The nursing home difference

I've been a nurse now for almost 2 1/2 years now and it is amazing to me how much I have learned.
I have 2 jobs at the moment, one in the IMCU at Huron Valley and one as a contingent nurse at Clarkston Specialty. What a night and day difference these two jobs are. I don't even know where to begin.
The hospital is busy, but a different kind of busy. Its not all task oriented and knowing exactly what to do and when to do it, because things change on a daily basis. There are nights when I hear the endless dinging of telemetry monitors and have to monitor my patient closely, but those days seem few and far between.
The nursing home is a whole new ballgame. Right upon walking in the door, there is always some sort of drama. Someone called in, nurses scrambling to get someone to stay over and cover the floor, someone complaining about seniority...too much drama to have to deal with everytime I work there to be honest.

My new job

About a month ago in a whirlwind decision, I took a new position in the IMCU or as most people know it, Step-down ICU. I loved the 3rd floor, but I really was starting to feel like I learned all I could there. Acute illnesses are fairly easy to care for and are treated and go home. A glorified Dilaudid pusher, I was. Or that is what I felt like most days. I never really felt like I was truly helping someone, I was just getting them through. If they started to go bad, I sent them to another unit. I've never really had anything "bad" happen.
In the IMCU, I have had to learn or relearn many things. These people are legitimately sick. They have problems...well most of them. Insulin drips for the diabetics, cardiac drips for the heart problems, telemetry for everyone and a lot of involvement by the doctors. It doesn't seem so difficult, its just learning when to give medicine and when to not...I am still learning. The pain medicine is not as often or asked for all of the time...it feels weird to me. No pain?, really? It seems like such a foreign concept to me coming from my old unit. I've been in "orientation" for about a month now and I will likely get another month of it so we'll see how much more I can cram into my brain. Wish me luck.

are pretty people treated better?

We had a discussion at work last night, that was spurred by my observation of one of my coworkers who consistently brings up the fact that...patient so and so is such a pretty girl, or so handsome. Why is that valid? Is their validity in the statement that people who are attractive are treated better? Why is it important to say that a patient is pretty/handsome? Does it really matter? Does it make a difference in the care we give? It seems that looks play a big part of society and our lives and it might even affect the care that is given to patients. I wonder if anyone else thinks about this?

I work way too hard

Since starting my job at the hospital and LOVING it, I have realized that I work WAY too hard at the nursing home. There is WAY more prestige at saying I work at hospital and it feels like my work is much more important.

I see dead people

More often than I'd like, I experience death at work. It is usually a very peaceful event and a somber event. I have seen and taken care of these people for months and then one day, its over and they are gone. Oddly, I have no issue with the dead in this case. I wil stay with them when i can and hold their hands as they take their last breath. And when they are gone, I can be close to them. Why can't i go up to a casket?

The shit shift

It is becoming increasingly clear that midnights is the total shit shift. We are the most unappreciated and unrecognized shift. We get the crappy leftovers for nurses week, we don't get to participate in many of the contests, we don't get appreciated or recognized by the families...it sucks. I work hard, if not harder than the other shifts. I have the most patients, I run my ass off. I am part of shit shift...and sometimes it sucks. I just needed to vent.

I am human

I learned a few days ago that I am human and I will make mistakes. On Friday night, I accidentially gave too much medication to someone. It could have been extremely harmful. It could have been death, but fortunately for the patient and I nothing happened. Being human sucks, it is a harsh reality to realize that you are human and will fail sometimes. Its humilating to admit that you aren't superhuman and will make mistakes. It was the 1st time I have made a mistake of this caliber and I am sure that it will not be the last. Stop, learn and try not to make the same mistakes again.