Confessions of a Hoarder (plus a Giveaway)

  So a little confession, I'm a bit of a hoarder and I happen to hoard samples. Oh how I love getting little, tiny sized offerings of all sorts of stuff, and I can't turn them down! Nordstroms is an absolute nightmare for my poor husband when we go shopping as they are WAY too happy to offer you a little sample of anything your heart desires. 

  Then I found BirchBox, oh dear I don't even have leave the house to find my tiny treasures! They ship them right to my house! Suffice to say that I have accumulated quite a stash of sample products that I have no interest in or won't ever use. What to do with it all?

 Turn it into your gain! 

For no reason at all I decided to gather all the goodies 

I have never used, or opened, sniffed and said "nope" to. 

Now 2 lucky gals can have them!

  I have been hoarding the pretty boxes that my Birchbox sample come in too, so I have put together two packages of sample sized happiness for two lucky readers to win. These boxes are full of stuff that any girl will enjoy, most of the sample are entirely unused but one or two may have been opened to investigate but only about a single spritz has been used to decide that this product wasn't for me. If that doesn't weird you out it's yours for the taking and my husband will thank you.

Pamper Box

  This box contains a bunch of sample sized goodies that will help revive and revitalize you! Any nurse or nursing student could use a little pick me up and this is full of great stuff that will help you feel like you had the time and money for a mini spa day. And who knows you may love the products so much you might just go hunt them down.

Primp Box

  This box is stuffed with goodies for the nurse or nursing student who still wants to look good, even if it is only during long 12 hour shifts or at clinicals. There are a bunch of samples and full sized products in here that will help you look great whether you are heading out for a much needed break or just wanting to look like you actually have enough time to get made up before heading to work or school. 

How to Get a Box

• Leave a comment telling me if you are a nurse or nursing student, which box you just have to get your hands on, and why one of these boxes would make your day. 
• You have until June 21st, 2015 to enter, one entry per person, please leave an email address so that I can contact you if you have won.
• 2 lucky gals will be chosen at random.

Good luck!

Happy Nurses Week

  The other night was the big kick off to Nurses Week, the pot luck was set out and delicious smells rolled out of the galley and were making my stomach growl. I wanted to run out and grab something hot, but I was stuck. Stuck in my room with a patient who was in a very very bad way and a family who didn't dare move from the room. I don't know why but whenever a potluck is set out, my patient crumps. I stayed in that room for most of the night unable to step out for supplies let alone for food, but at the end of the night I couldn't feel happier.
  That night was a blinding example of nursing at its absolute perfection, the team pulled together, nurses in and out of the room helping me with supplies, an extra set of hands or just whisking away the accumulating mess of tubing and wires and surgical instruments. Cups of coffee were cheerfully delivered to the family, reassuring smiles flashed their way and somehow, somehow they knew everything was going to be OK.
  At the end of the shift I was exhausted, but not as exhausted as the family who sat and watched helpless to do anything and having to put trust and faith in absolute strangers. When I left that morning I saw tears on their cheeks but hope in their eyes, I received hugs that conveyed so much more than any words.
  I walked out the doors that morning exhausted yet somehow renewed and revived. It's because of these moments I am a nurse.

Happy Nurses Week to all of you who have felt what I felt that morning.

Do You Know Where Your Urethra Is?

I found this video trolling on Facebook today, it is both hilarious and profound.

I think every nurse both new and old should watch this and take a trip down memory lane.

Turn the Other Cheek

  I've heard somewhere that it's more effective to just turn the other cheek, and I will tell you in nursing I have learned to do it not to say that I like it, but is it really more effective? 

  The other night we were getting killed and PACU sudden calls in a panic, no surprise they are bringing over another patient and it's mine, of course.They come over and I am trying to triage the situation when I hear my charge nurse talking to someone with a very loud voice outside my room, a very loud, angry voice. I step in and introduce myself as this patients nurse and proceed to get blasted about the lack of communication and how we have kept the very worried family out in the waiting room way too long. I bite my tongue and swallow the tart response that wants to jump up, I take a deep breath and then another and explain in my calmest voice that the unit is very busy, their family member just arrived 20 minutes ago, all of which I have spent at his bedside trying to stabilize his condition. I tell them if I had had someone who could have gone out to update them I would have and apologize but we are a bit busy tonight.

