Friday, September 29, 2006

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.

Monday, September 11, 2006

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!!!!!!!!