Still recovering...

But darn it, it was FUN!

Beautiful days no need for a coat. Pretty nights and safe surroundings. Fireworks I could watch from my room and music. Lots of rehab nurses from all over the place.

I learned a lot. I had fun meeting everyone. It was pretty cool.

Yes, it really was the happiest place on Earth for one brief moment now it's back to work.

Stay tuned...

The bitter and the sweet

So many things fit that description this week. Retirements and births in our little neck of the woods in RehabLand.

And I finally got the promotion I've been working on for the last three years. Sweet! Bitter: the attitude of the woman in HR who was supposed to answer my questions about it. (I wish SHE were on that retirement list...she needs something!) However, I was sweet in thanking her for her diatribe.

It doesn't matter when I get it, I know it's on the way...FINALLY!

Happy Nurses' Week

You could listen to a hospital system or nursing organization tell you to "Lead the Way" (this year's Nurses' Week theme).

Or..you could just enjoy Marcy Hoo's video here, where she does her rendition of Pharrell William's Happy.

Enjoy and have a great week. You deserve it!

Happy Easter!

To all of you who celebrate (whether it's now or later)! Enjoy!

Manglement misadventures

Mediocrity can talk, but it is for genius to observe.~ Benjamin Disraeli  


I really like some of the medical staff I work with at the Hotel. We have some folks with a lot of experience and wonderful patient rapport.

But, as usual, the Manglement are clueless. The Hotel is part of a reactionary hospital system, that just doesn't seem happy unless there is chaos. Evidence based practice? What's that? Or this discourse when I asked for a flexible schedule, even though, we already have them.

"If I let you do x, I'll have to let others do y."

Keeping employees happy is not part of their business plan. They get more clueless by the day.

I'm counting down the days. I'm glad my Christmas vacation is coming.

Gratitude

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.~ Gilbert K. Chesterton 

 I thought of this when I heard the news that one of the nurses at work lost her home in an early morning fire the other day. I was wondering why I didn't see her at work. She and her family got out with the clothes on their backs and nothing else.

 We had a staff meeting recently and the conversation started to get heated. Finally, the manager calmed things down. It was about time. It took a JC visit to get things going and for people to realize that it's really about the patients, and not us. It's important we do a good job so we continue to have patients to take care of at the Hotel.

Finally, I saw my late coworker's wife and children for the first time since the funeral at the elementary school in town at a back to school night. They looked happy, lots of kids ran around, and there were popsicles.

Just another reminder to be grateful and have an attitude of gratitude.

So happy TGIF

Yes, so, so happy. Go to work, do work, get lunch and coffee, go to a meeting, come back and finish the day on an up note. Stuff actually gets done. I don't feel like I wasted my day sitting at the computer sending endless e-mails.

Joy, joy, joy!

Hope you all enjoy whatever the Flag Day weekend brings you.

More to come.

Very, very...

Tired.
Why on earth does graduate school just suck the life out of you?

Thankful.
That my boss let me have vacation next week.

Lucky.
That after a struggle of over a year, HR finally admitted someone was indeed sabotaging my promotion by losing the paperwork. Not once, not twice, but three times.

The promotion will happen retroactively. Retroactive ain't soon enough, especially since the perpetrator will get little more than a reprimand for his/her "work".

Happy.
Nevertheless, I am happy. I took care of a patient who waited forty years for one of these and the recognition that goes with it.

I guess good things really do come to those who wait...if you can endure! Stay tuned.

A little recon

Dear Referring Officials in Said Happy City:

Despite patient comments stating that you all are saying we're an "Army barracks" and "no one wants to go there," you keep sending us patients. Yes, we had a patient family member tell us this yet again that you've said things that are not true.

Yes, we're not the newest Hotel du Jour Rehab, but you're forgetting a few things. Here's the truth:

1. We do our work AND it works. Yes, we have a fine reputation for healing people and we do it over, and over and over again. It's true our specialist physician only calls on certain days, but we are so fortunate to have staff physicians who really get it and know when to say when about calling him/her back for backup if needed.

