rewards

when rewards come unexpectedly, it has a deeper, more genuine feeling to it. Someone had shadowed me at least 3-4 times the last 2 months. She was an extern that have decided to take on the internship program offered by our hospital. I loved having her because she was really enthusiastic, always with a smile that working with her just gave you a little bit of much needed sunshine especially in days where it makes you wonder why the he*l you chose to be a nurse.

She just signed her contract for the internship program and she indicated that she wanted me to continue precepting her. That just made my heart swell. Just for that, I have committed myself for 5 more years in the jungle. More alligators, and tigers and ungrateful monkeys. And I'll greet them with a smile everytime. That's what being a nurse is all about.

Freaky Friday

double codes, crazy doctors and makukulit and pasaway na pasyente. Grabe tlaga sa jungle! Buti na lang me nakaisip mag compliment. Pero in fairness, hindi nya kinayang alisin ang pagod ko ngayon. Hay, buhay Nars nga naman.

Part of why I left Ortho was because I was scared one day soon my back's going to give up. So I moved to Tele, and my back gave out anyway. I hurt my back while picking a patient about to code. It was probably adrenalin rush, I did not feel the pain right away. I did not feel any strain that would spark the urge to do an incident report. It started hurting after I got home and by morning I could not move without a grunt or a wince.

It was a case of a real bad muscle strain. So I went to employee health, got a bunch of Ibuprofen and did an incident report. It was less than 24 hours. I took a three day rest and by yesterday, I was off the pain meds and back to work. Today however, without any provocation my back started to hurt again. It wasn't the cramping, tight pain I was feeling previously but shooting pain on my right lower back. in a matter of minutes I was crying, it was excrutiating. So I went back to employee health only to be informed that they can't send me to the ER because my "claim" was denied because of late reporting. it was less than 24 hours I said. But there wasn't anything she can do, she said. That's policy. I was never even offered any pain medication, I was sent back up to my unit so I can go home.

I was appalled. I work in a hospital and I cannot even get care when I needed it. I devote more that 40 hours of my time week after week, sometimes coming in even when I wasn't feeling well, spending my holidays in patient care even if i don't get any extra pay for it (yes, walang holiday pay!). Talk about taking care of your employees. That's the big difference in the healthcare system between the Philippines and the US. I remeber presenting just my employee ID at Makati Med ER and I did not have to pay anything. I wasn't even a Makati Med employee.

Are all hospitals here in the US like that?

I'm on a Hydrocodone high

and I don't like it one bit!

My roommate had a few tablets of Vicodin from her previous oral surgery and since my back would not get enough relief from plain Ibuprofen, I decided it was time for the Vicodin. I took 1 pill, and now I wish I didn't.

It was the weirdest feeling. I felt my body relax but it wasn't the kind that was comforting nor comfortable, it was uneasy. I felt my head balloon and then came the dizzinness, the nausea and culminated with my head in the toilet bowl.

My head still feels like a damn bobblehead. And I swear, I'm never taking anything with Hydrocodone again. Well, at least if I can help it.

just anotehr day

I saw his face and it was as white as paper. I knew at once something was wrong. He tried to deny it as I thought he would but the distress in his face gave him away. I proceeded to check him out and his numbers were all out of whack, I had to do something. I need to do something right away or it will be too late. I made the call....."Angel, get in here!" Before I could mutter another word the team was there and everyone sprang into action. We were calm but we knew every single action could spell life or death. As Dayna and Chloe wheeled him towards the elevator, I was saying a silent prayer. Please God, let him live. It was a weird calm and chaotic when we got there. It did not take alot of time before things started settling down. I asked him again how he's feeling and he said "lousy" in that tone I remember so well. And I thought to myself "he's back".

Mr. S got himself a temporary pacemaker, and we saved yet another life. Thank you God.

I love my job, I love my job, I love my JOB!

I love my job, I love my job, I love my job!!!

Every once in a while, I feel it....the satisfaction of what I do.

I am a nurse, but lately nursing care has been at the very bottom of my priority list. There's always too much that needs to be done, trivial things that when totalled amounts to more hours than performing real "patient care". Cleaning the commode, stripping the bed, wiping the spills before calling housekeeping to mop the floors....???? There's something wrong here, no? Add to that a support system that acts more of a nuisance rather than support like pca's who don't answer calls, unit clerks who spends time chattering rather than helping make your job easier you'd rather do things yourself than be frustrated and disappointed. And how about MD's who think they own you??? Do you really need me to feed you info when you can easily find them yourself, in the computer and in the chart? Such delusions of grandeur!

