Bringin in the Chips...(or something more clever)

Well, for the last pay period (which I got paid for yesterday) I worked something crazy like 90 hours ( I normally work 72 per two weeks)!!! It included two on call days where I actually got called in, three weekend days, and being team leader for part of one of those days. This all added up to LOTS of mulah! $$$$ people!!! I'm trying to remember that I'm still paying off student loans. I was super super tired and cranky after all this work and desperately needed my two days off at the beginning of this week. Then I worked yesterday, worked on-call today until I begged them to let me leave at 4:30 after I discharged 3 of my four patients. And then I work tomorrow, but then I have the weekend to not be at work! Basically I've been in the nursery 2 out of the 3 days a week that I work, and I really love that. I will admit that 3/3 days or even 2 in a row can be a little much. I do prefer it over the postpartum ladies, only because I can be more in control in the nursery. (Not much a newborn can do to de-rail my well-planned out day). I had an antepartum today, and I like them a lot too--their days are very scheduled. Ok, fine, I'm a control-freak, type A...Good thing I'm a nurse!

And my new obsession: looks like a chip, crunches like a chip, secretly HEALTHY! (Delicious!!!)

Back with the Babies

Seattle was...FABULOUS. I think I am still processing, because I don't really know where to begin. On my flight out I ws seated by my soulmate, love-of-my-life, future husband, Ryan. It was refreshing (and exciting) to know that you can still have connections with random strangers, and it made my four hour flight go much quicker than it would have otherwise. We didn't exchange info, but that's ok, because since it's fate, we'll meet again! Wendy picked me up and we went out for dinner with her hubbie Anil. Saturday, we went to the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and did some tasting. That night after dinner, we sat on a pier and enjoyed the beautiful water and weather. Sunday we got up early and went down to the market for breakfast and shopping, got some tattoos, and ate some delicious dinner. Monday, we took a random trip to Canada! We went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge north of Vancouver, in the rain, but it was a pretty good time! And then we went to some good outlet malls on the way home. Tuesday we got up early to drive me back to the airport, and I'm getting emotional just thinking about it now. I just had such a wonderful time, and I really think a move to Seattle is in my future!
Since being back, it's been a lot of baby time. I was in the nursery all 3 days last week! I guess that's a good thing, I think I'm in my zone there. Friday, I had three nursing students to help me. When they were getting ready to leave, one pulled me aside and said "I just wanted to tell you that we have to do these clinical journals, and I write about you in mine all the time. You are just such a joy to work with, and you teach us things, and you actually treat us like human beings, and I just really appreciate that" Then another one piped up and said "Yeah, I write about you too, and how working with you has been my best clinical experience to date!" It was just a really nice compliment.
I was lucky to get Easter Sunday off, so I got to spend some time in the beautiful weather with the fam.
This week we have had a really low census, and only 3-4 patients a piece. Monday we had only 6 patients and 2 nurses! It's so exciting when you can really get to know your patients! I was Team Leader again on Monday afternoon, but it was a piece of cake since we only had a few patients. I'm on call all day tomorrow, part of Friday, and work all weekend, so it's a lot of work (and $) for the next few days!

What's that you say? I'm awesome???

Ok, so just a quick post before Seattle, because today was worth writing about.
So First I get to work, and see that I have all 5 antepartum patients. Ok. Could be a lot, but they are all on very strict schedules, so that makes it easier, as long as none of them do anything crazy like, go into labor...so I go put my lunch away, clock in, and sit down at the nurses station to get report. Then, as I'm reviewing my patients on the board, I notice something strange: next to my name are the initials TL. As in Team Leader. As in I'm in charge. Of the whole unit. I kind of laughed until the night charge nurse said "nope, that's for real, you can handle it".
As TL you make room assignments (and nurse assignments) when new patients come up, make sure everyone gets lunch, do a whole list of checks and tasks in this "TL binder", and generally put out fires all day. I've never done it before and usually the most experienced nurse of the day does it. Not quite sure how I ended up with the gig. So I just smiled and said "Um...it's a lot of pressure, but okay...I'll do my best!" The "premium pay" you get for the added responsibility is enough incentive to try to be great at it! Then I get report and find out that one of my patients is dilated to 5cm, contracting every 3-4 minutes, and at 34 weeks. Um, what? Why ON EARTH is she up on our unit and not down on labor and delivery??? (yeah, I still don't know the answer to that question) But she made me very very nervous all day--I kept thinking that I was going to walk in and find a baby on the end of the bed...or in the toilet! (That happens a couple times a year!) Luckily she hung in there, just contracting away, all day.
I also had this hilarious moment: A patient puts on her call light. I go in the room to find the patient and her mother standing around the toilet.
Me: "Um, hey guys, what's going on?"
Patient:"My pee. It smells nasty. And it's dark."
Me : (I look in the toilet) "Um, looks pretty yellow to me..."
Patient's mother: But it looks oily on top"
Me: blank stare
Patient's mother:"It looks like chicken noodle soup, what's with that?"
Me: "um, I think it looks just fine, pregnancy and hormones do weird things to your body..."
Them: "ok, thanks".
Well, great, now I can never eat chicken noodle soup again. Thank YOU.

