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Journal December 16th
Hours worked: 5pm to 1:30am
I had an interesting experience at work today that requires a bit of a backstory. A big
thing in hospital units now is how to prevent patient falls, because a patients health and safety is
our number one priority. The ICU has introduced many initiatives such as hourly rounding by
nurses and proper lifting techniques in order to prevent patient falls, and we have been very
successful as it has been over one year since our last patient fall. Today we had a very heavy and
very weak old lady who wanted to get up into a recliner. So I and another coworker did our best
to accommodate her, but unfortunately she has been bedbound in the unit for so long prior to this
that she had become deconditioned and was no longer able to support her own weight. I and my
coworker were on either side of her supporting her, but I could feel her legs buckle so I
immediately positioned myself in front of her and basically had to do a front squat in order to
hold her up while my coworker positioned the recliner behind her and sat her down. Quick
thinking and proper lifting technique saved the day without either myself or the patient
sustaining injury, and the streak is kept alive! (As of January 5th we are at 391 days without a
fall).
One of the problems the ICU has been facing lately is a negative attitude that has risen
amongst the nurses. This past year the ICU and the Cardiovascular Unit, which was responsible
for post-op care of open heart surgery patients, merged. This created some trepidation as people
had to take on new roles, ICU nurses had to learn how to manage open heart patients while CVU
nurses had to learn to handle ICU patients, personalities clashed, stress levels increased, and thus
the negative aura was born. The vast majority of the people I work with have the prototypical
type A personality, whereas I am very much a type B personality. Thanks to this I am very good
at staying even and calming people down when they become too amped up and Im able to create
just a little harmony where there was none before. Hopefully in this new year myself and others
can help the unit become a much happier place.
saturation level was dropping into the 60s (not good). I alerted the nurse and we got the
respiratory therapist in and were able to bring his oxygen levels back up. The nurse practitioner
ordered a STAT chest X-ray which showed that his left lung had collapsed. A physician assistant
came in and inserted a chest tube which stopped him from crashing. I dont think Im to blame
here, he is very sick and this would have happened regardless of what I or anyone did, but it was
still an interesting experience. (This gentleman ended up passing away on Thursday the 14th).
Bobs physics lecture to another professors. I went to the registrar to get switched back but they
told me they wouldnt unless they got permission from the professor who had made the changes.
So I came in to work very angry that people would make a big change like that without asking
me or telling me, and then I came in to work to find out that they were pulling me to the ICU
even though I had signed up to another unit. Because I was already in a bad mood this really set
me off, and unfortunately I was short with the charge nurse and my boss which they didnt
deserve, getting pulled is part of the job. An hour later after I had calmed down I apologized and
explained to the charge nurse why I had acted out, and Ill apologize to my boss the next time I
see her. I was wrong with how I acted, I should have been a professional but I let my emotions
control me. Ill do my best to make sure it doesnt happen again.
members had called ahead to warn us and told the nurse that this is simply how they were and
that they were not drunk, and as time wore on we began to realize that they really were just two
odd people. When it was time to leave I offered to take one down in a wheelchair because of her
difficulty walking, and along the way they told me all about chakras and how one was a shaman
and claimed to have the power of the healing touch. After standing at the entrance and having a
ten minute one sided conversation about spiritual energy I bid them adieu and walked back up to
the ICU. Its a funny story, but it highlights that in the health care field youre going to come in
contact with many different kinds of people with all sorts of backgrounds and ways of thinking. I
need to learn how to work with and for them to help bring about their best health.