2. We have a beautiful neighborhood. It's scenic, with bluffs, river, sky and all sorts of wild critters that make it  perfectly picturesque. Many patients tell me they try to get by the windows at dusk, or go outside, just to see the deer and other critters mulling around. For many folks from rural areas, it reminds them of home, even though we're not far from the bustle of the city down the road.

3. We have a wonderful place for visiting families to stay. In fact, if it were open to the general public, it would be overrun with those Civil War (and other war) reenactors due to the fact we're so close to historic sites where they go visit. Many of our patients are loathe to leave after staying there (it's that nice).

4. Besides, we are closer to one of the BEST (yes it was rated that way) cultural institutions and it did beat the c$%p out of your nationally rated one because we care...and ours is free to all.

So, please be sure to do your research first from reliable sources, 'cause your recon ain't so good.

Sincerely not,

RehabRN

Happy!

So, so, so happy. Found my lost gas cap AND...

I'm a RN-BC. Woo hoo! Those months of studying paid off. And I sent special thanks to two former Navy nurses who helped make it happen. I couldn't have done it without them.

It is indeed a Happy Monday in RehabLand.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Winding down

Ah, so glad the week is nearly over. It's been taxing with this random assorted virus I have--one moment constant nose running, another coughing. I can't wait until it's run its course and is over.

Ice, snow and mayhem have come to RehabLand. Why do sane looking people think it's okay to try to do 80mph down a snowy road with black ice and winds at 30-40 mph? People died here on the roads today. So glad I don't have to drive where these crazies are. I wish my boss understand why I want to telecommute (yes, I can!) on days like today.

I'm happy despite the snow and biting cold. My people in our sister hospitals are finally back from vacation! (only took what seemed to be a month). They are answering e-mails AND participating. Joy, joy, joy! I am thrilled. And, yours truly did her first group presentation, to a group of nurses all over the place via computer. It was very, very cool.

Bubba and I enjoyed playing in the snow with WildDog when work and school was done. It was the highlight of my day.

More to come...

Heat and furry friends

Yes, in summertime in these parts, you always hear stories about people leaving their dogs (and  sometimes their kids) in the car "for just a minute."

Since WildDog is getting older and belongs to the Loyal Order of Double-Coated Dogs he needed a good bath and grooming.

He now looks a lot lighter, and he's happy he's escaped those groomers, even though they were very nice.

I bribed him with cookies before and after. I'm just hoping he doesn't leave as many hair clumps all around the house.

Water, please!

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

My day seemed like a desert at the Hotel. It was hot, and I was thirsty. If I move another bed from room to room because we keep having odd isolation situations coming up, I think Mike the housekeeper can, and will take his mop bucket and dump it over my head.


My orientee and I ran from patient to patient and got everyone taken care of, including getting one another bed, since he needed a new one for a couple of reasons.


Besides moving everyone around, we got to take one of our patients outside to our garden and patio area. A few patients congregated out there and had a good old time. We checked on him from time to time to bring coffee and check his water pitcher. It had been a very long time since he was allowed up and he relished every moment of it.


I finally slaked the never-ending thirst for moment by getting a diet soda at lunch. I hate diet soda, but this one was actually pretty good. Gradually, I'm getting used to more fruits, and especially vegetables in my diet. I love bread, but I cannot eat much of it anymore. I have to save it for special occasions.

Now, it's back to studying...more later...

I am...

Free...freed from the cares of the Hotel for nearly a week.

Wet, from careening down a mega three stories high water slide with a big swirly tub at the end. Talk about being disoriented! I entered the water head first!

Happy...Bubba and Dahey and I could attend a Cub Scout event together. (I usually miss them due to work).

Almost finished...with this class I'm taking. I need to collect my thoughts for the final paper, but I know they're coming.

Done...good night, all. See you next time...

Forget your troubles...

come on get happy!*

Yes, this blog has been named to the 50 Happy Nursing Blogs list.

Stay tuned...gotta run!

*from this Judy Garland song.