Thou shall suck up

 I think he knows that he screwed up.  He was super sucking up. Helping me with my rooms, discharging my patients and offering to take them up during an admission.  I am not sure if he is truly sorry or just afraid I might tell on him.  Sorry started rambling.  The charge nurse that has upset me from the last few posts is who I am referring too. I though I would be able to just let it go but I am still hurt and find myself second guessing myself.  Worse than I ever did.  GRRR.

 Do you think that sometimes the work relationship can't be fixed?
So with that in mind I decided to go ahead and put in for a couple PRN positions and leave it in God's hands.  If I get them then maybe it's a sign that I need to move on.  Since I never really got the trauma bug were I constantly want to be in the Codes or Traumas like everyone else.  Maybe the ER isn't my niche.

So with that in mind I decided to put in for OB.  I am not sure that I will get the OB since I really don't have much experience.  I did really love my rounds through OB when I was in school.  However I did put in for the local ER which is smaller and less crazy.  Maybe a lower level trauma center is what I need.  Then I can be a bigger fish in a small pond...lol   Well I shall keep you in the loop.

I have mention my moving ideas to my closest coworkers who don't want me to leave but completely understand why I want to move on.  I just hope I am making the right decisions.  It would be nice to make more money and work less days.  I know money isn't everything but having more time with the kids would be.

Grind my Gear: Stewing

So I really thought I would be over the whole charge thing.  Before I go back to work.  Nope I have gone from sad to really pissed off.  At least I have the support of some fellow nurses who mention that they have lost a lot of respect for him now.  I haven’t gotten back to work yet to face him yet.  I am not sure how I am going to handle this.  Will I cry?  Get pissed off and lose my job?  Take him a side and tell him he should help his coworkers become more confident in their job instead of pointing out their faults.  Or one of the 6 other things that have been stewing in my head.  I have tried to let it go but I can’t.  I am truly hurt.  I have really been thinking about going PRN and drop full time.  More time with the kids and more money.  No benefits but I get them with my husband job anyway.  I just loved my rotation.  We work well together and a couple of them have become really good friends of mine.  I really don’t want to lose that type of working relationship.  But it makes it hard to work when you stew about the lazy asshole that isn’t doing their job.  However the other rotation is worse when it comes to that.  I don’t know what to do.  But I do know that PRN is really starting to sound great.

Some charge nurse

So we had a really rough day right before our weekend off was about to start.  Remember me telling you about the lazy charge.  The one we have been dealing with for months.  Well he went from lazy to full fledge asshole.  We had a patient that was being coded for over 3 hours.  She would die and we would bring her back on and off.  She looked like crap when she came and progressively got worse.  I was unable to get a line in her so the Dr called the charge to come help.  He is really good at getting lines in.  In fact I dub him the “vein” whisperer. 
When she crashed the first time I was triage one out in triage.  One of the other nurses was triaging a shortness of breath from the EMS.  The code was called and the Nurse K asked me to finish the triage in the room because her o2 sats were 80%.  I just finished triaging the abdominal pain.  But as soon as I started to head back I got a pediatric shortness of breath.  I had to do a scan “triage”  He wasn’t blue, he was labored breathing or showing signs of distress.  I did a quick o2 monitor and it read 98%.  So I told them I would be back that we had a crisis in the back.  I went and finished the elderly lady’s triage.  Put her on o2 and got a line and blood sent.  They were done coding the other patient and Nurse K asked what she could do.  So I sent her to get the pediatric patient.  I think got a chest pain patient and was triaging them, when the other patient coded again.  I was didn’t need to go because there were 3 other nurses in the code. 
This is how crazy the night was…we also had a Altered Mental Status and a few minor things.  There was a total of 5 nurses and 1 doctor and one Tech.  So we were all busy.  The family decided not to code the next time her heart stopped.  I never mentioned to him that it was pass his time to do triage.  I waited till the patient expired and he was done charting. 
Then when we got the next triage I told him it was his turn.  Because we all had done triage tonight but him.  He turn and said I had a critical patient.  Me being the smart ass I am stated “Um you use that excuse alot.”  He then comment that maybe if we could learn to work a code or didn’t have to call on him every time a critical patient came in he could do triage.  I was shocked.  Not angry but hurt.  He made me feel like I was an incompetent nurse.  That I had no idea what I was doing.  I said forget it I will get the triage.  I almost cried while out in triage.  I have never felt so sorry for myself in a long time.  I know I ask for his help or his suggestions but that’s because he is charge and a season nurse.  I always listen to what he suggests.  I thought that’s what a charge nurse was all about.  To support you and teach you?  Am I wrong?  If he felt like we were all slacking in our job when it came to a sick patient then why didn’t he take us under his wing and teach us?  I have never felt so bad at work…not since I first graduated as an RN.
What a prick.  I let him get under my skin.  I let him make me cry all the way home in the car.  He is our leader…wth   This was the first time I really wanted to quit my job.  To look at him and say Fuck you I quit…but I was at least smart enough to keep my mouth shut…probably the reason I cried.  If I can’t cuss and carry on then I break down and cry.  Yea I know it sounds a tad mental.  I shall leave you with my leader quotes I posted…not that he will think it pertains to him.  Since his head is so far up his ass.

