You got a joint on you carrie?

Well I have a bit to catch you up on, world.

I failed to write anything about my night on the 6th... after doing some detective work, I found a text message I sent to Allison saying "God I hate stool samples," and like 10 emails that say nothing about work. That means, I had to collect some poop, but that I had a long enough break to sit down and clean out my inbox. So it balanced out I think... Either way. I had to use one of the little like... paper envelope poop swab things. I sent that as well as the other specimen down to the lab. Who then called me to say that my paper thing was expired. So then I had to track down another one, and redo my favorite task.

Next set of shifts:

OH it started out real bad. I didn't get enough sleep or woke up grouchy or something, got to work with three patients plus a transfer on the way, with room to get an additional admission. THEN freakin Abebe made me go upstairs and go over CVC care BEFORE I was allowed to get report. Once that was done, I went back downstairs and the dayshift nurse had LEFT. She left me a paper report that sucked. It was incomplete, and I mean really, I couldn't have been more blind going into my shift. So not only was I starting late from that stupid meeting, I didn't know my patients, couldn't ask questions, and had two on the way. BUT! Due to our low census I think, they decided to send one of us home! So Keisha Brown-Thomas left and redistributed her patients among us. I got two of them and then didn't have to take either the ICU pt or the admission! Also they had to flex a tech, and freakin Faheema, who is on light duty and doesn't do jack shit, tried to get to stay instead of Onenitha, who is old and slow, but at least doesn't suck quite so bad(ly). Thank god they didn't let that happen. UGH. Anyway. Dr Osinuga came up and chatted for a little while- he always says "hey lis, hows going?" (he is idk... cameroonian or something and he calls me Liz but it sounds kinda like lease). Ann started working on getting us something for Christmas from him... dinner or gift cards or something :). Another reason why I like nights... we have more time for fun.

My patients included the following (over two days)-

9- new diagnosis of diabetes youngish guy and malignant HTN. I admitted him on the second night.

14- confused oldish Jamaican guy. the first night he just slept, the second night he liked to stand up and get tangled in the IV and foley tubing, then want to try to empty the catheter, oh I don't know... every hour. Also I was assigned to figure out why he hadn't gotten his ordered MRI, and then I tried to figure out which forms I had to use, whether or not my phone consent from his wife was valid, and complete his patient profile.

16- ultra confused lady in her 50s who destroyed her liver by drinking. The first night, she slept and wouldn't let me do anything. She wouldn't take her meds and stayed under the covers the whole night. The second night, however, she was a bit feistier. She sat on the toilet for a total of 6+ hours. She kept trying to get me to leave her medications in her room and kept telling me to leave her alone that she'd be out in a minute. She sat there from about 10pm-1am and then was back on it at 3am and didn't move by the time I left. At one point, Ann the OSA who is usually pretty awesome (and who can wrangle anything out of Dr. Osinuga) and my favorite Keisha went in to help me try to get her out. She wasn't having any of it, and I'll be honest, it was all kinds of amusing.

13- middle aged lady who came in with shortness of breath and chest pain.... much of which was anxiety induced. She wouldn't take morphine or ativan. I got the ativan switched to Xanax and she just guessed on her dose at home... but whatever it worked.

29- middle aged guy who had a stroke. also one of my dialysis patients (I've had a lot of them lately)

30- teeny old guy who essentially wasn't taken care of at the nursing home that he lives in, that his DAUGHTER RUNS. which is just ridiculous. he was so malnourished, and had some really disgusting pressure ulcers. Like smelly, oozing, bone deep wounds. He was scheduled for a debridement in the morning, so I had to fill out the OR checklist or whatever, which I had never done before.

24- rather strange schitzophrenic man who was suspicious of everything that I did and was convinced his lisinopril made him cough. He was my other dialysis patient. I was drawing labs on him, and deciding whether to go above or below his tattoo... Now I have to mention... he had two tattoos. One was only partially done, and said "DA" but the "A" was like... not complete and was really pale, like it needed another coat. The other tattoo was a name, something like "BRANDON" and beneath it it said (SON). Parenthesis on a tattoo? greatest thing ever.

My second night also started out chaotic. I had 14, 16, 24, and 29. Pt 24 had been admitted that day, then gone to dialysis, and so he'd gotten some meds in the ED, some didn't show up on the MAR, some were rescheduled from dialysis, etc etc. Pt 29 was in dialysis when I got to work, and all his meds had been held all day, so that I had to kinda figure out what needed to be given, and whether a whole dose or just the night dose for twice daily meds when he came up at 8:30pm. That was also the same time that my new admission (9) came up. Not only was my beginning to the evening crazy, but so was everyone elses. Kara and Atoya both admitted two patients before 10pm. So we got 5 in the first couple hours we were there. They were calling around to get someone to come in, which would have resulted in a round of musical patients and we would have had to all give one up to the called in nurse, and take another admission. However! They sent Cyndrea to the ICU instead of our floor :). That meant that all I had to do was get my people settled instead and I was able to have a decent night. Also, it was the "employee holiday dinner" night or something. So Kara went downstairs and brought us all dinner up. Even though some of it wasn't well... good, it was free. And the cake was worth it.

Ok i dont remember anything else from those days. and my brain is just done for today. and i haven't even talked about my most recent shifts! this entry kinda sucks because it's been too long for me to remember the entertaining things that happened. the next one will be better... don't lose faith, faithful readers!