A different atmosphere

One of the nurses I work with mentioned it is a different environment when certain people we work with don't come to work. She is absolutely correct.

Imagine my world for a moment. NOTE: this illustration below has several grains of truth and will be distorted enough to protect both the innocent and the guilty.

First, we have the "lunch ladies". These nurses remind you of the lunch ladies from grade school. They often wear matching uniforms and if they had them, they'd have those hairnets on, too. They're perfectionists and they like to run various aspects of the shift a certain way (as if they were still in their kitchens) and you'd better like it, or feel their wrath. The wrath, you ask? Why they whisper a lot, which irritates the charge nurse. They bugged me at first, because I really got tired of their furtive glances, then the whisper, whisper that goes on at the other end of the report area, but I got used to it. Later, they may tell me who they're whispering about, and I ask them to talk to that person. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Next, we have the GI Joes. GI Joe #1 takes care of his patients, does his stuff and is exemplary. He wants a long career and is working to become an RN one day, one class at a time.

GI Joe #2 has been around forever, most likely has untreated PTSD and another psych disorder or two, and can be both a good worker and an absolute nightmare. This changes from moment to moment, depending on who took the last cup of coffee from the nurses' station pot, to whether his favorite sports team is winning, to whether Mr. X. just rang his call light and asked him for ice. Sometimes this merry-go-round is exhausting. We always hope he takes the meds he has before coming to work.

Finally, we have the slacker brigade. Often, they have slacking competitions to see who can do less work. The Slug leads the brigade. He/she makes an effort to get as many phone calls as possible on a shift, start jobs that he/she doesn't finish (it's easier that way), and takes long lunch breaks. Since he/she's getting all those phone calls, he/she's always on the unit, but don't expect much. A phone call or Facebook game could be missed while some actual work gets done.

A couple of our newer nurses have also joined the slacker brigade. Their mission: stay in close contact with latest boyfriend of the moment by escaping from the unit to see boyfriend(s) on the parking lot, in full view of many of their patients, staff and visitors, or just sit in a very far off location and take phone calls, send text messages and update your status on Facebook out of paging distance. One has even made boundary crossing his/her favorite sport, by cruising through certain patients' rooms and asking them to get him/her snacks/treats/crafts whenever he/she can.

For me....I try to stay invisible. If I'm invisible, I'm less of a target. Some days are more on target than others. I'm still learning to cope with them. I like taking care of my patients and when I take care of them, they don't call me as much. When they do, I take care of their issues right away.

Finally, I always follow my mentor G's advice: start the shift by saying to yourself, "This is going to be a good day/evening/night." If you say it enough, believe it, and go out and act like it will, it will. Even if it turns into the night from Hell, keep reminding yourself. It can make things better for you and your coworkers.  If all else fails, remember, this shift too, will pass and let it go once you are gone.