I NEED SOME HELP IN HERE!

There is nothing like your first emergent situation in a hospital. I got floated to a different floor two weeks ago because I was the only one on my floor at the time that had enough experience to float (SCARY). Because there was debate as to whether or not I would have to float to another floor or not, I was late taking report from the next nurse. I got out of report at 8pm. I like to first check on my patients the first thing out of report- to make sure they're still alive when I get them ;) . I started down the hall with my first patient and worked my way up the hall. At 8:10 I got to the 2nd patient and heard from two doors down a little voice screaming for help to get her husband off the pot. The nurses station called for a PCA (nurses assisstant) to the room, but I sensed a little bit of panic in this little old lady's voice so I rushed in there to find that the man was having all sorts of symptoms of a stroke! STROKE!! AHHH! What do I do!? Adrenaline kicked in and my hands were shaking so bad I felt like a parkinsons patient. I am used to stroke patients- AFTER they stroke. Within seconds I had help of another nurse and activated a stroke alert which is kind of like activating a code blue for those of you non medical people that need a visual. It just means a Dr and many other skilled professionals rush to the scene within minutes. I did all of the right things, thank GOD, but it was very scary. It took me about two hours to catch up on everything else I needed to get done that night and for my adrenaline to calm down.

As I was sharing this experience with another nurse, she had a story of her own to tell me. As a new nurse you are always scared of your first emergent situation. This nurse had a patient come to the floor and upon seeing him for the first time, he was complaing of chest pain. Instead of being rational and asking him more about his chestpain and ordering an EKG (checks your heart rhythms) and notifying the physician she couldn't think. She was afraid that this man was having a heart attack and everything she learned in nursing school had gone out the window. She screamed down the hall, "I NEED HELP IN HERE! I'M CALLING 911!". The nurses who ran in the room to help her hung up the phone and calmed her down. "Why are you calling 911? We ARE 911!"
I hear this and can't help but to laugh! Luckily that patient wasn't going into cardiac arrest and was just having a panic attack.

Potty Dance

Have you ever seen those ridiculous Pull-Ups commercials where they sing the Potty Dance song in so many different genres. There is the rap version. There is the middle aged man trying to rock out. What happened to the old commercials like this one? OK you might be wondering why I have you watching all of these pull-up videos. I wonder sometimes how much easier it would be to just pee in your underpants, then change them when they get too droopy. I've thought about this a lot due to the amount of elderly patients we have in diapers in the hospital. Most nights when I am at work I don't find the time to pee. This is a HUGE problem because it's so unhealthy and can lead to UTI's and kindney infections. Luckily, I haven't had either, but it's probably a matter of time. I saw the potty dance commercial come on the other night while I sat in the break room eating my lunch. I couldn't help but think about it some more. There was once an episode of Grey's Anatomy where Christina Yang and Little Grey were wearing diapers to get more surgeries or longer surgeries which were more complex. By wearing diapers they didn't have to dehydrate themselves or scrub out to pee. It was a pretty funny episode seeing them waddle as they visited patients in rounds. Last night at work, I really wish I were wearing a diaper. It was kind of a busy night. I didn't have time to do much of anything other than chart, pass pain meds, chart, do burn dressings, chart, and so on. I also have had an orientee following me, in which I have had a lot of teaching to do. I found myself doing something that looked a LOT like the potty dance. I found a perfect opportunity to take a break and I B lined it to the bathroom. I apparently had to go so badly that I couldn't wait long enough to even pull down my pants! Between trying to hover over the toilet and pull down my pants- I PEED ALL OVER MYSELF!!! WHO DOES THAT!?? I can't help but laugh at myself about this. Instantly after it happened I thought of only one thing.. I finally have something to blog about!!

My sweet pride and joy

I don't know who really reads my blog anymore, but for those who might have been interested or remembered me mentioning wanting to buy a new car for so long.. the day has finally come! After many days of searching for the right one for me, dealing with pompous and ignorant car salesmen, and finagling my way around getting the best possible deal for me, I found her! Everyone, meet Rhonda! Rhonda is a tango red 2010 Honda CRV. Rhonda and I have already gone to the beach together and have hung out with lots of my friends. Rhonda and I plan on taking many more trips together in the next few months. I can't wait! Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee!