Still alive. (a 2-16-07 entry)
The work at Casa has intensified and the staff is having a hard time coping. More spinal cord injury patients are in and they are not going out. Every 2 hour doses of Dilaudid eat up nursing time. One wants to be lifted everytime he gets moved. He has a sore that goes bone deep and I can't blame him. He's not going anywhere until the wound is healed. Yeah, stage IV sore, it will take months. The dudes a tetraplegic. Type A personality that has worn the nursing staffs patience done to the core. We are sick of the dude and there is no relief in sight. He wants his arm this way and his head that way. His family's gone, they don't visit as much. They too are tired of the situation. If superman's fate is any indication this dude will be gone in a few years. Sad but that is the reality of life when you play with high speed vehicles.
The CNA situation is not improving. We have the same amount of CNA with high acuity patients. The SCI's take a lot of time to care for so the other patients have to wait longer. The clinical coordinators don't seem to get the point and they don't staff appropriately. My back has been sore lately, doing the CNA's work and getting behind my work.
I have to do diaper changes while I get behind the medication pass. Oh well, as long as the call lights are not blinking, the bosses are happy. I stay over from half an hour to an hour just to catch up with paper work. It sucks but that's what happened when I help other people with their work. That's the price of being a highly skilled ICU nurse. LOL.
The other RNs don't help but I do. They get to finish their work on time, no one wants to go home late. I don't either but I have to dot the i's and cross the t's. It's better just in case some psycho patient decided to sue.
Conference is another waste of time. We sit around discussing goals the patient need to meet the next day. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech with the case managers discuss their goals. Nursing is basically safety and bowel and bladder function. The worst feedback from the therapist is that nursing doesn't do their jobs. I will not attend anymore of this conference if insults will be flung towards my dept. I don't need the insults at work. I can just stay home and not get this type of abuse. I told the head nurse about it, let's see if there will be any improvement.
On the light side of work is the endless joking around between the staff. That's the only way we can survive this type of work. We cover each other for breaks and we do work well together.
The work at Casa has intensified and the staff is having a hard time coping. More spinal cord injury patients are in and they are not going out. Every 2 hour doses of Dilaudid eat up nursing time. One wants to be lifted everytime he gets moved. He has a sore that goes bone deep and I can't blame him. He's not going anywhere until the wound is healed. Yeah, stage IV sore, it will take months. The dudes a tetraplegic. Type A personality that has worn the nursing staffs patience done to the core. We are sick of the dude and there is no relief in sight. He wants his arm this way and his head that way. His family's gone, they don't visit as much. They too are tired of the situation. If superman's fate is any indication this dude will be gone in a few years. Sad but that is the reality of life when you play with high speed vehicles.
The CNA situation is not improving. We have the same amount of CNA with high acuity patients. The SCI's take a lot of time to care for so the other patients have to wait longer. The clinical coordinators don't seem to get the point and they don't staff appropriately. My back has been sore lately, doing the CNA's work and getting behind my work.
I have to do diaper changes while I get behind the medication pass. Oh well, as long as the call lights are not blinking, the bosses are happy. I stay over from half an hour to an hour just to catch up with paper work. It sucks but that's what happened when I help other people with their work. That's the price of being a highly skilled ICU nurse. LOL.
The other RNs don't help but I do. They get to finish their work on time, no one wants to go home late. I don't either but I have to dot the i's and cross the t's. It's better just in case some psycho patient decided to sue.
Conference is another waste of time. We sit around discussing goals the patient need to meet the next day. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech with the case managers discuss their goals. Nursing is basically safety and bowel and bladder function. The worst feedback from the therapist is that nursing doesn't do their jobs. I will not attend anymore of this conference if insults will be flung towards my dept. I don't need the insults at work. I can just stay home and not get this type of abuse. I told the head nurse about it, let's see if there will be any improvement.
On the light side of work is the endless joking around between the staff. That's the only way we can survive this type of work. We cover each other for breaks and we do work well together.
