I show up at the hospital everyday at about 6:57am. Since the night shift's departure is based on the day shift's arrival, punctuality is kind of a big deal. If I clock in at 7:01, my ass is late. Unfortunately, I don't believe in being early.
After getting report from the night shift on my 3-4 patients, I go around and make my morning rounds. We have to do a full assessment on our kids every four hours, a half assessment every two hours, and a mini check every hour. Basically I chase after them all day. Of course, this includes the charting at has to be done as well. I need to know about any and all secretions, oozing, excretions, exudate, propellants, inhales, ingestions, etc etc that occur on my watch. Really, it's not that hard. Please don't gag.
All of this assessing is intermixed with MD orders, lab draws, procedures, dressing changes, feedings, and the million other therapies that march through the unit on day shift. The biggest difference between days and nights, I think, is that on days you are the soccer mom. You juggle all of your patients appointments between the doctors, the physical therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, x ray techs yadda yadda yadda, whilst trying to not lose your kid. I begrudgingly admit that there are instances when I have no idea where my patient is. Yikes. The upside to all of this event coordination is that you get to talk to all of the different professionals and learn a lot about what they do.
A word about my population choice: I love working in Pediatrics. You think about it. If you are wiping ass for a living, would you rather wipe small ass or large ass? The kids who I treat are such a joy, and such great birth control all at once. They don't lie, and so they tell it like it is. While their penchant for being non-negotiable can be frustrating, they will be the first to forget that you had four people hold them down while thrusting an IV into their arm or sticking probes and tubes into orifices that they have deemed to be "out only". Their parents, unfortunately, are less likely to forget. Kids are also much easier on my soul. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to treat patients who are sick by their own accord. Adult nurses do this every day. My patients are sick through no fault of their own, and most times get to run out the door, as healthy as they were before they were wheeled in. Adult nurses don't usually get this luxury. I am thankful.
Now let's debunk some of those common misconceptions.
1) I have never, ever slept with a doctor or any other kind of health care professional in the on call room. PLEASE. The on call room is usually stocked with one twin bed (dressed in stiff hospital bedding), a desk with computer, and an exhausted resident who can't remember what his mom looks like. Not hot.
2) I don't wear a starched cap and stockings to work. I think I should, but no one does. I actually wear whatever I want, and most of the times it's a long sleeved tee and scrub pants. Also not hot. Carla on Scrubs, always looks way too put together.
3) We do sit! While I do say that I am on my feet for 12 hours a day, too many people take this literally and think that nursing is liken to some sort of medieval torture. I do run around for most of the day, but when I am charting or on the phone I do try to find a place to sit. Even so, the one average day I wore a pedometer it read that I walked about seven miles in a shift.
4) Working in Peds is not sad. I think a lot of people think of St. Jude's infomericals when I tell them I work with kids. While the kids I take care of are sick, most of them are not dying. Even when I work in the PICU or the Ped ED, I hardly see kids die. In fact, I have seen two since I have been a nurse. Of course, it was awful both times, but does not override the hundreds of kids that live.
5) I don't get to rock babies all day. I would love to, but there simply is no time. Besides, parents are supposed to stay with their kids in the hospital. Whenever I have a kid with no parents at the bedside, I am ridden with guilt all day as I hear them wail from down the hallway. I try to have them with me on my lap while I chart, or have a volunteer hold, but it's not always possible. Poor little bunnies.
I like my job. I really do. Mostly because I can do it well, and it allows me to do all the things outside of work that I love. Four days off a week is not a bad way to live.
P.S. Silk tape is my nursing weapon of choice. It's my favorite medical supply. I can do anything with silk tape. Macgyver has nothing on me.
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