What a great few days this has been!
NOT!
OK, so start with my Dad. He's got some health issues, including some serious cardiac issues, and needs a pacemaker. Fine. Waiting on the appointment for that, my Mom freaks out and calls an ambulance for a *completely* unrelated problem that, yes, could have stood a trip to the ER, but not by ambulance. Whatever.
Just now I get the update from my sister that the pacemaker implantation is now scheduled for Thursday morning (the doctor originally wanted to get it done last Friday) and at one of the bigger-name hospitals in Boston. IMO, this is a Very Good Thing. My Dad didn't want to go there. Took some convincing, esp when the doctor pointed out the reason for this is they have special equipment that's needed for his particular situation. He gave in, ok, no more panicking until Thursday.
Meanwhile, work.
I'm not crazy about working the 7a-3:30p shift. I like 3p-11:30p better. But whatever, I'll take what hours I can get. That's part of the trade-off one gets in being a per-diem: I can block off time I need free without having to jump through administrative hoops to request days or even weeks off, but when I want hours, I need to take whatever I can get. So while I've got a definite preference in terms of shifts, and even departments, I don't complain.
If they keep putting me on as the only patient care tech on the surgical floor on Monday mornings, though, complaining will not only be happening, it will be loud and possibly even whiny. Mondays are INSANE, and there should be at least two techs on, preferably three. First you have all the people who came in over the weekend and had emergency stuff done and are all now shipping out to rehab facilities or even home. Then you have all the people who came in over the weekend with "we need to admit them but can put off surgery until Monday" stuff. And then you have all the people who scheduled their surgery for Monday.
Suggestion: do NOT schedule your surgery for a Monday if you have any say in the matter. It is easily the heaviest surgery day of the week, and you'll get better attention pre- and post-op on just about any other day. During surgery isn't the issue -- they will either have sufficient staff or cancel non-emergency surgeries if they have to. It's the before and after.
I mostly deal with the after. Part of that is, for the folks with epidurals, taking vital signs every hour for the first four hours after they get back to the floor. If I'm the only one on, and there are ten post-ops (most with epidurals) out of my twenty patients, this means I will pretty much be doing nothing but taking vital signs. This sucks for the non-post-op folks who might want, you know, help getting into a clean johnny since they spilled their soup at lunch, help getting to the toilet since they need assistance to walk, that sort of thing. It also sucks for the post-op folks, and perhaps moreso, because they are often trying to ease back into food, suddenly rediscovering sensation in their bladders and bowels, and all sorts of other stuff that should be met with TLC but on a Monday may well be met with a tech who is running in circles to make sure nobody's blood pressure is crashing while they are in that four-hour window (the reason for monitoring people with epidurals so closely).
Yeah, I definitely need to get into home care as soon as humanly possible. Because, if you couldn't tell, I HATE not being able to give people sufficient care because I'm split in too many different directions at once. Yes, I find the work fascinating, especially the orthopedic stuff, and often exhilarating. But I mainly want to be doing the TLC stuff. Which does happen, just not nearly often enough, imnsho.
Today, thank all the Gods that be, there were two of us on. Four nurses and two techs is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more manageable than four nurses and one tech.
Oh, another bit of random unsolicited advice: it is not "bitchy" or "a pain" when you hit the call bell to let the nursing staff know that your iv is beeping, that you need to be helped to or from the bathroom, that the dressing on your wound is hurting you, or anything like that. It's not even "bitchy" or "a pain" to hit the call bell to ask for help reaching your phone, figuring out how the tv works, or getting something to eat or drink. It IS bitchy and a major pain if you ring the bell to ask for help reaching your phone when it is within reach and you just didn't want to move (note, I don't mean it would *hurt* or even just be uncomfortable if you move, just that you don't want to), or if you ring to ask for coffee, and then ring again five minutes later to ask where it is (guess what, you're not my only patient, and someone who needs to go to the bathroom, get washed up, or even just have their hand held while getting an iv started or a dressing changed, comes before your coffee). Why is it that the patients with real questions, comments, requests, etc. always think they are being "bitchy" or "a pain" when they aren't, and the ones that ARE being bitchy pains can't seem to see it?