Oh, and the team leader thing? I was pretty great at it! Multiple coworkers came up and told me so afterward! Yay! Bring on the responsibility and money! WAHOO!!! On to Seattle!!! YAY!

ALL the babies!!!

So I was in the nursery Friday, Yesterday AND today!!! I don't know if they are trying to groom me into the new "nursery goddess" or what. I really like being in there, and I'm good at it (the doctors even say so!) but by the end of the day I must admit, I'm a little tired of the babies! And also, tired of standing all day, and a little claustrophobic...
Good thing I'm going to SEATTLE on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to be spending time with my favorite friend from nursing school, Wendy, her hubby Anil, and their puppy Muddy! I am so looking forward to some play time, and some out-of-Illinois-time! Can't wait! See you when I get back!

Cha-cha-cha Changes...

Monday I turned 25. And the life analysis that takes place at a quarter century is not very encouraging. True, I am (basically) where I want to be professionally, and that is GREAT! But personally, not so much. So goals for the next few years (as I inch closer to--gulp--30)basically include finding a way to improve my personal life (aka get married and have a baby). Ha. My friend Paven had a party last night and it was pretty great. Fun to hang out with people my age!

Big News! I might have to be changing my blog's website soon! That's right folks, despite my HATRED for moving, sometimes when you are offered an amazing option, you just have to take it! Emily and I have decided, after careful consideration (on her part anyway, I was more impulsive with my decision) to live together!!! My lease here is up on July 31st, so come August, the Ward sisters will be reunited under the same roof again! I think it will be an adventure, and SO MUCH FUN!!! I have to admit though, since making the decision to look for a new place together, I feel some sadness about the idea of leaving my little house on Oregon St. I feel like this is really the place where I became an adult, and I decorated it, and made it my own, and the thought of doing it all over again is a little daunting, but Em and I are gonna have such a blast! Something to look forward to- I'm sure will both get some good blog posts from the whole thing.The rest of my life is, the same. Work is...work.
It's been pretty bipolar around the OB unit lately. Either we are totally full, every room in use and people waiting in the halls, OR we have so few patients that we have to send nurses home because there isn't enough happening to keep all of us busy. As someone put it, "It's either feast or famine around here". That kind of up and down is starting to get a little exhausting. I think the honeymoon stage just is over. I still totally love my job, don't get me wrong, but I am starting to let the little things get to me. I don't go into work anymore in the morning with any high expectations about how the day is going to go. If anything, based on the last month or so, I go into work in the morning assuming that the day is going to be challenging and hard, and then get pleasantly surprised when it goes otherwise. A positive change has occurred despite all the chaos: When things go wrong (which they are bound to with at least one patient a day if you have 6-7), I am finding myself more and more capable of fixing the problem. I no longer have internal panic attacks when a postpartum patient hemorrhages or an antepartum patient goes into labor. And I feel like the doctors and other staff really treat me with respect and expect the same out of me as they do from the nurses with 15+ years of experience.
Friday, two out of my 4 patients spoke exclusive Spanish. Yeah. I don't speak any Spanish. No bueno. And while I fumbled with the 10-15 words I do know, I found that when my mouth got all "accent-y" I just start spitting out random French words. So then I get all kinds of "this lady is LOCO" looks from the patients and their families. Saturday, I was in the nursery, and, because I'm slightly cursed, we had 4 new babies before 10 am, and two new babies between 6:30 and 7 pm. Oh, those babies. Good thing they're so darn cute! (Belle Kristin, 3 months)

"Yeah, I wondered about that..."