Hooters: tmi

So at least once a month the crew tries to get together and have a meal together.  Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.  This time it was time to go to Hooters.  Now mind you I would never think I would ever set my feet inside this place full of boobs.  However this is my 3rd trip and they do have some of the best boneless wings.  Even better than Buffalo wild wings.  Though I still love buffalo wild wings fried pickles better.  So we went out and had a blast.  Last time I wanted to ask the waitress if we could have a different waitress since she was boobless.  Yea yea I know that’s mean.  But hey it’s hooters.  Not look like an 8yr old boy place.  This go round we had our ER tech with us.  This is a guy that wants to share WAY to much information when he has had a few to many.  Or any at all…  He asked questions like where was the wildest place you had sex, have you had a 3some and other blah blah stuff.  Who the hell really needs to hear this trash.  Especially since you have to work with these people.  Do you really think I am going to air out my dirty laundry so my coworker will know all.  I think not.  I also wonder if he is just feeling out to see who the work ho is so he can make his move.  BLARG.  No thanks I don’t want to play this game…TAXI

House Horror: Man style

Even though we have signed and I still never though my husband would get on board with purchasing a house.  He was worried constantly about can we afford it?  Now that he is on board he is sucking all the fun out of this new adventure.   He has shown me at least 5 times how he plans on laying out the dog kennels and fencing.  And asking each time what do I think.  Which I learned the hard way isn’t anything he wants to hear.  I mentioned that it appeared a lot smaller than they had with the old home.  Which set him off for 2 days.  We fought over the location of the bedroom furniture.  He want nothing to cover the vents.  Which makes sense but why would I want half his stuff on my side of the room and my stuff on his side?  Makes no sense to jumble everything around to make it “fit” if it’s not functional either.  Another fight for 2 days.  Also he wasn’t happy that I wasn’t going to be awake when the grader showed up.  Hello I work nights.  What’s the difference he was at work when he showed up.  It’s like working night shift doesn’t count.  I can just sleep whenever.  WTF.  He has bitched about the location of the Dish network lines and the internet lines…blah blah blah.
What’s even weirder he just stands in the yard and stares at the house.  Even the neighbor called to ask what he was doing.  At least he is excited to help pack and take things down.  Like the under pinning, the flower garden and the fence.  Problem is he is too excited.  He tried to take the fence down weeks too early.  Hello how do you want to potty 7 dogs?  No thanks.  He just thinks he can leave them kenneled till then.  NOPE.  How would you like to stay out there with them.  He helped take things off the wall…including the kids towel rack.  Um they said it would be at least 4 weeks till we move in.  Um where are they suppose to hang the towels till then?  He also packed a lot of his clothes.  Almost too many.  I had to stop him from packing too much.  I asked him how often did he expect me to do laundry?  UGH!   I am so ready for this house to be done with!