  What I wanted to say was that I wasn't sorry, I have been working hard to fix your loved one and if you think my time is better spent talking to you then at their bedside then they wouldn't be here! I wanted to tell them to look at the board, see all those spots filled up and not one empty? That means we have a ton of sick people here who are more important than you. 

  But I didn't, I turned the other cheek. 
  I settled their fears and sent them home knowing their family member was safe and cared for. As is often with these sorts of encounters I promptly forgot about it.

  A week later my charge nurse handed me a small white envelope while making her rounds someone had left it for me a few days ago. Curiously I opened it to find a small pastel card inside with an unfamiliar handwriting. The card was addressed to me, thanking me for my care of their loved one and my ability to make myself available to them in such a busy time. It also apologized for their "terrible" behavior and explained that not too long ago a family member was in the same situation and did not have such a good outcome, so if I could please understand they were very very emotional, and since they knew I worked long nights please have a coffee on us. Inside was a gift card to Starbucks. 

Suddenly I knew who this was from.

Is turning the other cheek more effective? I don't know, but in this instance I am very, very glad I did. 
  
  

Old Timer?

  Yesterday I asked my director about some education pertaining to "new hires" and if I had to take it or could I just submit the completion certificates I have from Community Hospital. She laughed and told me I was way past that new hire stage in fact I was "old" now. I had to stop and think about it, old? Me? But I just  got here, or maybe I didn't, but it feels like I just started and then again it doesn't. I get the feeling that didn't make any sense, OK let me explain.
  There is still a ton of stuff that I don't know, and patients in this unit I simply have no way of handling myself. It's amazingly scary to me to feel this, for lack of a better word, new again. I have relationships to build with the doctors, and there are SO many of them now. I have given up pretending like I know who belongs to which specialty anymore, I just flat out ask in report. 
  "Uh what does he do again?" 
  Right. Then there are the nurses, breaking into a new unit I have learned is like going back to high school all over again.  You learn who the "cool" people are, who to and not to associate with and who the class clowns are, and just like on the first day of high school, you belong to no group or crowd and everyone is just watching to see what you do. 
  On the flip side I've had time to settle in, I at least have learned where most of the supplies I need on a daily basis are located and have determined who I would prefer to be sandwiched between for the night. I am learning who I want with me when a patient goes south and who won't lift a finger to throw you a line when you are drowning. 
  The thing is now to become a part of the unit. It's happening slowly, there are some who come to seek me out when they need help and a few who actually listen. I've made a couple friends who think of me when outside the building and away from work and a few "work friends". While I may be labeled as old by HR and my director I know I have much to learn and hopefully in time I'll figure it all out.

Nurses Week

 This week I lost a colleague, co-worker and friend. 

  This week that is for celebrating nurses and all that they do, the world lost a great nurse. There will be news stories devoted to her, but it rocked the worlds of all those who worked with her, knew her and loved her.

  This week while many of us will be enjoying food, prizes and gifts to say thank you for all the sacrifices we make, one group of us while be mourning the loss of a friend and drawing close one another for comfort.

  What can I tell you about her? She was a nurse. She cared for her patients, not always in the tender, gentle, stereotyped way that TV and books glorify as the hallmark of a "good nurse". But always with her patients best interests and well being in the very fore front of her mind. She cared for people with great skill and a good heart always. She volunteered for disaster relief even though it pulled her away from her family at times. She always helped those around her with good nature. In the end she was a good person and she was a nurse, in every embodiment of the word and was proud of that title.

  On this week when you are celebrating Nurses Week, remember those around you and celebrate them. Not this trumped up idea of what the "ideal" nurse is, but the people that they are. Who they are and what they do, because you never know if you will not be able to tell them how amazing they are tomorrow.

 This Nurses Week I will celebrate who she was, a colleague, co-worker, friend and a nurse.

  

Pinned It, Tried It: Sharpie Mugs

  We've all seen pictures of these cute, personalized mugs floating around on Pintrest.

Like this one.

Mug sold on Etsy by RevellHouse

  There are also a million tutorials telling you that this can be easily and cheaply at home with only a few supplies. Ok this sounds like the sort of thing that is right up my alley, and after some research I gathered up my supplies.

  Supplies:
-White porcelain mugs
-Oil based Sharpies
(according to my research normal water based Sharpies do not work as well because they   tend to fade over time)
-Oven
-Timer

  I cleaned the mugs well and began my doodling. For anyone under the impression that this is a clean craft, think again. The oil based ink takes time to dry, and on more than one occasion I ended up putting some part of my hand into my half finished design and mucking it and myself up. Good news, the oil based ink comes of easily with rubbing alcohol.

