Chipper Dayshift Charge Nurse: Good morning, Susie!* How was your vacation?
Dayshift Nurse: It was wonderful, I had a great time. Until I had to come back to this hellhole.
Chipper Dayshift Charge Nurse: (nervous giggle) Oh, haha, it isn't that bad, now is it?
Dayshift Nurse: (without a trace of irony) Yes, it is.
I promise, the above conversation was overheard at work, and I also promise, it wasn't me. Not yet anyway. I suspect that I will actually have to return from my Grand Adventures, however. So stay tuned.
To anyone out there who is not a nurse, or a travel nurse, or in a job or field where it may be difficult to find jobs, and if you hate your job, and every cell of your body cringes at the thought of starting yet another 12 (or 8) hour shift, I heartily sympathize with you. Because just this morning I realized that if I didn't have just a few weeks left at this hospital assignment, and if I didn't have a bazillion other nursing job options to pick and choose from, I would be even more morose and depressed and whingey than I already am. And that's saying a lot.
I've had four days off of work, and it felt absolutely sinful and delicious. I slept late every morning (I love you, Mr. Melatonin and your little buddy Benji Benadryl), I cleaned my house (even the bathroom floors!), I cleaned out my closet (must make room for Paris shopping!), went to the grocery store, and dropped off the clothes at Goodwill. I also made it to the pharmacy because unhappy stressed ICU nurses must NEVER run out of migraine medicine.
And oh! The best part. HBO and Showtime On Demand. My thoughts so far? The Tudors: Showtime should probably have left the period piece to BBC or A & E. But I will continue to watch it. Because it's Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I'm obsessed with all things Tudor-history, as geeky as that may be. Weeds: Love it, but maybe a bit too much cops/gangsta drama this season. Californication: So far, funny funny. And pretty well-written. And David Duchovny? Yes. Just...yes. I have loved him ever since the days when I would have given my right pinky finger just to be the Agent Scully to his Mulder, and he rocks in this show, as a drunk and drugged-out bitter divorced misplaced New York writer bitching about living in LA.
So that's what I've been up to lately. Sorry, not much nursing content in this post. Mostly because I've had a few days off, but also because I hate my job. Which makes me sad, because I used to love being a nurse, and I've even had jobs where I would truly look forward to starting a shift. I want to love nursing again. I miss you, nurseywork.
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2 comments:
Hello from an ICU nurse from FLorida. I found your blog because of, believe it or not, the whole David Duchovny bit. (yes... just... yes) I so understand, being a LONGTIME fan of his.
Have fun in Paris; keep poop out of your hair; get your certification (CCRN) you will never ever regret it (unless you let it lapse.)
And consider working in a military hospital; granted, the acuity may be lower in smaller ones, but:
-civil service is nothing to sneeze at (80 hr/2 wk no mand OT, good benefits, retirement after 20 years, lots of single men, training and education opportunities out the wazoo)
-you have corpsmen assigned to help you and they take orders very well
-ratio usually 1:1 or 1:2 with at least 1 corpsman
-doctors treat the patients with what they need, not what insurance will pay for
-most have residents who will hang out in your unit all day and be highly teachable, since your fellow nurses who ARE military usually outrank the docs...
Just my .02
Benhur
I totally empathize, Rosebuttons. I got floated a couple nights ago at my current assignment and the patients were nightmares. Not because they were obnoxious or anything but cuz they were soooo freaking SICK and messed, it totally devastated me. UGH. This one nurse had TWO patients die on him during the same shift. I left work at 9 (am supposed to be out of there by 0730, ya know). Anyone who thinks nurses are soft and tender are out of their minds. We have to be TOUGH to do this job. Or nuts. Paris awaits you!
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