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5:40:00 PM EST
Feeling Frustrated
Hearing ahhh...the sound of nothing but quiet
Can't see the forest for the trees
Ahhh...I thought I was going to get a break from the acres today because our genious scheduler has mistakenly left me off the schedule...but boy was I wrong,and besides, they'd already seen me, so I couldn't sneak back out!! Waaa! Waaa!So anyways I went back to my assigned unit and didn't even get my coat off before an aide is running up the hall saying I need help,someone fell! Oh lovely what a way to start the day,for the one who landed on her head too!We'll call Mrs. Houdini.You know the type that can get out of just about everything(seatbelts of all sorts) Well,she's okay,and has a nice new goose egg just in time for easter.Trying to finish throwing pills and charting in time for a mandatory meeting,and it was looking good to be done in time because I only took a 10 minute lunch break to sit down and drink my slimfast.( I have a wedding gown to fit into by October22.)So I was about to roll the cabboose into it's storage room when....yes,something always happens when you think you are home and free in this field.Anyways a housekeeper said that she thought Mr.Evil Meanie was having a hard time breathing.Here we go.I head down to his room thinking optimistically,maybe he'll only need an albuterol treatment.WRONG again! His lungs are loaded and his breathing is shallow and rapid.Sputum(goober) factory in his lungs.Good thing I only drank a healthy slimfast.It gets better.There isn't a suction machine in the room,and no O2!!Short staffed again,my aides are @ lunch & the unit manager is probably somewhere trying to to figure out what to order for lunch,then take her time to drive and pick it up!!So I have to send the housekeeper to the central supply for a suction machine.When she gets back with it I had to figure out the puzzle of the tubing.I had it all hooked up right and the %$%^&& thing wouldn't work! And, yes,it was plugged in,thanks for asking.Wink!Wink! So I run a few rooms down to "borrow" one from someone that won't mind.Insert evil laugh here.Oh,don't worry we use disposable suction catheters.And,by the way, you could fry ann egg on his head.Anyways,after I get him stabalized, I call the nurse practitioner,whom takes most calls during the day for the doc she works for,and tell her the final event of the day,which was a very thorough assessment,dammit!!And I was expecting her to give me orders for stat chest xray and some stat labs,but NOOOOOOOOO!!!! You will never ever guess what she said!!! Go ahead! Try! Okay times up.She asked if he was up in a chair!!And he wasn't!!And so what he is almost every day,but today shortstaffed equals not everyone gets up!!So she told me to get him up in a chair!!!!!!!I ask That's it???That's the miracle cure for this man with a oral temp of 102 and lungs loaded with goo!!This nurse practitioner is who this entry is dedicated to.Thank you for treating me like a complete idiot! You do not have a stick up your wazoo,but a whole forest!You know the type that tries to belittle everyone around her.I hope her husband has a big.....pair of tweezers. HEEEE!HEEEE! Thanks for letting me vent. Til we meet again....Bev (and thanks for all of you that visited me form rescue's journal)
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I worked as an aide for several years in the early 90's and it still burns my a** at how management cuts hours and leaves facilities short staffed. In my opinion bed counts shouldn't matter when staffing, level of care should be first. The reason I no longer work in the medical field is because of a back injury I sustained while trying to get a large man out of bed by myself because we were short staffed due to budgeting.
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I think I'd want to reach through the phone and knock on her head, "Hello? Anybody in there???" Sheesh.
~Samantha
http://samscar78.bravejournal.com
password: roxy1031 -
Thanks you so much for your comments over at my journal. Monday was a rough day for me and I need to vent. I completely understand your frustation at work. I am not a nurse but I have worked on and off in the healthcare industry for 15 yrs. It is the most underpaid, un-appreciate and under staff work enviroment you could deal with. Hang in there and take care. God bless. http://journals.aol.com/alici
atx31/MySoCalledLife -
Do you guys have regular inservices on equipment and trial runs to get it started, in case you had to use it in an emergency? I mean, geez, a housekeeper running to get equipment!??! It's a good thing she knew what it was, but then, you still had to borrow pieces and parts. It's a good thing the patient wasn't really critical at that point with the delays between finding the equipment, figuring it out and getting the parts you need! Aren't there standards as to certain pieces of equipment that should be functional and ready to go, or tested at every shift? I have to make sure all my equipment is ready, and actually, prefer it that way, so if I need it, I know its gonna work for the patient. Further reaffirms my belief that no matter how bad it gets, no one I love will ever live in a nursing home.
9/29/06 5:58 PM
My daughter is an aide in a nursing home now and I have been in nsg for 20 plus years. When I worked in LTC I was amazed at how many doctor's did not want to treat treatable conditions. It was like they figured "well they have to die of something you know so don't bother me, I have paying young patients to tend to" every time I called one.
FireWolf
aka CheyFire
http://journals.aol.com/cheyf
The Labyrinth