UPDATE: In order to cover all of my bases, I must tell you that I am neither a doctor nor a nurse. I am, however, a nurses aid/CNA/health tech/clinical care assistant. I don't want people thinking I'm something that I'm not. More on what I do, what I know, what I would like to do, and what I'd like to know in a later post.
So I don't have a substantial post tonight. Fear not, I have a couple in the works, they're just not ready yet. So here is a list. A list of things. Things I've noticed or learned from working in Peds (Work#2).
In no particular order:
1) You always want hand sanitizer right after you walked past nine million bottles of it mounted on the walls, in patient rooms, and on desks right as you enter the area that only has one bottle, tucked away in some lonely corner collecting dust because you can never remember where exactly it is.
2) You know flu season is starting when you administer quick flu tests to fellow staff.
3) You get kind of excited when a kid is coming in with a busted lip or funny looking bug bites. This is mainly because it's not another "sore throat/runny nose/cough/fever" kid. Have you ever heard of a cold? (Sorry, had to get my little rant in). It also means you might get to see something cool...like stitches or draining a wound. Fun!
4) You find out that apple seeds are indeed "poisonous." They naturally have trace amounts of cyanide. Gasp! Don't worry, you'd have to eat a bunch of apple seeds to even notice the effects.
5) Babies pee on you. All. The. Time. And sometimes poop gets involved too.
6) You just have to laugh (and cry a little on the inside) when you botch a patients name when calling them back to the room.
7) Sometimes, just sometimes, you still call a she a he and a he a she accidentally even after you just saw them diaper-less.
8) The receptionist staff shrug away awkwardly when you walk up to them holding ________ (i.e. urine samples, sealed lab test swabs, a dirty diaper)
9) You've encountered parents who are much more frustrating than your own. (Love you Mom!)
10) Despite their saliva, snot, pee, and poop you still really do adore children...most of the time.
I'm following from BlogFrog! I'm looking foward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteSounds a lot like being a mom.
ReplyDeleteI did my practicum in nursing school on the pediatric oncology floor - I 100% agree with your #9 and 10!
ReplyDeleteCan't even imagine what every day would be like! Though it wuld be nice to see I did not have nor am I now the most frustrating mom.
ReplyDelete@Losing Brownies - Thank you for stopping by and following my blog! It is much appreciated! I follow yours too - glad Gadget Guy is coming home soon! Can I ask, where did you come up with the name "Losing Brownies"?
ReplyDelete@Jenn - Now that I look back on it, a lot of them probably a are a lot like parenting. I'm not a mom myself (yet) but I get where you're coming from!
@Danielle - Thanks for the comment, friend! I'm glad you can relate! What floor are you working on now?
@JDM - Hope you don't mind my abbreviation, hehe. While I don't work daily (still a full time student, #1 priority right now) I can definitely tell you that every shift I work has its own ups and downs. Most of the time, it's pretty humorous. And fear not, most parents are nice and appreciate that I'm doing my job, i.e. helping their kid. A handful of parents though send my head spinning and have me thinking God for the wonderful parents He gave me!
#7 has to be the funniest thing I've read in a long time!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am so relieved that babies do pee or poop on other nurses/ doctors/ workers! My son peed all over the wall when he was four months old, and I was mortified! I am glad to know I am not alone :)
@Gina - I'm glad you enjoyed that one. I'm a little ashamed of just how often it happens. Hehe. That's pretty funny that he got the wall. Bodily fluids and functions are just something you have to get used to. It could be worse!
ReplyDelete