You get what you wish for...

Or at least it seems that way right now. What a week!

For almost five years, I've been asking for help and/or equipment. While I can't get them to give me the help, in terms of personnel I want, I am getting equipment, so it's keeping me busy.

My favorite thing: I'm finally having days where I actually do the job I was hired to do for almost the entire eight hours I'm there (and sometimes then some...). The patient flow is something I have to work on, though. I follow the guidelines, but somehow, I always have a patient who wants to tell me more.

This week, I got to go to training that was cancelled many moons ago. It was interesting, even though I had to attend with my boss, who, with his/her MBA, knows everything. He/she succeeded in driving a lot of people nuts, which got me lots of sympathy from the folks I already know.

Finally, after working on my last patients this afternoon (and one emergency with a speech therapist), I got the e-mail I've been waiting for from the boss. He/she's recommending that the holdouts complete things they need to do to work with me in my clinic.

Five years is a short time where I work but almost a lifetime anywhere else. That e-mail made my week. I can only hope I'll get a few more wishes...

Happy weekend wherever you are. More to come...

Thank yous and sweet and silly things

First, thank you Katy Katz for featuring this blog in your list of 24 nursing blogs you need to read in 2014. 

I also want to thank our recent group of visitors from all over the globe, especially a few brave souls from Iceland. I've never been there, but Iceland's definitely on my list of places to see. I'm reading a really cool book called The Athena Doctrine: How women (and the men who think like them) will rule the future,  and it has a great story about Iceland in recent years in it.

Today was a very good day. I was busy running reports, analyzing them, and going to meetings. The nice thing was that work actually got done.

Next, I saw one of our patients today who was put on C-diff isolation. Felt like old times (and happily, it did not smell like c-diff at all). I did a little patient education for this sweet 80 something year old guy and complimented him on using his moisturizer on his hands (which is really a part of his rehab, too).

Finally, the sweet and the silly combined when I read an article about sugar free gummy bears. The best part of the article was reading the actual reviews from customers about them. Since we have some people at the Hotel who don't really believe this happens if you overindulge, I may just have to print them out and leave in our group room and our nurses' lounge.

Maybe someone will get the hint. If not, I'll just go buy a bag and leave them out.

Ah, so many sugar free candies, so little time...stay tuned!

Heard on the unit...

I love M and Em, two of our RNs who work weekends. They both have a hilarious sense of humor. M works AM 12 hour shifts and Em works the PM ones. M came from a gero unit, and Em came to the Hotel from a cardiac ICU at an academic medical center where they do groundbreaking stuff, including chilling folks after heart attacks.

So this is a story M told me about what happened recently when she answered a call light for Mr. X., one of our regulars.

M: Good morning can I help you your call light is on?
Patient X: Yeah how the hell do I check out of this swanky hotel!!
M: As soon as you are able to walk out of here. (Patient is paralyzed and has been for many years)
Patient X: Hell, if I could have done that I would have stiffed this bill long ago.

Yes, just another day at the Hotel. Sometimes, I miss working the weekends, but not always.

Stay tuned!