Then there are days when you are just too happy to do your job, when the atmosphere is just right for you to be able to do your job witout thinking about time managment. Shower patients, change the sheets, set up their tray. To be able to look at the H&P, progress notes labs, and other reports without having to worry about the 8 hours not being enough. To be able to listen to your patients without thinking about all the other things you need to do, without cutting them short just because you can't spare any more time. Every now and then, you get that bliss....

Every once in a while should come more often.

Starting Over

I passed my BCD !!!!! Grabe na ito!!!!!

Let me explain.....As I've said on my previous post, I've never really liked cardiac....more so trying to figure out the lines, curves and spikes of an ECG strip. Since I moved to the Telemetry floor, there's no way in the world that I can get away without having that competency. I was scared, I wasn't sure I'll figure it out. But really, once I started, I found myself enjoying it! So there, I surprised myself yet again.....

Moving on.....since I came from the Ortho floor, I can only bring about less that 10% of my Ortho competency to my new unit. Thus this conversation with my educator

Educator (E): Did you do the riverwalk when you started in ortho?
Mikee (M): I did not have an educator.
E: Rolls his eyes

E: Do you hve any experience in chest tubes?
M: Not here, maybe once in the Philippines (I forgot to mention that this "once" was during my student days pa!!!!!)

E: Do you know how to listen to heart sounds?
M: Impakta 'to a, ano palagay mo sakin?????
E: Do you know how to differentiate murmurs from ______ and_____?
M: hehehe....NO! (in theory po).

E: Did you do the diabetes competency?
M: I know I'm competent.
E: But did you have your competency checked off?
M: Wala nga akong educator nun e. Sariling sikap lang po.
M: Nope!

E: Lead placement?
M: LAst time I did it was about 8-9 years ago.
E: So, no?
M: Ganun na nga.

E: PAcemaker?
M: No

And a litany of more No's.

Sa madaling salita....wala akong alam!!!!!!!!

my Nike Shox

Sixteen hour shifts are a killer. Even my Nike Shox could notsave me from the perils of running around like a headless chicken in the jungle called....you guessed it, six south. Every now and then I stop and scold myself - what were you thinking?

And then I get my answer.

Doing sixteen hour shifts has several rewards.

First, I only have to work 3 or 4 days and get additional days off, unlike working 8 hours, 5 days a week. That means having more time to see shows I haven't seen for a long time like Amazing Race, Rockstar, CSI, etc. Because working 8 hours meant being at work 5 days a week, it also meant missing the shows that I love. Now I even have more time to go to Barnes and Noble or just be lazy.

Having additional days off also meant I can work extra because I have more days to spare. It used to be that to work exta meant to give up one of my 2 precious days off. And believe me, they are PRECIOUS!

Doing 16 hour shifts also meant having more time to pacify things in such a way that when I go home, I feel content that I have done my job and did it well. That I did not leave things for the next shift to do.

If only my feet can feel good as well!

If you haven't figured out by now, there is no "quiet time" in 6S. When I work 16 hours, I'm on my feet 15.5 hours. Every now and then I get the "chubby girl" assignment, that is I have patients from end to end. That means I have to run, run run to get from one patient to another. Imagine them calling at the same time, or even one after another. Instant workout!

I should get new shoes. I thought my Shox and I can transition through this together. Unfortunately, it's starting to fail me. Gotta get something that can carry me through constant running and being on my feet. Coz I plan to do this craziness for a long time.

Nurse Essentials

for an after shower scent


a hint of color for the lips and powder to start the day


hand care for constant handwashing


an extra coffee fix after a toxic day


soft slippers to cuddle your tired feet


and an iPOD to sing you lullaby

hay buhay Nars

hindi ako pagod......sobra, sobra, sobrang pagod. konti na lang mamamatay nako!!!

Kung bakit ba naman kasi, naisipan ko pang mag Nar-s ulit e and sarap sarap ng buhay ko sa pag memed-rep. Walang doctor na masungit pag tinatawagan, walang ka endorse na akala mo hindi marunong magkamali, at walang ka endorse na nag iiwan nag lahat ng trabaho. Kung pwede lang mamitik ng tenga!

