Day One, Two, Three

Day 1

Work~ get report~ assess my patients~ realize I’m going to be paranoid all night about my new-onset confusion patient~ he's probably going to pull at least one tube out of his body~ help my developmentally delayed patient to the bathroom~ sit and chat with her about Hannah Montana while she does her business~ enjoy that time~ I could talk to her all day~ pass meds~ get caught up on charting~ check all my patients orders and update them~ fill the next few hours with potty trips, giving pain pills, and sanitizing everything possible~ pass morning meds~ give off report to the day shift nurse~ clock out~ rush home to bed~

Day 2

Get report~ get informed on the awful day my new-onset confused patient had~ same exact patients from the night before~ assess~ pass pills~ confused patient starts having hallucinations and heart rate fluctuates from 70’s to 140’s and he’s crawling out of bed~ call doctor~ get a nurses aid to sit in his room with him~ wife comes in~ so distraught~ explain everything I can~ wait a few hours~ doctor is coming in for a trauma in the ER~ wait until I know he’s in the hospital~ call him again~ He comes up to the floor, looks like he just rolled out of bed, oh wait, he did~ gives me some orders~ do an EKG~ patient is in atrial fibrillation~ still confused~ still having hallucinations~ an hour goes by and he pulls out his nasogastric tube~ great~ call the doctor again~ check in on my other four patients~ still breathing~ pray for morning to come quickly~ morning comes~ wife talks to me in hallway~ she hugs me~ she cries~ I cry~ embarrassed~ wife tells my supervisor I’m an angel and she wants to take me home with her~ I cry again~ finally time to go home~

Day 3

Confused patient doing better~ still in A.fib~ two new patients~ new patient can’t pee~ drain her bladder~ oh, she feels better now~ hang out with dev. del. patient~ she loves The Beatles, especially Paul McCartney~ I start singing “Blackbird” to her~ she knows all the words and we sing together~ do some stuff with other patients~ explain to pill-seeking patient from the jail, he can’t have any more narcotics~ his guard smirks~ charting~ sit with confused patient~ reassure him~ he tells me he’s going to punch me~ step back a bit~ watch the snow falling outside~ think about home~ morning comes~ the relief of having a few days off is enough to make me take the stairs~ so I do~