So yesterday at work, something amazing and hilarious happened! In my boss' words "never, in all my years, have I ever seen or heard of this!!!" So, here's what happened:
I discharged a patient yesterday morning, and stood at the nurses station as she was headed out. Her mom walked ahead of her, holding the car seat base and a couple clear plastic bags with personal items, the patient was pushed in a wheelchair with the baby in the car seat on her lap, and another transporter pushed a cart with the rest of her stuff behind her. We all smiled and waved when they left. About 20 minutes later, our housekeeper Anita came out of the patient's room pushing the lower part of one of our hospital cribs. They sort of look like this:
Except the one Anita was pushing was missing the top part- no plastic bucket, no mattress, no blankets covering the mattress--all of it--GONE! We went back in the room and searched high and low- in the cabinets, in the shower-it was not there! The patient took it, that much was clear, but I don't know HOW! We were all watching them leave, that bassinet is HUGE, where could they have put it?! We didn't see any giant duffel bags! I called the patient, and her cell phone was disconnected. So I called her house phone. Someone answered, then hung up. Hmm. Meanwhile, crazy news travels fast, so my coworkers from other units were coming up to see the mysterious "topless crib"! My boss even walked over to see it, and said, "well Katie, don't be wondering where your next paycheck is" (with a giant smile on her face). So next I called the transport team and asked if perhaps they remembered helping a patient load Carle property into her car? His response? "Yeah we did, can they not take those?" WHAT??? Of course they can't-- would you help them load a couch into their truck too? So then I wrote an incident report, and tried calling the patient again. This time she answers. Her: "yeah?" Me:"Hi ___, this is Katie, your nurse from Carle, about that crib and matress and any blankets you may have taken, you can't have those, those are Carle property and keeping them is theft." Her: "Oh, yeah, I wondered about that...ok, well my mom's coming back to Champaign now, I'll just have her bring it back." Me: "Ok, great. Thanks". And sure enough, about an hour later, it got dropped off at the front desk.
I mean WHO DOES THAT?!?!?!?!?!?
In other news, it's FINALLY spring on Oregon Street, and man am I happy! These little babies popped up out front today- Yay!

Oh wow

Yikes- it has really been a while! My bad! I went to visit Emily last weekend in Kirksville, which was lovely. Then I came back and had a dentist appointment (YUCK). Then it was back to work. Last week was, well...terrible. I don't know why this happened, but we just had so so so many babies being born! On Friday we did 9 c-sections and 5 other deliveries. I discharged 5 patients that morning, and had to take 4 brand new ones. And I don't know if it's because my 6-month work-iversary is coming up or what, but it seemed like I was putting out fires right and left and dealing with emergencies that have not happened to me ever. During the end of my shift Friday, I have 4 crises going at all at once. One patient was hemorrhaging, an antepartum patient was contracting, a new c-section had uncontrolled vomiting, a morphine pump was beeping for no reason, and one of my patient's boyfriends was being an abusive you-know-what. On top of all this, Thursday morning I came down with a cold and have felt pretty crappy since then.
By Friday night when I left work at 8:30 (an hour after my shift is supposed to end) I'll admit, I felt broken. It was just too many days in a row (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) of too much. I was exhausted (mentally, physically, and emotionally). So as I rode down in the elevator, fighting back tears, I called my charge nurse and asked for help. I told her that I know we aren't supposed to do this (there is a schedule and order and everything), but I really really needed a day in the nursery. She told me it was good of me to acknowledge that I needed a "mental health day" and she would see what she could do.
She obligied! I got to spend Saturday in the nursery, which while busy (we had three "border babies" , who's mothers had been discharged, so I was responsible for feedings, changings, and soothing) was a relief. And I had yesterday off. Thank God.
Today was much MUCH better. Even with a crisis that started at report! I was taking over care for an antepartum patient (32 weeks pregnant) who was hunched over in bed,, crying, having contractions every 2-3 minutes and rating them a 6/10 in pain...uh oh! My co-workers tell me that I handled it all well, so that was re-assuring. None of my interventions worked, so she ended up going down to labor and delivery to get more intense and drastic interventions. I discharged 2 more patients throughout the day, and ended with just two!!! And though I'm back tomorrow, I don't dread it! Yay!