Today I was a Real Nurse

Gym at 6AM followed by work at 8:30AM. What a great way to start the day!

For the first 2 1/2 hours or so I walked around with the Nurse Educator filling out paperwork and getting passwords and such.

Then I took on two patients with a backup nurse to help me. Now, I am not sure if there is just an abnormal amount of "low acuity" patients on this floor or if this is how this is usually, but if so, this will be pie.

NOTE: The following will be all medically-terminology-like and boring to nonmedical people:

No more than one vented patient at a time. They don't have a CRRT (continuous dialysis) program, and NO SWANS come to our unit. They take them out in the cath lab, and they aren't even continuous CCO swans. Dark ages? I think so! There is a lift team and no lab draws yourself. Wow...what a change. I think I will probably be bored, but we'll see. Did I mention no sheath pulls or post cath patients? What do these people do all day and where do all the sick ones go?

One thing interesting to note: Their IV pumps seem newer than ours, as well as their vents. They have this thing called Voceri, which is the equivalent of our unit portable phones, only it works wayyyy better. Tube system is super old, and you can't tube labs down. But it doesn't matter because the lab comes to draw them anyway, even your type and screens. Cultures? Lab draws them.

Oh, and they are very PICC obsessed. Rarely do they have central lines, but PICCs instead. I personally feel that this is easier for the docs, because the PICC nurses insert the PICCs. They also change the PICC dressings. Crazy huh?!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I start on night shift. Prepare for super bad jet lag!