Week 3 Shift 3
Arrived to find my assignment slightly shifted. The unfortunate peritoneal dialysis guy spent all morning waiting to see if they could stent him this afternoon, so he was super low acuity and they...
View ArticleWeek 3 Shift 4
My splenic rupture pt had a rough night. It’s not uncommon for people over the age of 70 to get confused at night when they’re in a strange place, sick, covered in tape and wires, and this can lead to...
View ArticleWeek 5 How Many Fucking Shifts Jesus
I didn't write the day of this shift because I was too busy sobbing like an open drain at a Sufjan Stevens concert that night, and then afterward my friend dragged me to her house and forced me to...
View ArticleWeek Five Please Send Help Too Much Work
Thursday I rolled into work around 1045, having juggled my hours to accommodate the concert. Getting out at 1500 on Wed was just enough time to let me stagger home, wash my gross self, nap for an hour,...
View ArticleI have no idea what week this is but it's Friday
I had Friday off. I spent it on meaningless bullshit and faffery, for the most part; my sister and I had a meeting with her new guidance counselor to schedule some aptitude testing and discuss...
View ArticleWeek ???? Shift ???????????
Some things I forgot to mention last time:At 1100, shortly after I received the abdomen pt, I called up the charge nurse and politely requested to have him made 1:1. I don't ask for this often, and...
View ArticleWeek (actually) 5 Shift 1
This facility starts its weeks on Mondays. So I typically work Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon; have Tues off; work Wed & Thurs; then have seven days off in a row. It's a pretty rad schedule.Report this...
View ArticleWeek 5 Shift 2
Day two of the pneumonectomy pt’s care. Day two, also, of the crazy Farsi family and their merciless caregiving.I’m afraid the crazy family didn’t get as much attention as they probably could have used...
View ArticleWeek 5 Shift 3
Day three with Tiberius. I showed up at work a little early, caught up with the night nurse, then headed to the charge nurse station and insisted that he MUST be made 1:1. They asked if I could take a...
View ArticleWeek 6 Shift 1
I called in on my day off to make sure Tiberius was doing all right. Pretty good, said his nurse for the day, still slowly tuning him up for a thoracotomy revision. He had another episode this morning,...
View ArticleWeek 6 Shift 2
I walked onto the unit and was greeted with perplexed stares. “What are you doing here,” said the charge nurse, frozen in place, still holding her pager six inches from the countertop where she was...
View ArticleWeek 6, Vacation
I called the unit in the morning, during the drive to our camping site. "He went down to the OR at 0800," said the charge nurse. "Victor* is his nurse today. Want me to have him call you when Tiberius...
View ArticleA brief note
Starting Friday, I will be posting new material-- Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. Having a little bit of backlog is really nice, but I'm excited to get back to the fresh stuff.
View ArticleWeek 7, Shift 1
Well, I definitely got the crazy little lady this morning, and no, my attempt at jinxing her didn’t work. But more on that in a bit.My adorable pt with the screaming hearing aids had really bad...
View ArticleWeek 7 Shift ACTUAL 1
I posted my reports out of order. Friday's was actually supposed to be today's, and vice versa. Mea maxima culpa, and also whatever dude.-------Started out this morning with a couple of sweet pts—my...
View ArticleWeek 7 Shift 3
This shift did not start well. I gave report the night before to a nurse who has, best I can tell, the most brutal ball-shriveling resting bitchface I have ever seen in my life. Alex* is...
View ArticleWeek 8 Shift 1
By the time I got back, my DKA/wannabe escapee guy had not escaped, but had made everyone on the unit so angry they wished he would. His nonstop bitching and creepy remarks, combined with his gross...
View ArticleWeek 8 Shift 2
The new crop of ICU nurses is coming on this month. We’ve recruited our usual blend of experienced RNs from other facilities across the country, pre-trained travel RNs who’ve been seduced onto...
View ArticleWeek 8 Shift 3
Day two with Maycee. Somehow she survived her first shift and is back for more, and even looked a little energetic during shift change, which was downright irritating for me because I hadn’t had any...
View ArticleWeek 8 Shift 4 (I picked up an extra shift)
I didn’t sleep well after that last shift, and coming back in the next morning was an act of sheer will. This summer has been broiling hot, and I moved out of Texas for a reason, namely that for humans...
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