"...wE mUst bE thE chAnGe wE wiSh tO sEE iN thE wOrld..." K.G.

2/04/2009


i went to work today for 6 hours. it isn't hard to copy names & numbers from old files to new ones. yep, that's what i do for the moment. the labeling boxes will be in a week or two, when i have finished this shit. which gives me time to practice my drawing abilities, as i haven't forgotten that i owe some boxes some porn in the way of Kama Sutra positions. during my lunch break, i went up to visit my unit. my boss was there frittering around like a mad woman who's lost her mind. she is very scatter brained, and will jump from one thing to another without finishing the first. she drives everybody crazy on day shift. we all think she has ADD and/or is bipolar. she cant stand still enough to even listen to what we say. or she will interrupt with something totally off subject. there is no way in hell i could ever work days, on that unit. nights are so much quieter. no bosses around. less traffic. basically, we can do whatever we want, once our patient care is completed. our patient's needs ALWAYS come first. you can catch us all holding fussy babies as we watch a movie, so moms can sleep. we will drop everything we are doing, if a patient needs something. some of the things we have done in the past, during downtime, is play cards...phase 10 is popular. or we will watch movies on some one's laptop they bring in. we always have food nights, and eat right out at the nurse's station, where it is forbidden on days. you might find us shootin the shit with our feet up on the desks, painting nails and doing manicures. there have been wheel chair races down the long halls, hide and seek, which is really creepy, cuz our unit is haunted. NO SHIT! it really is. man, i could tell ya stories.... (another blog.)
every one who is part of our night team, gets along great. there isn't one person we dread having to work with. do you know how rare that is? yep, we are a great team, very close and pretty tight. we get our fill of social life at work, when it's a slow night. BUT, we are also like an E.R. we never know when or what will come through our door. women can go into labor or complications, at ANY time.. .ya just never know what the night will bring. i guess in my mind, i compare us to that old show, M.A.S.H. (without the helicopters and the still.) (and no hot lips or frank). we may be having fun and games but the moment we get word from ER that a patient is on her way up, we scurry like little rats, preparing what we may need and everyone pitches in. we know each other so well that we can anticipate what the others will need, and get it ready. i really love my job. i guess it's the people i work with that make it special like that. we have had nights without any patients, nights we were so full we ran our asses off, nights where a woman nearly delivered before we could get her back to a room. we call those ladies "flyers." we have had to perform emergent c/sections. there is an OR suite on our unit just for c/sections, and we must be prepared to totally assist the docs and do whatever is needed to assure a healthy baby. we have had a few ladies deliver down in the lobby, never even made it to the birthing unit. oh you just nevah know with us. on day shift, the gals have to always appear busy even if they aren't, as the manager watches them like a hawk. that would stress me out so fucking much.

how does your job rate? are you happy with it? what do you do? what are the pros and cons of your environment? inquiring minds wanna know.....
CRP

8 comments:

ChiTown Girl said...

Wow, no wonder you like your night shift! Sounds right up my alley. Let's just hope that injury heals as quickly as possible so you can get back to your crew!

jo.irish.rose said...

ok, here is my job, but i don't call it that, it is more my hanging out with the kids. i work in a christian boarding school, 6th grade - 12th, i am a houseparent, in the girl's dorm. that includes watching them when they are at free time (in the gym), dinner time, study hall, or anywhere in the dorm or on campus. they can not be alone with the boys at any time any place. we have a diverse group, from all over the world. kids come from all over africa, asia, us, canada, we have kids representing i think at last count 16 different countries, and of course, all over the states. all the staff and facultly are not from here. we are all volunteer, meaning we came here to minister to these children and young people. we all get paid only $500 a month, and work 12 hours a day. we work 11 days, then get 3 off. with that, we get our housing, food, and all utilities. but our biggest reward, to me, is being with these kids. i love when i "reached" one that has a problem and i helped. or just given out hugs, or just talked. that is what we came for. it is our ministry. no money can pay for that. so when you feel like you are having a really bad day, think about one of these boys here that don't have parents, or a girl that has to be here because at home, there is no one who will love her like we do. yes...most come for a christian education, but some are here because we care. and that is what i do. i sit on each of the floors in the dorm, and i go from room to room or just sit in my chair in the hall and they come sit and talk to me. yes, i love my job, i wouldn't trade it for anything else. jo

Busy Bee Suz said...

Your job sounds perfect for you...I see why you love it.
My job is great. I make mostly my own hours, do my work when I can. The people here are pretty cool...we all share the same DNA, well, except for my counter- part..we just share a heart. The pay ain't great, but the benefits are tremendous. :)
btw, We are in Naples.

kim said...

C..you seriously need to start a hospital blog, I LOVE reading and watching stories of the ER and hospital stuff. and I REALLY REALLY want to hear your haunted tales---you just might become my favorite blog!! :)

Technodoll said...

I have the highest respect for nurses... doctors are so over-rated. I mean it.

My mom worked night shifts in the ER when we were growing up and oh, the stories she had to share! So yeah... I get ya ;-)

My job right now is just to bring home the paycheck for a few more months, until we can move out of the city, buy a house and then start my dream of being self-employed.

No more 9 hours a day hunched over a computer doing spreadsheets - no thank you.

Yey!

Clippy Mat said...

my job is great. (can't you tell, i'm reading blogs on my break) my fave job when i lived in the uk was working as an auxiliary nurse in the hospital. we were on a thoracic surgical ward. we had a blast. the patients loved us. they never wanted to leave. especially the dead ones.
:-))

J. Hi said...

I am a nurse too. I work on a peds unit on evening shift and feel much the same as you do about my coworkers. 98% of us are very insynch and work well as a team and I love it there. And I would never want to work days. :)

I would love to hear some haunting stories!

C said...

bless your heart, j. hi for being a peds nurse. i tried it but couldnt handle not putting my kids faces on the pt.s. it takes someone very special to work peds so i am sure you make a wonderful difference.
there seems to be a call for haunted stories of my unit, so i will see what i can do...

C