What a difference

Yes, a day does make a difference. I did not feel as if I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Same patients (minus the admit), but more quiet and getting things done. I felt as if I accomplished something.

There always is something lacking in communication, though. One of my patients was crabby, because I took his wheelchair from his favorite spot and moved it. This was for a number of safety reasons, but he was pouting  all day, according to our NP. I did a couple of treatments and he slept most of the day.

My other patient is a rehab nurse's worst nightmare or trainwreck. Imagine a non-compliant diabetic who has survived major, major surgery (and has the scars to prove it), a G-tube among other tubes, and is just plain flighty. One minute, he/she can't get up, then family comes, poof! All's well. We push him/her to do therapy and sometimes it works, sometimes not. If we were a CMS supported rehab, he/she'd have been out on the streets long ago. 

At the end of the day, I went to a meeting. I was horribly unprepared because the nurse who actually attends our regularly scheduled department meeting just forgot to tell me about it. I was supposed to report nursing's views on a patient I've seen, but barely know. Guess I'll be busy learning about him/her for the next meeting!

Now, Bubba has enlisted me to hang the hummingbird feeder. We'll see how that goes...more to come.

Heard on the unit...

"You are now part of the Saintarama service line." (corporate letter)
What does this mean? Mostly corporate mumbo jumbo that's integrating the rehab staff into the "service line" of the hospital to get better CMS funding from Medicare. Translation: none of us really know what this will mean now, but as an escaped corporate monkey, it's probably not the gift we thought Santa would bring us.

I am always suspect of nefarious things when the attached Q&A is not attached and no one can find it.

"We are under orders to keep census low due to holiday staffing issues." (administrative staff quote)
Translation: no one wants to work New Year's Eve, so can you come in for a few (maybe double shift) hours? Yes, Voldemort Staffing just keeps calling. I suspect that's what I'm going to get for Christmas...a few more calls. I'm already working too many days that week. I need a break!

BTW we would have had four admissions yesterday if we wouldn't have had an administrative issue. Think too many men and not enough shared rooms with women. We only got three assigned and only two patients had arrived by the time I left)

"Okay, I have the leg, now where's the patient?" (PT)
One of my patients needed to have his prosthesis adjusted. I got it up to the therapist and he was supposed to go up with his brother. They decided to detour to the gift shop on the way to therapy.