 I let the whole lot dry and then put them into a cold oven, 

and then cranked the heat up to 350 degrees.

     

  When the oven reached 350 degrees, I set the timer for 30 minutes and left them to bake.

After the timer went off I turned off the oven and let mugs cool completely, which turned out to be overnight.

  Now came the big test, could they be washed without any parts of the design washing off?

Newp.

I did "use a no scratch" abrasive pad on my mugs.

In fairness only some of the extra heavy areas that had very thick ink did chip off.

Any of the mugs I had that had a thin layer of ink stay put no problems.

Conclusions:

  Sharpie mugs are not as straightforward as many of the tutorials will lead you to believe. You do need a special type of marker which does kind of defeat the original premise of being able to grab a mug and a Sharpie and make a cute coffee mug.

  The craft is also a lot messier than anyone lets on. Since these oil markers will stick to just about anything just remember to put down something to protect your work surface.

  Even though a couple of my mugs chipped I still think this is a cute and worthwhile project. Later I did simply touch up the areas that did not stick and reheated the mugs. I would recommend keeping in mind to keep your layer of ink as smooth and thin as possible. The mugs that I did this with had much better outcomes. I'm also going to attach a "Handmade" tag to these when given as gifts and recommend they be hand washed, just to be safe.

  In the end these mugs were a ton of fun to make and turned out to be very cute.

Who wouldn't be thrilled to get one of these?

Separation Anxiety

  Do you ever throw a resume at your dream job? Even when you know you are horribly under qualified, you'll never get an interview and you just don't stand a chance of even getting looked at?

  Well you should.

  I did just that recently. I had no interest in really leaving my place of work, I have friends there and have been taking on more and more responsibility. All in all things have been good. Then one day one of those stupid job websites sent me an alert to tell me that a hospital very close to me had an opening in the Trauma ICU. I have always wanted to work in trauma and on a whim I threw my resume at it.

  A week later the craziest thing happened, I was offered an interview and then I was offered the position. My dream job.

  Now I'm into my last week at work and I am going through some serious separation anxiety. I know this is the right thing to do, Trauma Hospital is 10 minutes from my door and it ends a 35 minute commute. I now have the opportunity to go back for my Bachelors and be more of a presence in committees. It also means I have more time for me. 

  So why am I so sad?

 I have all I could want coming to me and yet as I walk through the halls at work I am often hit with waves of sadness when I realize that soon I won't be be taking the familiar strolls down the faded halls that I have come to call my home away from home. When I see the familiar faces I have come to call my other family I have sometime felt suddenly lonely knowing that they will not be there anymore. Yes we fight and get on each others nerves, but I have grown to love everyone and to count on them in a crisis personal or work related.

  Don't get me wrong, I am giddy with excitement, but it's almost like that first day of High-school. You are so happy to be moving up in the world, and yet are so over come with all the "what-ifs" that it can be paralyzing. 

  What if no one likes me?  
  What if I hate it?
  What if I screw up?

  In the back of my mind I know that my safety net will be gone, all the relationships developed over 3 years will no longer be there, all of the security of knowing exactly what to do will be replaced with uncertainty.

 Yep, exactly like the first day of high-school.

  But just like the first day, there is no going back, no running and hiding. The best I can do is make those of me that I am leaving behind proud. I can only take what everyone taught me,all the knowledge and skills they passed on to me and do my best, and learn again.

  So as I say my good byes to, with each hug I give and receive, I make a promise.

"I will do my best and never forget where I came from"

Growing

 It's been a nearly a year since my hubby set up my garden.

 The growth that I have seen has been incredible,

 and  has made me see 

 how much my garden has mirrored my journey in nursing.

Things start out slow.

Small things are both exciting 

and 

intimidating.

Then things start to take shape.

You begin to see amazing things in places you never imagined.

Things begin to blossom.

You find beauty in the everyday

and 

appreciate what you took for granted before.

The smallest, mundane things 

become the most satisfying rewards.

Enjoy the journey,

find wonder in the small things,

and

reap all the rewards no matter how small.

Grow your garden.

Hello Again...

 Looking at my last post I feel a little sad, wow it's been a long, long time since I have had the time (and the drive) to sit down and write. Something that gave me great pleasure not so long ago. 