House of Horror: Bucket Bullshit

Okay so I have been posting forever about this house that we have finally signed for.  The asshole in front of us (man’s uncle) decided that he wasn’t happy that when we had our land survey he didn’t own as much as he thought.  So he has been an ass  click here to see more.  So the in-laws go on vacation.  The asshole stalker neighbor decides to put a bucket in the drive.  I discover this on my way home from work after working 12 hours of night shift and running into it.  I was not a happy camper.  Here’s a pic   His land is the grass on the (L) and my in-laws are on the right. This is our right of way.  So guess who is stopping by that day?  The Graders.  Just what I need is for the construction workers to be unable to get there huge equipment up to the new land.  I have had enough.  I call the law and they send a deputy out.  I receive a call back on my answering machine, since I was sleeping, that we would not have any more property disputes.  Needless to say the bucket moved to the grassy part of his land.  Which is fine with me.  He also refrained from standing outside to stalk the construction workers.  Guess it helped to mention about him cussing out the surveyor.  Stupid asshole.

Grinds my Gears: Lazy Charge

So we have a charge nurse that really was good at his job.  He applied to flight nursing and was declined due to his weight.  He is about 70 lbs. over weight.  Yes this job can do this.  Why?  Because you are in a helicopter which can only allow a certain amount of weight on board.  You never know what size your patient is going to be so they can help manage the weight by controlling how much the nurse and paramedic weigh.  Anyway ever since he was unable to get his dream job he has really slacked off.  I mean he literally sits around and plays on his phone, looks at car parts on eBay or house shops online.  Even during the busiest times of the night.  This really irks me.  What irks me more is that he has been schedule to do triage and he find every opportunity to avoid it.  His main excuse was that he is bad luck in triage.  If he goes out there 10 more sign in.  Well that’s changed now I am the black cloud of triage.  In fact one doctor will ask me when am I scheduled for triage in hopes he will be gone before that.  It’s not like I get backed up.  They just seem to all load off a bus or something.  Anyway besides the laziness he is trying to take most of the credit.  He will sit there all night plugging in the vital signs from the monitor and checking our charts.  He does help catch mistakes.  He then “knows” the patients yet he never set foot in the room.  When day shift comes in he rattles off report like he actually did something.  This seriously pisses me off.  He is a great guy outside of work.  We all figured he was burnt out and upset about the job loss.  However this has been going on for MONTHS now.  I really don’t want to rat him out. Because I don’t want to make it worse.  So do I confront him or go straight to the boss?  I am not the only one that has seen this.

I Can't Breathe!

It never fails.  When you are going to have a bad case it always seems to arrive the first hour of your shift or the very end of it.  This one showed up about and hour before quitting time.  Unresponsive.  Vital signs are great and he snoring.  So I am cutting clothes off, while triage nurse gets info, someone is starting a line and getting blood and then I alert the ER doc.  Who isn't happy that we waited this long.  That would be the triage nurses fault since he is also the charge nurse.  But what do I know.  Anyway.  The doc gets history from family which doesn't help.  No one seems to know what this guys  new depression med is or if it's a narcotic.  So the doctor orders Narcan to reverse possible over dose.  He has had 2 rounds of it no luck.  Doctor orders Remazicon just in case it's a benzo over dose.  I on the other hand would like to shove a catheter in this guy so we can get a temperature and output.  Before the ER doctor wakes him up and I can't get a Urine to find out what the hell he has taken.  Nope off to CT scan where the dude wakes up screaming.  I can't breathe!  I can't breathe!  All the while thrashing around on the CT table.  Needless to say  he was breathing just fine.  Now the unresponsive is acting like a full blown bath salts patient.  Fantastic.  No Urine now...and no CT.  Back to the ER to sedate the patient because he is still thrashing and yelling at the top of his lungs.  Apparently the Remazicon worked.  So lets put more drugs on board.  Makes plenty of sense to me. Now the doctor is thinking about intubating the patient.  Wouldn't that have been easier in the beginning?  She then mentions remind me to intubate first ask questions later...Welcome to the night shift rodeo.

