Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Realizations of my new job as a nurse!
1) No manicure will ever cure the excessive dryness from washing your hands repeatedly.
--Within one day of starting work, I developed hands as dry as sandpaper, and no lotion could penetrate them. I guess you could say the nurse with the soft hands is the one spreading germs.
2) You can give some people the world, and they still won't be happy.
--People who are admitted to the hospital often feel as though it is a hotel. Because of that mindset, we have to give them that hotel feeling to make them approve of the facility. Occasionally, there are those patients who, after receiving more care and attention than any one of your patients, will still never be happy.
3) Smiles make people like you, so don't be a grump.
--The comments I've gotten because of my smiley attitude have ranged from "You remind me of Santa's little elf, so happy all the time" to "You seem really cheerful. I like it!" to "You're probably the happiest nurse I've seen". However, if you smile at someone, they automatically think you have the time to take care of them too! That makes situations a little more difficult, but completely worth it.
4) It only takes one simple "thank you" to make your day better.
--I know it sounds cheesy, but there are some people who never thank you for all you do. When you hear a genuine "thank you very much" or "you are too good to me", it really makes you feel like all the hard work is worth it.
5) CA's are invaluable.
--It didn't take me too long to realize just how important it is to have people there to test your patient's blood sugars, take their vitals, wash them up, and ambulate them. These are a lot of little tasks that I know for a fact that I could not fit in even if I tried. Having constant help around is the best. I often find that CA's get to do the nurse's job (aside from passing medications and doing assessments) and we get stuck with the documentation. One of these days, I want that to change. I want more care at the bedside because that is what I love!
6) There are patients who struggle far more than you.
--Can you walk to the bathroom? Can you get out of bed on your own? Can you feed yourself? Can you enjoy your food without thickening it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are better off than most of the patients I take care of.
7) There are patients who struggle far less than you.
--This fact actually made me laugh. I took care of a patient recently who smoked for many many many years, had fluid around their lungs, congestive heart failure, pneumonia in their lungs, and a lesion on the lungs. They had an incredibly hard time breathing. Guess who beat me in lung function tests? That person. Small airways, big airways, an 80 year old patient whipped my butt when it came to breathing. Does it bring me down? No. Why? I'm not the one in the hospital. I also realize that my difficulty breathing came over time, while their issues may have developed a little more quickly. This is why you sometimes need to step back and analyze the situation. Their problem is not less important, and your problem is not more important.
8) You can never stop moving.
--I am nearly positive I am going to lose weight. There is hardly time for food, and if you don't prioritize correctly, you get incredibly behind and bogged down. That is something I will learn to do over time!
9) Documentation is a beast.
--I just saw a slide show the other day that said that an average nurse spends 1.7 hours out of a 12 hour shift at the patient's bedside. You can imagine what takes up a majority of time when it comes to patient care!
10) I still really have the urge to work pediatrics.
--I don't have to explain this one.
--Within one day of starting work, I developed hands as dry as sandpaper, and no lotion could penetrate them. I guess you could say the nurse with the soft hands is the one spreading germs.
2) You can give some people the world, and they still won't be happy.
--People who are admitted to the hospital often feel as though it is a hotel. Because of that mindset, we have to give them that hotel feeling to make them approve of the facility. Occasionally, there are those patients who, after receiving more care and attention than any one of your patients, will still never be happy.
3) Smiles make people like you, so don't be a grump.
--The comments I've gotten because of my smiley attitude have ranged from "You remind me of Santa's little elf, so happy all the time" to "You seem really cheerful. I like it!" to "You're probably the happiest nurse I've seen". However, if you smile at someone, they automatically think you have the time to take care of them too! That makes situations a little more difficult, but completely worth it.
4) It only takes one simple "thank you" to make your day better.
--I know it sounds cheesy, but there are some people who never thank you for all you do. When you hear a genuine "thank you very much" or "you are too good to me", it really makes you feel like all the hard work is worth it.
5) CA's are invaluable.
--It didn't take me too long to realize just how important it is to have people there to test your patient's blood sugars, take their vitals, wash them up, and ambulate them. These are a lot of little tasks that I know for a fact that I could not fit in even if I tried. Having constant help around is the best. I often find that CA's get to do the nurse's job (aside from passing medications and doing assessments) and we get stuck with the documentation. One of these days, I want that to change. I want more care at the bedside because that is what I love!
6) There are patients who struggle far more than you.
--Can you walk to the bathroom? Can you get out of bed on your own? Can you feed yourself? Can you enjoy your food without thickening it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are better off than most of the patients I take care of.
7) There are patients who struggle far less than you.
--This fact actually made me laugh. I took care of a patient recently who smoked for many many many years, had fluid around their lungs, congestive heart failure, pneumonia in their lungs, and a lesion on the lungs. They had an incredibly hard time breathing. Guess who beat me in lung function tests? That person. Small airways, big airways, an 80 year old patient whipped my butt when it came to breathing. Does it bring me down? No. Why? I'm not the one in the hospital. I also realize that my difficulty breathing came over time, while their issues may have developed a little more quickly. This is why you sometimes need to step back and analyze the situation. Their problem is not less important, and your problem is not more important.
8) You can never stop moving.
--I am nearly positive I am going to lose weight. There is hardly time for food, and if you don't prioritize correctly, you get incredibly behind and bogged down. That is something I will learn to do over time!
9) Documentation is a beast.
--I just saw a slide show the other day that said that an average nurse spends 1.7 hours out of a 12 hour shift at the patient's bedside. You can imagine what takes up a majority of time when it comes to patient care!
10) I still really have the urge to work pediatrics.
--I don't have to explain this one.
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