Time

Time.  Where the hell has it gone? Over two years since my last post and assurances that I would keep up with this.... Project? Disaster? Mental dump of all the things I've wanted to say but am not able to.  

In the intrest of full disclosure (within reason) all of the anger and frustration isn't conveyed to the staff and patients unless they really have it coming. Still not above telling an arrogant surgical resident to FUCK OFF, before blessing his heart of course.

The years have been entertaining to say the least.  Husband (the medic) is gone. BYE FELICIA. Something about babies with multiple other women.  Oh well.  Onward and upward.  Maddox crossed the bridge about a year ago.  Sail on my sweet friend.  I've been promoted to Captain of this Titanic called the ED.  As a night shift supervisor I get to deal with the entitled humanity (staff) as well as the patients and their various complaints.

It's an eye opener.  The inner workings of an urban trauma center, layed out like a clamshell patient who has just been pronounced.   Messy, surreal and just a bit fascinating.  So here's to documenting the next step in the career.  Night shift as told from a salty trauma nurse who is now the big queso.  More to come!

Grasshopper

I am orienting a new grad. She was a patient care tech in the department for about a year and I always thought she was pretty awesome. When I found out she was going to be an RN with us I was excited for about 30 seconds... then I realized that she has such great potential and would probably be ruined by some lazy twat and turned into a cookie cutter nurse. Kind of like the kids in the Pink Floyd video... The Wall.  How you are oriented makes such a difference in the type of nurse you become. So after a few minutes of thought I decided to ask to be her preceptor. She had been assigned a pretty decent day shift nurse so I didn't want night shift to fuck her up. Did I mention I haven't oriented anyone before? 11 years and they never asked.

So I call her my little Grasshopper. She is smart, motivated, young (21) and funny as hell to work with. She did a lot of fundamentals on day shift and with me is working on critical thinking and ICU patients. We have "Teaching Turds" which are little nuggets of information that you learn and hang on to.

Teaching Turd #1: Nothing good comes from the bus station!
Teaching Turd #2: Mr. B ALWAYS has bedbugs. Decon him first, ask questions later.

Our first night together we had a great neuro patient who had two emergent burr holes placed. We also worked a code and then Mr B showed up. When we took his shirt off all I saw was bedbugs and eggs. He is so old and so crazy that he thought the bugs were just dry skin. So we gowned up and stripped the old guy down, bagged his things and took them outside. Then we had to take him into the decon shower. You would think getting hosed down by 2 cute nurses would be a dream come true.... but he howled...and I mean HOWLED like a cat in the tub the whole time. This man had bugs everywhere you could think of.

Once he was clean we offered him sweats and a t shirt from our Forensic stash. He was mad that we trashed his not-so-tighty and VERY not-so-whities... so Grasshopper offered him all we had.... women's underpants!

I knew I liked this girl!

I think she will be fantastic. Its like having a little me running around (God Help the ER).

BEAT

Have you ever met someone who just deserved to get their ass beat? I mean seriously, legitimately BEAT. I met that girl last night. Actually, she got her ass beat a week ago. She was at "da club" and a fight broke out and somehow she was beat over the head with high heeled shoes. Now I know when men fight it is all elbows and fists flying. I don't see the cobbler's elves flying across the top rope to beat up on some poor girl with a Jimmy Choo. This girl was mean and nasty.... and that was sober! I can't imagine how she behaved drunk. She wanted her CT done, since she eloped last week before her scan. She also wanted all (and she means ALL) of her records so she can sue the club and the owners. She was also angry because when the resident went to sew the laceration to her head, he had to cut loose some of her weave tracks. So now she wants to speak to patient relations about having the hospital pay to have her weave removed and replaced, since we ruined it.

All the while, I sat behind my bullet resistant glass, smiling my smile and realizing that tomorrow I will be off, home and have a glass of wine.... she will still be the bitch who got beat with the cheap-o high heeled shoe!