Strange case

So here is a strange case for you.
Patient comes in with girlfriend.  Apparently refuses to be placed in a gown.  All he wants is stitches and to go home.  Upon going into room to find out why with the Er doc, I noticed a man who is swollen on the left side on the head.  In fact, the swelling is so bad he cannot open his left eye.  Apparently he fell off a ledge and landed head first.  He continues to insist to the doctor all he need is stitches.  The doctor explains that he needs a full trauma work up.  Especially since it was a 15ft drop when he face planted.  Er Doc explained that he could have fractures, air or blood in the brain.  Patient continues to argue.  All the while the girlfriend has this shit eating grin on her face.  Doctor tries to appeal to her to no avail.  Even after multiple attempts of the doctor explaining this could lead to permanent disability or death.  20 mins later we were able to start an IV, get blood and order x-rays and CT’s.  To which she say all he needs is an x-ray why do we need blood or a CT.  I tried to explain why.  Of course she is looking at me like she has he medical degree.  I once again get the ER doc.  Who spends another 15mins explaining this isn’t burger king you can’t order of the menu.  He explained we need to cover all bases so nothing gets missed.  I explain to them that if they are worried about financial payment that we have many ways to help with that.  She just ignored the lowly nurse. Doctor examines the patient and I assist.  He could feel the fractures of the nose.  He explains this as he is examining the patient. He also has a cut that will need suturing but that is the least of his problems.  The girlfriend bitches about CT the neck when all his injuries appear to be the head.  Did I mention she still had this shit evil grin on her face now?

The girlfriend then bitches about the extra bag of fluids and how all the hospital is pretty much doing is making the bill more expensive.  No matter how much we try to justify why we were doing a procedure or med she always had an excuse.  No matter the risk of death or injury she still was a smart ass.  The doctor mention that he had a case that was look less severe and she had blood and air where it didn’t belong.  They both then complained that due to 1 case they were going to have to all the same tests. 

Third time the doc had to explain himself.

Finally results are in:  You have a fractured nose, zygomatic process, air and blood that don’t belong, a crushed eye socket and now you need to be transferred to a trauma center for surgery.
You would think the light would go on.  HELL NO!  Now the girlfriend states it’s just like a broke arm.  Cast it and go on with it.  Now you want money for a surgery.  GAUGHGHGHGHGHG!  By this time my patience is about gone and I want to strangle this lady.  I explain to her why there is a difference.  Nope I am the dumb nurse and she is a Medical professional.  Which by the way the doctor comments in one of his educational sessions.  That if she had a degree in medicine she could have cause to argue with him.  He would be happy to explain everything to her and why these steps need to be taken. But unless she is a doctor she will have to understand that everything he does is for the concern of the patient’s safety and well being.
She still sat there with a shit eating grin.  Even argued that she could drive him to the hospital despite us telling her that it was unsafe for the patient.
Did I mention said patient was intoxicated?  I still wonder if she beat him with a bat.  I don’t know about you but if my significant other might die I would want everything possible done for him.  Unless I wanted him dead….which is what vibe I was getting from this chick.  Stupid people shouldn’t breed!

House, Horrors and Stupid Insane Stalkers

Well It's finally official.  WE HAVE SIGNED!!!  yes I can't believe it either.  I still think I am in shock.  We are officially homeowners.  No longer a tin can owner...yippee.  All that hard work and schooling has finally paid off.  The grader comes today...

Which slides me into the HORROR...when the contractor stopped by the last time the crazy neighbor came barreling out of his house to yell and carry on.  Tell him that no one better touch his land...blah blah blah. See here for whole story click here.  So I wonder if this is going to happen all over again when the grader shows up.  I really hope not.  I don't have the patience today.  In fact I may have to put up a pay pal icon to help with bail money.  I really think he is stalking us.

He spends his time on his back porch watching us if we are outside.  So I think we need to get our chairs and face him at his garden while he is out there...give him a complex...ugh

Things that make you go..WTH

Okay I was driving home and noticed this idiot.  This looks like a dog in the back of a truck right?  Nope.  Its a pick up truck that has the fiber glass cover on the back.  He is standing on top of that.  Mind you he is chained to the truck for his safety...Safety?  I think not.  One slam on the brakes that dog is going to slide and hang himself off the side of the truck.  What is wrong with people around here?  I have never seen such disregard for safety or care of their dogs in all my life.  Good grief.