Back At Work

Well, I finished my first week back to work and am getting ready to start my second week on Thursday. My work week is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I work twelve hour night shifts from 7:00 PM - 7:30 AM. I am fortunate that I have a career in which there is flexible scheduling that allows me to work only three days per week and still be considered a full time employee. There is a downside however, it is very difficult to work 36 (37.5) hours in three days.

My first night was exhausting, though not TOO busy. I worked in the NICU and had two babies who thought that they were feeling much better, thank you, and they needed to scream all night long. The poor nurse whose babies were next to mine just kept helping me go put pacifiers in mouths and turning the babies, etc. One of my babies wasn't allowed to eat at all, and she was VERY unhappy about that, and didn't care that I can't override the doc's decision on the matter. The other baby could eat an ounce and a half every three hours, but he preferred to sleep when I put the bottle in his mouth. He then would get mad about an hour after he got his feeding through his tube because I wasn't feeding him. Newborns are hard to reason with. LOL!!!

I should be grateful that my first night wasn't too busy though as EVERYTHING changed while I was gone. Well, not everything, but close enough. The intranet site changed and I couldn't find the link to the program where we clock in at, thankfully a nice day shift nurse helped me out with that one. The admission database is now done on the computer, so I got to practice that on my second and third nights as those were the nights I got admissions. Our medication administration records are now computerized as well, so I had to remember to chart my medicines on the computer. None of the programs are complicated, it just took a while to figure out as I had my training on this back in August. The "go live" date for the new programs in the hospital was 11/2, I went into early labor on Halloween, so I missed all the excitement, but I also had almost six months go by from when I last used the programs.

Being a nurse is one thing, I didn't forget how to do that while I was out, but when there are MAJOR changes during that time, it does make for challenges upon my return. Thankfully they didn't change the IV pumps or the PCA pumps or any of the patient care equipment while I was gone :o)

I can say, I am glad to be back at work..........................I think. I do love my patients, and I had a great group this past weekend. The patients were great and their parents were too, which ALWAYS helps. I was also fortunate enough to work with sympathetic nurses who gave me the time and space I needed to work on getting a groove with all the new procedures. I only had a run in with the pharmacist, but he is a jerk to everyone, so I won't take that personally and the day shift charge nurse on Sunday morning. I don't know what her problem was, but she seemed to take the fact that they were short staffed out on me. I don't care though, I don't have to work on her floor for another few weeks, so she will be over whatever was bothering her by then.

Enough rambling for tonight.