(no subject)
So, this big entry space.
Inspired by Allnurses.com and my enrollment to work towards my RN, I'm going to fill this space up with crap, sometimes very literal crap. Code Brown, savvy?
Just to say, currently, LVNs mostly do the work of RNs, without the pay and respect. So...you know. What and Ever. I hate asking the charge RN to come and push a med because I don't have the correct initials behind my name. And believe me, if you code, you want this LVN pushing meds, Baby! Also, an expert Bagger. Though, strangely enough, I don't think I have ever done compressions. Hmmm..
I have recently come on board with a major health care provider (chain?) in the Houston Metropolitan Area and I am so very excited! I have been working as an agency nurse for freakin' ever with the same company. Mostly in San Antonio, Texas, and they were professional and offered me work at respected hospitals, though during the dry spells I had to drive to Austin, work a 12 hour shift, and then drive home (90 minutes each way.) So, you know, gotta feed the kids. Though, I did get to see actual 2-3 inches of snow, in Texas!
I moved to BFE for a year, and have recently returned to my home town of Houston. Because I am a Taurus and loyal to a fault, I stuck with the same agency. Unfortunately, there is some problem in the office revolving around adequate staffing, the staffing staff, so-to-speak, etc.
I have to say, that since I turned 40 (this year) and being an agency nurse, I have finally learned how to chat intimately with strangers. Mostly about staffing issues and good/bad employers. Though, I must warn that being a nurse gives me a radar (and personal space issues) that is totally out of whack with the general population. I think nothing of shimmying past a stranger saying "sorry about the breasts," or "sorry, my butt is coming through,"(as both are very large.) This somewhat compensates for my inadequate social skills due to being a (mostly) stay-at-home mom. Or, not. I will totally talk to you about your fungal infection. In public. Maybe over lunch.
Anyway, my agency was staffing me at this major chain. I suspect that it was mostly back-up staffing, as I was cancelled 90% of the time. Not good for paying the bills, not at all.
I have to say, that moving onto the same street as my sister is such a great thing. It never even occurred to me. She works and her husband stays at home, and he took care of my kids. Now, I have a job with the Big-Frelling-Hospital-Network, an opportunity I have been forced to pass on in the past.
This weekend, my primary shift was cancelled, and I was immediately rescheduled. If I was still at my former agency, I would have been sitting at home not earning any money towards paying my bills. Though, thank the many gods, I was cancelled and rescheduled at the same facility. In fact, I was double-booked at the same facility on different floors. I had to laugh along with the Charge Nurse when she said that the fourth floor was looking for me, and she got to tell them, "Sorry, she's here, and she's already taken report." We shared a Nelson-like moment of "Hah-ha."
My specialty is sort of an anti-specialty: Med-surg. I found my self on a Neuro/IMU unit.
I'm thinking "Fuck!" and also, "Fuck!!!!" Of course, I told the Charge Nurse, "Dude, not my field" As I am receiving report (because I am above all things "plucky and adventury" to quote the Pirates of Penzance," I am thinking..."whoa, there, just a minute!" Am totally considering refusing my patient assignment, for the first time in 12 years. At this point, I must totally laud the night shift nurses of 8B. To a man, they said, (paraphrasing) "Sister, I will help you." And lo, I said to the very concerned charge nurse:"It will be okay." "Sure, I will take that vent patient, no problem."
They say that Nursing eats its young. And, My God! It is so damnfully and shamefully true! This unit supported me above and beyond. I told them I didn't know...and they said "Let me help." I will totally go back there. Even though it's not my area of experience, or expertise.
Because, they said, "Sister, I will help you." And, they did.
Now, that is what being a woman is all about.
Sometimes, it is okay to step outside your comfort zones, to step into an area in which you are the novice, the ingenue. As long as you have your sisters to lift you up.
seva
Inspired by Allnurses.com and my enrollment to work towards my RN, I'm going to fill this space up with crap, sometimes very literal crap. Code Brown, savvy?
Just to say, currently, LVNs mostly do the work of RNs, without the pay and respect. So...you know. What and Ever. I hate asking the charge RN to come and push a med because I don't have the correct initials behind my name. And believe me, if you code, you want this LVN pushing meds, Baby! Also, an expert Bagger. Though, strangely enough, I don't think I have ever done compressions. Hmmm..
I have recently come on board with a major health care provider (chain?) in the Houston Metropolitan Area and I am so very excited! I have been working as an agency nurse for freakin' ever with the same company. Mostly in San Antonio, Texas, and they were professional and offered me work at respected hospitals, though during the dry spells I had to drive to Austin, work a 12 hour shift, and then drive home (90 minutes each way.) So, you know, gotta feed the kids. Though, I did get to see actual 2-3 inches of snow, in Texas!
I moved to BFE for a year, and have recently returned to my home town of Houston. Because I am a Taurus and loyal to a fault, I stuck with the same agency. Unfortunately, there is some problem in the office revolving around adequate staffing, the staffing staff, so-to-speak, etc.
I have to say, that since I turned 40 (this year) and being an agency nurse, I have finally learned how to chat intimately with strangers. Mostly about staffing issues and good/bad employers. Though, I must warn that being a nurse gives me a radar (and personal space issues) that is totally out of whack with the general population. I think nothing of shimmying past a stranger saying "sorry about the breasts," or "sorry, my butt is coming through,"(as both are very large.) This somewhat compensates for my inadequate social skills due to being a (mostly) stay-at-home mom. Or, not. I will totally talk to you about your fungal infection. In public. Maybe over lunch.
Anyway, my agency was staffing me at this major chain. I suspect that it was mostly back-up staffing, as I was cancelled 90% of the time. Not good for paying the bills, not at all.
I have to say, that moving onto the same street as my sister is such a great thing. It never even occurred to me. She works and her husband stays at home, and he took care of my kids. Now, I have a job with the Big-Frelling-Hospital-Network, an opportunity I have been forced to pass on in the past.
This weekend, my primary shift was cancelled, and I was immediately rescheduled. If I was still at my former agency, I would have been sitting at home not earning any money towards paying my bills. Though, thank the many gods, I was cancelled and rescheduled at the same facility. In fact, I was double-booked at the same facility on different floors. I had to laugh along with the Charge Nurse when she said that the fourth floor was looking for me, and she got to tell them, "Sorry, she's here, and she's already taken report." We shared a Nelson-like moment of "Hah-ha."
My specialty is sort of an anti-specialty: Med-surg. I found my self on a Neuro/IMU unit.
I'm thinking "Fuck!" and also, "Fuck!!!!" Of course, I told the Charge Nurse, "Dude, not my field" As I am receiving report (because I am above all things "plucky and adventury" to quote the Pirates of Penzance," I am thinking..."whoa, there, just a minute!" Am totally considering refusing my patient assignment, for the first time in 12 years. At this point, I must totally laud the night shift nurses of 8B. To a man, they said, (paraphrasing) "Sister, I will help you." And lo, I said to the very concerned charge nurse:"It will be okay." "Sure, I will take that vent patient, no problem."
They say that Nursing eats its young. And, My God! It is so damnfully and shamefully true! This unit supported me above and beyond. I told them I didn't know...and they said "Let me help." I will totally go back there. Even though it's not my area of experience, or expertise.
Because, they said, "Sister, I will help you." And, they did.
Now, that is what being a woman is all about.
Sometimes, it is okay to step outside your comfort zones, to step into an area in which you are the novice, the ingenue. As long as you have your sisters to lift you up.
seva