  With spring having sprung I decided to start on some spring cleaning, closets have been swept clean of 10 year old clothing, the garden has been cleaned and reseeded and I have decided to return to blogging.  I find that now that I am deeper into this world we call nursing that there are times when I need to sit down and really think about what happened and how I feel about it and sometimes seeing my thoughts in the form of words is helpful.

  To all the new nurses and students who may stumble across this post, I suggest that you make time to sit and just think. I know this sounds silly but in reality in school and in the working world it is often so hard to find a moment to sit and just go over things in you head, sort them and file them away. I am the type who is always on the go, moving on moving up, but eventually things caught up to me and I began to feel overwhelmed and I had no idea why. 

  I stopped to "think" because I had to, something inside me broke and I had to stop and ask myself what was really going on, and it was hard.

  Things are better now, and one of the things I decided was to return to blogging if nothing else to "journal", for a lack of better words. 

  So here we go, a lot of things have stayed the same and a lot of things have changed. There are changes coming, I know that because nothing in this crazy world I have chosen ever stays the same for long, but that is why I love it. 

  So thank you to those of you who read along and welcome to my corner of the nursing world.

Shift Stories: Timberland Photo Contest

 Timberland PRO Renova 

has launched a new contest in honor 

of

 Nurse Appreciation Month!

Renova Shift Stories- A day in the life of a nurse

 May 6-June 7 2013

Each week (Mondays) we will be announcing a new theme related to nursing lifestyle. Fans may upload photos to our contest tab on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram following the weekly theme. Fans may submit their entries using the hashtag #RenovaShiftStories for a chance to win a pair of Timberland PRO Renova shoes! 

Enter Here

If you would like to see my entry for this week

Check it Out Here

Stuck in a Rut

 There hasn't been a lot of posting because there hasn't been anything, in my opinion, to talk about. I get up, go to work, come back and sleep a coma. It's been the same old same old nothing seems new and fascinating and cool any more. Perhaps that is where the problem is, I am stuck in a rut.

  It's not like things aren't happening around me, but perhaps the problem is lately the same old issues keeping popping up and they never seem to get fixed. I have been reading a book written by a nurse, her story spans from the mid 1980's to present day and it was stunning to see that even in another country and another time that the nurses are plagued by the same problems we are to this day. It was both affirming and frustrating to see, it was nice to know that it wasn't just my unit or this city that these problems keep cropping up. At the same time it is frustrating to know that we, as nurses, have been fighting with the same issues for over twenty years!

  I'm not sure what the right Tx for this little "mood" I am finding myself in lately. I've been trying as hard as I can to separate myself from work when I am not there, which is challenging when your phone is ringing everyday with messages from staffing cheerfully asking if you could find some way to work just one more night. 

  A friend at work gave me a little bit of cynical advice, "Take care of yourself because in the end you are all you have to rely on and no one is going to do it for you." A little mercenary, but when I sat down to think about it she was right. I see it everyday, the bewildered spouse who suddenly finds themselves hovering over a loved ones bed in my unit. How many times have I gently told that person that they should go home and take care of themselves while we take care of their loved. I know what my friend is saying is in the end we all need to know how to rely on ourselves. There is no crime in leaning on a friend or spouse, but to be able to stand on your own when needed.

  So I'm taking her advice and finding better ways to take care of myself. The first step to that is turning off the ringer on my phone, and picking up a good book and a cup of coffee. After I get done with my book, I'll try and figure out the rest of the plan.

Hello, Is It Me You Are Looking For?

  Yep, it's been a little while.  I can't say that I am sorry for being away from my computer for so long, there have unfortunately been a ton of things that have taken priority lately, but I am glad to be back.

   The New Year came and went for me almost un-noticed  in the midst of a couple crazy nights on the unit, short staffed and crazier then usual and it has been full steam ahead ever since then. It seems like there hasn't been a night I've had off that my phone hasn't rang with Staffing begging for some help. Some nights I've had the energy and the mental fortitude to do it, other nights I have literally ignored the phone all together and deleted the message without listening to it. 

  With the new year has come new challenges and goals, I am, according to my charge nurse,  no longer a newbie nurse and I have been pushed to step up to the plate and accept more challenging assignments and more responsibility on the unit. My director has also echoed the sentiment by pushing me to write for my Critical Care Certification. I am now staring at a dauntingly large pile of books that sit here next to my computer. Contained in these pages are all the knowledge that is somehow supposed to reside in the head of a CCRN and I am expected to somehow cram it all in there and NOT lose an ounce of it. 

