Progress Note

Well...


Yeah, it's been a long time, I know it. Not that I have a large following who are sitting at their computers all day anticipating my posts... But I digress.


So, in the past few months, life has taken a few turns and made a few changes. This guy I was seeing, turned out to be somewhat of, well, what the French call a "douchebag". He's a nice guy, but because I don't get shitface-drunk every weekend... and the fact that my life doesn't revolve around acting like a teenager who hasn't taken their daily dose of Ritalin with my "buddies", it wasn't going to work. Whatever.


So at work lately, they have been assigning me to the charge nurse role on most night shifts. This is a pretty big assignment for somebody who has only had their nursing licence for a little over 12 months... and our unit is the biggest in the hospital. Yes, I had taken the odd shift as charge since Christmas time, but this is a big step. Yes, it'll look good on a resume.. but the crap we have to deal with is not worth the extra $0.65 an hour. Btw, after taxes, is enough for me to buy a Quarter Pounder with Cheese when I get my pay check. Fabulous.


I have been thinking of looking for a job in Critical Care. Med/Surg nursing just isn't cutting it for me anymore. Yes, I still learn new things every shift, and there is a lot more to learn.. But I have now conquered the basics and am ready to specialize within the next year or so. The options are not plentiful in this small corner of the world, but I will see what turns up.


The work load at work these past few months has been overwhelming to say the least - not to mention unsafe for both the nurses and patients. It being summer and all, staffing is always an issue. Of the past 12 shifts, we have worked 10 of them short staffed (down at least 2-3 nurses/aids each of those shifts) But being the only RN on a floor of 25 patients is a bit much. Running between the Heparin gtts, Lasix infusions, telemetry, drains to be flushed, various IV meds, assessing and caring for the unstable patients.. even dealing with verbally abusive family members (which once was an uncommon occurance) is becoming more and more frequent.


Oh the life of a nurse. Can somebody remind me why I CHOSE to do this?