Just do it!

The Nike slogan was my mantra the last night I worked, and thankfully, most people got it.

Everyone got an equal assignment (myself included.) I don't mind taking an extra load, but tonight I needed an equitable assignment!

The nurse who decided his/her feet were swelling and he/she needed a different assignment so he/she could sit down, talked to another nurse and they traded (he/she got more people until relief came, he/she got a lesser assignment for part of the night).

I got to do multiple suctionings on one of my antsy trach patients, clean his/her wheelchair from seat down in the shower due to an accident, scrub him/her up,  wash his/her clothes, and change a catheter, in addition to the dressings this patient has.

Next, I got to do an emergency scramble when one family member breezes by the nurses station and says, "Oh, I tried to wake up, Bob, my brother, and he's not waking up." Run down hall with blood pressure machine and oxygen sat. Brother is sleeping, but easily roused. Nice. People just don't get saying something like that will get a nurse's dander up. Sheesh!


Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled that my other patients were not so needy. My only exception: Mr. Bottled Water. Since he's run out, we can only get him water from the ice machine, since it's filtered, "and tastes so much better."

Too bad the honchos won't just buy filtered pitchers for all of them. Maybe I'll suggest that to his family for their next visit.

More to come...