  It is funny because I don't feel any wiser, stronger or smarter yet and I keep waiting for that magical moment when everything will click and I will know  that I have it "all down pat", then at the weirdest times I have a sudden moment where it feels like I am standing outside of my body watching myself. It's at these times that I watch my hands move smoothly through the task at hand and it hits me, I see just how far I have come in this past year. I have learned by watching the people around me that in nursing you can never know everything, a good nurse never has "everything down pat". The real skill is to learn how to learn and adapt.

  So there is a ton of "firsts" still to come and I look forward to everything that has yet to happen and is still to come. So onward and upward as they say.

12 Cranial Nerves of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Do you remember the order of your cranial nerves?

Are your struggling to remember them?

Check out this cute video,

My Christmas Gift

  Things have been horribly busy in our unit. Normally around this time of year we see a drop off in census as everyone anticipates the holiday, but this year we have been running nearly full with a really high acuity. We have some seriously sick people.  This combined with the holidays being around the corner has made all the nurses a little high strung and grumpy lately, myself included.

  Thus, I was not overly happy when I was assigned a patient who was a total care and she was huge. She took up nearly the entire hospital bed and was in such a bad way that she couldn't even move herself, it took 3 nurses to turn her and change her sheets. 

  After another nurse and I settled her in at the beginning of my shift, my back was already starting to ache and I could feel a foul mood set in. I looked up and I saw I gentleman quietly slip into my room. As per protocol I got out of my seat and introduced myself as the the night nurse. 

  The gentleman smiled at me and shook my hand with a warmth that I am totally unused to seeing on a family members face under such circumstances. He asked me if I was the one who has made his wife look so pretty in bed, and then thanked me for doing such a wonderful job. I was stunned and my heart melted a little that night, I offered him a cup of coffee and stayed to chat with him.

  I found out that night that they had been married for nearly half a century, that they had one child, a son. He came by later and was just as sweet of a soul as his father. I also learned that they were preparing to withdraw care on their loved one, Hospice would take over in a couple of days, they were just waiting for the rest of the family to arrive so they could all be together. My heart went out to this father and son, to make such a tough decision any time is hard but to have to make it so close to Christmas was heartbreaking.

  The unit heard and for the next two night the entire unit kept an eye on the family. Some one would always make sure a coffee cup was full, we brought food up for the family from the hospitals annual holiday dinner to share with them, any holiday baking was offered up for sampling. The father and son were always gracious, insisting they wanted to be no trouble and thanking us profusely for anything. Every night they left, they would thank us for watching over their loved one and every morning they came in they would tell us how lovely she looked and thank us for all our hard work.

  My last night I came in and asked the outgoing nurse how my lady was doing and he showed my a heart monitor strip. Flat line.  Hospice had come in earlier that afternoon and they let her go, easily, without pain or suffering.    

  The Hospice nurse came out and spoke quietly with me, he let me know that all that was left was to wait for the mortuary. He said the family would like to dress her before she left and if I would be willing to help, to which I told him it would be fine, we'd make it happen. I sent both the Hospice nurse and the day nurse home, a couple of the other nurses had caught wind of what was going on and volunteered to help.

  Her husband wanted to help, and I had no heart to tell him no. He helped us bath her and then brought out the clothes he had brought, a beautiful scarlet dress with silver embroidery, he shoes and her favorite wig. We dressed her and he helped all the while talking to her, teasing her for being no help and reminiscing about all the places they had gone with her wearing this outfit. I brushed out the hair piece and settled it on her head, asking for his style advice we settled on the curls just under her chin, just the way he remembered. At the end he shyly took two lipstick tubes from his pocket and asked me which I thought would go better with her outfit, we settled on a bright red and I applied it to her lips. 

  When we were all done he stopped and looked at her, then grabbed me in a huge bear hug. I could feel tears on his face for the first time, he whispered in my ear

  "Thank you, now she looks like herself again and I can say goodbye to her."

  I'm not sure how I didn't start crying. The family stayed with her waiting for the mortuary to come, they laughed and told stories about her, they held hands and cried together. When they left, they hugged us all, the son told us that he knew what we did was hard and that we should never forget the good that we do, even when it feels like no one else notices. 

  The husband gave me a hug and thanked me for everything I did. I hugged him back and thanked him, when he looked puzzled, I told him that to be asked to be part of the beauty that I had seen today and to be made part of his family for even a few hours was an honor. He smiled, gave me another hug and told me he wouldn't forget what we did for him and that he would come back and visit us, under better circumstances.