Little Nurse Lost

Years have gone by... my fault I know. Not sure why I decided to pick this up again. Maybe because there was something missing in my day to day life. Maybe I need the outlet to sleep well again. Maybe I just missed the opportunity to just vent to the stratosphere.

I am unfortunately, still planted with feet firmly in the ground. Several flight interviews down, still no job. Working full time at MECCA as charge, trauma, triage, pedes (yup, still baby hell) and orienting a new grad to boot. The hospital has expressly forbidden any social media mention (following a less than delicate post about a fucktarded surgery resident about 6 months ago). Fortunately I had luck and the truth on my side... he really is a fucktard, so I came out with barely a slap on the wrist.

Personally..... divorced the cop. Things got bad, then worse, slightly better then in the toilet. Best decision by far. As is always my advice to others... go with your gut and you will never be wrong, Have remarried and now am the step-mom to 3 (yes count 'em) THREE crazy little boys who I love dearly. Unfortunately, I also recieved a slighly neurotic MIL and a biological mom who deserves to be in jail... more on that later I'm sure,

So as of now I am in the pedes ED, No patients. Sitting squarely between the cute new attending who is listening to classical music on her computer and the middle age pre-op tranny clerk who keeps blasting Rihanna and making overtly loud comments. What can I say? Its home.

Dr Rock is back in the area... GOD HELP US and has decided that he is a transplant surgeon now, (I say it again,,,, GOD HELP US) Lurch has made the transition from pain in my ass to hospital level administration. Which means he is even more of a pain in the ass, I'm back in school for my BSN (online.... )where I can work at 5am with a beer in my pajamas and the Christian university that MECCA is paying has no idea. Trying to decide if acute care NP or family is what I want to do.

As the tranny says.... patient out front. Time to do some work!

Baby Hell

Still no flight jobs available. I missed one of the postings which thoroughly pissed me off. Now is just a hurry up and wait situation. Working on staying on top of my alphabets and looking into RN-BSN programs. I started one at my hospital but stopped after I got hired to fly. To be honest, I fucking hated it. I was never one for the classroom anyway. If you want me to explain how a head bleed or stemi happens then give me a patient, an EKG or a CT scan. I'm your go-to-girl. Don't care about the aura around patients or the "healing power of music." (one of the girls in my class seriously did a research paper on that.... mine was on family presence during non-traumatic resuscitation)

So this semester the gods have blessed me with a nursing student of my very own. I haven't met him yet, but I have already heard good things. The only downfall is that there seems to be more of a focus on the paperwork and less on the actual experience itself. I am super excited to have a student.... but I think I'm going to need hazard pay for the paperwork!

In the meantime I have been picking up overtime left and right. I have a new AC unit to pay off, big ass tires on the jeep and (oh yeah) a house to refinance. Second job anyone? I applied hourly in the pedes ER. The nurse manager precepted me as an extern 11 years ago (?!?) and we get along great. I gave her a heads up via email and was responded with "BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS FANTASTIC   will give you a call next week.... with your start date."   So much for an interview! So it looks like I will be cutting my teeth in the pedes ER, aka "baby hell." ER, Pedes ER, ICU and flight experience should make me marketable as hell, don't ya think?

180 hours

430am while I was hard at work (working an inferior STEMI who was given nitro pre-hospital to be exact) my power came back. I returned to a 68 degree, well-lit home and made the medic and I a warm breakfast for the first time in forever. I slept like I haven't slept in a long time. There was a relief and a relaxation that lifted a weight off my shoulders.

As I get my house back together I will get caught up. It has been an interesting week.

Adapt and Overcome

101.5 hours and counting. People at work knew I didn't have power. The mismatched scrubs and Pippi braids gave it away. Not to mention that I wasn't actually on the schedule (whoops) and I begged to stay. (I think it came across as "please don't make me go home to that hot dark house!)

So I got home, crashed and prayed for power and tried to sleep. Woke up in the hot dim afternoon. So tonight I've said FUCK IT and taken up residence in the Holiday Inn Express. Will indulge in several hot baths, ice cold drinks, comfy, cool bed and pray to the power gods for better luck tomorrow.