OK, enough ranting and rambling for one day. *g*
OK, so start with my Dad. He's got some health issues, including some serious cardiac issues, and needs a pacemaker. Fine. Waiting on the appointment for that, my Mom freaks out and calls an ambulance for a *completely* unrelated problem that, yes, could have stood a trip to the ER, but not by ambulance. Whatever.
Just now I get the update from my sister that the pacemaker implantation is now scheduled for Thursday morning (the doctor originally wanted to get it done last Friday) and at one of the bigger-name hospitals in Boston. IMO, this is a Very Good Thing. My Dad didn't want to go there. Took some convincing, esp when the doctor pointed out the reason for this is they have special equipment that's needed for his particular situation. He gave in, ok, no more panicking until Thursday.
Meanwhile, work.
I'm not crazy about working the 7a-3:30p shift. I like 3p-11:30p better. But whatever, I'll take what hours I can get. That's part of the trade-off one gets in being a per-diem: I can block off time I need free without having to jump through administrative hoops to request days or even weeks off, but when I want hours, I need to take whatever I can get. So while I've got a definite preference in terms of shifts, and even departments, I don't complain.
If they keep putting me on as the only patient care tech on the surgical floor on Monday mornings, though, complaining will not only be happening, it will be loud and possibly even whiny. Mondays are INSANE, and there should be at least two techs on, preferably three. First you have all the people who came in over the weekend and had emergency stuff done and are all now shipping out to rehab facilities or even home. Then you have all the people who came in over the weekend with "we need to admit them but can put off surgery until Monday" stuff. And then you have all the people who scheduled their surgery for Monday.
Suggestion: do NOT schedule your surgery for a Monday if you have any say in the matter. It is easily the heaviest surgery day of the week, and you'll get better attention pre- and post-op on just about any other day. During surgery isn't the issue -- they will either have sufficient staff or cancel non-emergency surgeries if they have to. It's the before and after.
I mostly deal with the after. Part of that is, for the folks with epidurals, taking vital signs every hour for the first four hours after they get back to the floor. If I'm the only one on, and there are ten post-ops (most with epidurals) out of my twenty patients, this means I will pretty much be doing nothing but taking vital signs. This sucks for the non-post-op folks who might want, you know, help getting into a clean johnny since they spilled their soup at lunch, help getting to the toilet since they need assistance to walk, that sort of thing. It also sucks for the post-op folks, and perhaps moreso, because they are often trying to ease back into food, suddenly rediscovering sensation in their bladders and bowels, and all sorts of other stuff that should be met with TLC but on a Monday may well be met with a tech who is running in circles to make sure nobody's blood pressure is crashing while they are in that four-hour window (the reason for monitoring people with epidurals so closely).
Yeah, I definitely need to get into home care as soon as humanly possible. Because, if you couldn't tell, I HATE not being able to give people sufficient care because I'm split in too many different directions at once. Yes, I find the work fascinating, especially the orthopedic stuff, and often exhilarating. But I mainly want to be doing the TLC stuff. Which does happen, just not nearly often enough, imnsho.
Today, thank all the Gods that be, there were two of us on. Four nurses and two techs is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more manageable than four nurses and one tech.
Oh, another bit of random unsolicited advice: it is not "bitchy" or "a pain" when you hit the call bell to let the nursing staff know that your iv is beeping, that you need to be helped to or from the bathroom, that the dressing on your wound is hurting you, or anything like that. It's not even "bitchy" or "a pain" to hit the call bell to ask for help reaching your phone, figuring out how the tv works, or getting something to eat or drink. It IS bitchy and a major pain if you ring the bell to ask for help reaching your phone when it is within reach and you just didn't want to move (note, I don't mean it would *hurt* or even just be uncomfortable if you move, just that you don't want to), or if you ring to ask for coffee, and then ring again five minutes later to ask where it is (guess what, you're not my only patient, and someone who needs to go to the bathroom, get washed up, or even just have their hand held while getting an iv started or a dressing changed, comes before your coffee). Why is it that the patients with real questions, comments, requests, etc. always think they are being "bitchy" or "a pain" when they aren't, and the ones that ARE being bitchy pains can't seem to see it?
OK, enough ranting and rambling for one day. *g*