually feel very lucky and grateful for the opportunities I have. Not many people get to do what I do. There are thousands of people out there who are only existing and surviving. They get up everyday and go to the same job for the same pay in the same car in the same town. They work with the same people and come home to the same house. I'm sure it's comfortable, I think it would drive me nuts.

I remember when my husband and I first started out on this adventure 6 years ago. As soon as we decided we were going to do it, my perspective changed. I began to look at things differently. I distinctly remember walking into work one morning and I got the overwhelming feeling I was a rat in a maze, taking the same path as everyone else looking for the cheese. It was creepy. I felt that way until I left that job.

I got the opportunity to go back to that job and work as a traveler a couple of years later. I got to see that most of the same people were still there only bigger and older. No one really looked happy and there was a lot of complaining. It was good to go home though. I enjoyed going to work and knowing the doctors and the protocols. I still had the respect of my boss, my coworkers and the doctors..there was no proving myself. But, along with that came the added responsibilities that our superiors put on us. I miss the people, not the job.

It will be the same here when I leave, I will miss the people I work with, not the job. This was a tough assignment. The culture, the socioeconomic level of the patients really stood out. Again, sad, but it opens my eyes to the truth of what is out there that most people don't get to see, or choose not to see. If you are poor and don't go to the doctor and get your check ups you can die the first time you come into the hospital. If you send your loved one to nursing home and don't check on their care they can die a slow agonizing death. Most of the doctors here cannot effectively talk to families and patients about a DNR, a lot of that is cultural, and it's very sad. There is a lot of suffering here.

Our little hospital has had 6 deaths in 2 weeks...that's a lot. Even the chaplain looks a little depressed. But, these people are so sick by the time they hit the ER, there is little chance for them.

The people who work at this hospital are a great group. They laugh a lot and get along with each other pretty well. It's hard to believe 90 % of the staff is LPN's. They know their stuff,though.

I will be losing my internet tomorrow until the 17th when I pick up again in Phoenix. Ya'll be safe. As they say here at Richmond Community...Holla at a sista whe you see her on the street, ya hear? Alright sugar.

Remember first do no harm.

2 more weeks and counting

I don't have the updated pictures of the bathroom yet, because my poor husband has been too busy to get them out of his camera and email them to me. He did send this picture over my phone (I love technology) to me while I was at work the other day. We have some landscaping finally...the tree root was actually dug out later the same day but I didn't get an updated pic. The bathroom is ready for paint and the flooring will go in Tuesday morning. The furnace and central air will be in tomorrow. Things are coming together. The guy who is going to put down the floor in the bath might also do the kitchen. He owns/manages about 25 rental properties himself and he might have a renter for our place already. I will be so happy. Only one mortgage payment and to have it done and rented would be awesome!
Yeah, I'm working my butt off. They aren't letting me slack off at all these last couple of weeks either. It's been busier than ever. I have missed lunch a couple of times this week and left after 8pm yesterday. Tomorrow is day #5 this week...then I get a day off...woohoo. I have to spend it doing laundry because I have no more white uniforms that are clean. They get me in whatever I can find tomorrow... These patients are really sick. They are so poor and don't get any health care whatsoever. The ER is their primary source of health care. Lots of them have never been to the doctor and they are in their 70's. This week was also drama queen week. My goodness these women can carry on. We had this one "diva" who was yelling and throwing things. She was calling out to every doctor who got off the elevator...Are you my doctor?...they all answered no..but really thought I hope not. She would ring for the nurse every 10 or 15 minutes, literally. Then all she would say is I want to see my nurse. Of course the nurse she had was very shy and timid...it was sad to watch really. Even the nurse manager and the acting DON couldn't handle her. It's amazing this clientele here. They get away with so much that anywhere else they wouldn't put up with. Guess that's why I can't wait to go back to civilization.
I got my apartment and my cable and my plane ticket...I'm ready to go. I wish I could drive out to Phoenix with my husband, I'd love to stop in Oklahoma and see my family..but, he will have to drive out with the dog on his own. The house won't be ready in 12 days.And he has to stay to finish up. At least my traveler friends will be there...they arrive on the 7th or 8th. I'm being daring. My flight is the morning of the 17th and I have to be at the hospital for my physical at 1300, my plane lands at 1030. I hope there are no delays. I have gotten set up with an agency to work for the first week and I told them I would give them at least one 12hr shift a week for the next 13weeks. The recruiter sounds pretty new. So new in fact that he was flirting with me over the phone after he saw my drivers license picture...not very professional. But, if he can get me work I'll be happy. Wish me luck...non noc nocere.

Rain...

The bathroom is coming together...I wish I was there to help...I would much rather do that than work overtime here. But, that is my lot in life. I worked 6 days last week and back to 3 this week, cuz I get to go and see my house (oh yeah and my husband...lol). It will be a 5 day trip...a good reward for my hard work.
Work has been busy as always. A couple of codes last week and hopefully I'll get out without one this week. You know it's not gonna be good when they call a code and everyone just looks around at everyone else...instead of heading for where the code is. Needless to say, they didn't turn out too well, but it got me thinking about my ACLS again. Which, is really good because I'll have to take a test when I get to Phoenix. Yeah, not only a rhythm and med test but a physical test too. it caught me off guard last time, but not this time, I'm gonna be ready. I have to do the dreaded 3 minute step test...do you all remember that from what High school? Yeah, last time I almost passed out, not this time...yes I am actually practicing. It's pretty good cardio.
Amazingly there is one patient who has been at the hospital since I got here...about 3 weeks shy of 3 months...and there's no plan for her to go anywhere. It's weird, but, it's not the first time I have encountered this. Some hospitals just can't get rid of their worst patients, they are always the sickest, and I always seem to have to take care of them ...a lot. Maybe it's because the regular staff is just in need of a rest from them...but, I need a rest too. You hear a lot of people talk under their breath..she makes the big bucks, let her take care of them. That's what I hear most often...the funny thing is I don't tell anyone what I make, it's just their guess. It's funny they don't think about the down side of traveling. You are away from all your friends and loved ones. You don't have your stuff, only a small portion of it. You can be cancelled, heck your contract can be cancelled and then where are you left? The company might be able to find you a new contract unless they are the ones who cancelled you. Then you only have 48hr to move out of your apartment, how many people do you know who could move out in 48hr? There are some down sides...I wish I didn't have to ad getting the rotten patients and the first admission and the extra patient but, I do. It happens. But, I'll take it all knowing I get to leave in 3 months and hope the next place is better.
This time I know it will be...any weather out west beats this east coast stuff!!
I'll let ya know how my trip is and I'll take lots of pictures. As they say down here in good old Richmond Community Hospital...Holla at a sista....and remember first do no harm.