Eto naman ksing si amo e, ilang buwan pa lang na pangalawang pinuno, akala mo nakalimutan na nya kung gano katoxic ang floor. Pagtrabahuhin ba ako ng limang sunod-sunod na araw! As if naman nakaupo lang ako plagi at naghihintay lang ng uwian. Akala mo di nya alam na after 2 days e halos ayaw mo nang bumalik sa jungle na tinatawag na 6 south! Utang na loob!

Kaya ko namang intindihin na me mga trabahong maiiwan sa sobra ngang kaguluhan sa gubat. Pero ang sabihin mo sakin na hindi mo trabaho yan, na bhala na ang doktor kung kelan nya makita...hello???? Baka bumangon si Florence Nightingale at bigla kang batukan! E di i-write up nga kita habang tumutulo ang luha ko sa sobrang frustration. Kakainis e.

so heto ko, after 5 days na straight na trabaho, kailangan ko namang maglaba ng 2 weeks worth na damit, maglinis ng banyo at magpalit ng bedsheet. Susmaryosep, walang katapusan! Makanuod na nga lang ng Brokeback Mountain

crazy scary

It's true when they say your whole life flashes in front of you when you're about to die......

I got the scare of my life the other day. It started on my back, like a muscle tightness. Then it slowly creeped to my chest, sharp pain and tightness at the same time. I tried to breathe as deep as I can, 1,2, I don't know how many times. I had to get the Oxygen into my heart, fast. I realized that my patient was looking intently at me because I was just staring out the window for I don't know how long. My whole life just flashed before me.....not only that...my future as well. I thought about going to the ER, getting all the labs and procedures done, bracing myself for the bad news. I imagined myself on the cathlab table and having someone put pressure on my groin. For what seemed like a million minutes after, I finally relaxed, and the pain was slowly creeping away. I could have cried, I wanted to. But I did not have time.....it was one of those crazy days on the floor. So while I was having the scare of my life, I carried on with my work...taking care of patients who had the same scary experience as I had just then.

Maybe Marty was right, it could very well be just a muscle strain. I'll take that.....it's just a muscle strain. God, please, let it just be a muscle strain!

one of those days

Bedrest up on pt in room ***, I have to check ortho bp's. Pt #2 is due for his peg feeding, pt #3 wants to ambulate and pt #4 just wants so bad to join the fun so he asks for info on every little detail. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Ang hirap kumita ng pera!!!!

Be thankful for small blessings........

1. Thank you at walang nakaisip mg code "brown". I did not have to wipe anybody's ass.
2. Thank you that all 3 accuchecks were within normal, I did not have to give insulin.
3. Thank you 3 of 4 patients had foleys in , there weren't very many calls for assistance to the bathroom and it's easier to keep track of their outputs.
4. Thank you pt#3's relatives came to visit and ambulated him.

Thank you pagdating ng paycheck ko!!!!!!

last day on a 3 straight wordays. Silly me, I thought 3 days work and 1 day off will be ok. 3 weeks into the schedule and I'm already feeling tired, debating about calling in every single day. I gotta have 2 days off....in a row.

I woke up this morning still debating if I want to call in for today. I finally convinced myself to go on ahead and work, since I'm off tomorrow anyway. It'll be an easy day mikee. Or so I thought.

Easy cannot be used to describe what I had to deal with today. It wasn't busy, it's just not easy. First thing I did was wipe ass. The very last thing I did was wipe ass!

For some reason, they always decide to do something crazy at the very last minute. Like being quiet the whole day, very comfortable and then at 2245, decides to get out of bed. She can't walk! If she would have bugged me earlier in the shift, I would have made sure i had a bedcheck, an order for ativan and a foley. But no, no, no......she fooled me bigtime! At 2330, I was in her room, trying to convince her to sleep.

You're off tomorrow, mikee!

breaktime!

something to look forward to.....I'm off tomorrow!
here's the plan.....

1. Attend an inservice

2. Buy new scrubs

3. Buy new shoes for work

4. Go to bath and body (again!) Last day na ng sale e.

5. Have a foot spa (at home lang)

5. Watch a movie (at home din)

6. Hopefully me project runway replay.

simple pleasures

10. A well deserved rest day.

9. Having friends in important places....thanks for the free Caramel Michiato!

8. Bath & Body and Victoria's secret semi-annual sale! Load up!

7. Catching Project Runway reruns.

6. Working full time.

5. The prospect of time and a half and PTO time.

4. A perfect annual evaluation.

3. A salary increase slated for the last week of January.

2. A patient from days ago asking about me and wishing I'll stop by sometime (her wish was granted).

1. A niece (or nephew) on the way.