  I have no doubt that he will, and I look forward to that day,

I thank them for what they gave me that day.

They reminded me that 

Peace, 

Hope,

Love,

and 

Faith

still remain the cornerstones of our lives.

Merry Christmas.

A Nurses Christmas Link Up

Once again I'm linking up with  Anna @ The Days When I'm Not a Nurse and Renee @ This Won't Hurt a Bit
Girls want to know what my Christmas plans are.
This year I am lucky enough to have Christmas Eve off! So I will be chilling with family.
But in the meantime, the holiday is in full swing!
Every year I make every nurse I work with a small handmade gift, this is what I came up with this year.

Handmade bath bombs

which I made in a variety of scents.

I got the idea here and here 

on Pintrest.

Then ended up combining the "recipes"

and making my own

which seems to have worked out pretty darn well!

They smell great 

and

 when I tested one in my bath 

it really made my dry skin feel soft.

I think all the stressed nurses need these!

So I made a whole bunch of them!

There should be enough for every nurse,

plus the Respiratory Therapists,

Phelbotomists, X-Ray Techs 

and 

Pharmacy Techs

that works on my unit.

Hopefully it will spread some holiday cheer!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

  It's been a crazy busy week with very sick patients in our unit on top of being short staffed. I worked four nights this week and in all the rush and stress I nearly over looked one very important day, December 5th.

  Yep, one year ago now I stepped into my scrubs and became a "real nurse". It was one heck of a ride, full of ups and downs but I have never regretted my decision to join my unit's team and I have not looked back once since.

  There is still much to do, like go back for my BSN, write my CCRN exam and get the courage to float to a CVICU one day. I have a ton more to learn, and as I sit here in my jammies looking back on my journey this far I am amazed at how far I have come.

  All this reflection is going to last for only a short while, there is so much to do, so much further to go and so many more things to learn that I can't wait to get moving again. 

  I'll try to share some of the many things that have come to me over this year now that I have had to think, with you my dear friends. Thank you all for sharing this journey with me and for continuing down the road.

  

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone,

the turkey is nothing but 

a bag of carefully kept scraps now.

With all the festivities over 

I've had more time to reflect over this past year

and what I have to be thankful for.

Last year at this time,

I was stuck in Canada nervously waiting for

the paperwork I needed to get approval for a work visa.

My husband was still in the USA

finishing up his Bachelors degree.

We barely had $50 in the bank account 

and

I was afraid that another delay in my start date

would result in my employer letting me know 

that I wasn't really worth the trouble.

I am thankful for:

 An employer who thought enough of me 

to push my start date back three times.

A team of co-workers that have done nothing

but make me feel welcome and supported

since I have started

A career that I am passionate about

and wouldn't trade for another in a million years

A husband who has been my rock for 13 years

The food on my plate, the roof over my head,

the bed I sleep on.

So,

what am I thankful for this year?

Everything I have.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone,

thank you for reading....

I am thankful 

for

each and everyone of you!

Dreams

Last night I had this weird half waking dream.

I'd half wake up and think to myself,

"OMG the monitor in this room is not working!

There are no vital signs on this patient,

is he alive or dead?!?"

Then realize that I am in my own bedroom,

there is no dying patient,

and go back sleep.

This happened several times last night,

can you tell I have had crashing patients A LOT lately?

Here Comes the Train!

  I hope everyone will forgive the lack of posts in the last few weeks, but it is that time of the year again! The unit is getting admits and most of them are train wrecks.

  Normally a typical assignment in our units for a single nurse consists of one vent and one "walkie talkie" this way the nurse only has one total care patient. A stable vent requires q2hr turns, a full bed bath etc, so they take up a little more time so you don't hit a nurse with two vented patients unless they ask for it,

  This past week there was not a single patient in the unit that was not on a ventilator, meaning every nurse had a double vent load and some of us ended up with seriously unstable vents that had us hopping all night. Top it off with a code, a couple of emergency bed side procedures and it made for a very busy week.

  On weeks like this you will find that it is the team you work with that makes or breaks the shift. Lucky for me we had a great team and even though it was a rough three in a row we found time to laugh and although we were beat up and tired at the end of the night we walked out smiling. These are the sorts of nights where I am so thankful for finding the job that I did (or it finding me) and where I really, really love my job.