it was a busy day at work.  i am tired.  nothing amazing happened. nothing truly hard to do even. just alot of walking up and down the halls to get medications or other items requested by the patients.  most times, i enjoy working at the hospital. any hospital really.  (i love travel nursing). the hands on care is the part i enjoy the most.  alot of times i don't get to do much of that. 

to take a persons vital signs.  help the elderly to eat their meals.  and give a bed bath.  knowing that you are making them feel the best that they are going to feel that day.  they will tolerate the discomfort that sometimes happens due to what their condition may be, because they know when the bath is done, they will feel alot better.  to turn a patient, and put pillows in the right places to assist with their comfort. 

today, i received a patient that came to me only to die.  she had not passed on by the time i left work, but she may be gone when i go back to work in the morning.  but i can feel good because i made sure she was "positioned" before i left.  to be made as comfortable as possible in the situation.  she could not tell me, i can only hope that she was comfortable. 

i love my work when i can make my patients feel good.  i like to be able to sit on the bedside, and give the patient a hug, and hold her when she gets the bad news that she is most likely not going to make it until christmas.  i like to let the family know that when grandma passes on that "they" will be ok. the family will. as much as grandma is missed, it will be all right. 

to brush a patients hair from their face.  lay a cool rag on their forehead.  cover them with a warm blanket.  i have even taken the time to lay next to my patient in bed before, because that is what that patient needed at that time.

i have joked with my patients, them making me laugh or me making them laugh. i have cried with my patients. held them so they could cry or even just be there to hand them the tissues.  and i have argued with my patients even.  gotten angry with them, and tolerated them being angry with me. 

i have been thrown up on, peed on,spit at, pinched, poked, bitten, punched and even kicked.  had my hair pulled. my head pounded on while inserting an iv, and my head stuck between someones knees when inserting a foley cath. i have been stuck by needles, bonked my head on cabinet doors, tripped over wheelchairs or other inanimate items.  bent my finger on springs while making beds, pinched fingers between siderails and another hard part of the bed.  there have  been good times and there have been bad times.  i have "lost" patients, and i have sent them home well. i see patients come back to the hospital repeatedly, and i know them like family.  and i have prayed over patients to send them on "home", whispering in their ear that it is ok to leave.  that all will be fine here.

i have worked in doctors offices, nursing homes and hospitals. i like hospitals the best. 

i have been a nurse for 25 years. (maybe 24, i forget) i hold licenses in three states (i think that is cool) i did not like every minute, or every hour or even every day of those 25 years, but right now i am ok with it.

huggggggssssssssss

tommie

well, i had a whole post just about ready to go, and it started disappearing, pieces at a time!! goodness! guess it was really more boring than i thought i could be, and the blog gremlins disposed of it, lmao."
my family is not happy with me.  i have been home since last may, and i am getting ansy to travel again. not counting that i cannot afford to stay home, lol.  with the winter coming on, the utility bill will go to a price i cannot afford, so i will travel somewhere warm, and turn the heat down in the house.
i do miss the travel nursing. my plans to come home and take c ustody of two grandchildren did not happen as i requested child support. guess she thought i was just gonna take the kids and let her keep the money. maybe live on public assistance?  since all seems to be better, there is no reason for me to stay home. well, there is, but the new grandbaby will do fine without me. he has a great mom and dad.
i really hope to find employment in california.  i have been trying to get there for near two years. i have an unused california license!!  one company promised me work in CA if i got the license, so i got it. then they could not find me a position. hmm??  then i decided to take a "vacation", from traveling, and all my friends i met on the road are getting positions there!! so not fair. 
i hope to be driving away from illinois the end of november, to start a new position someplace warm, away  from the snow and ice. 
wish me luck!
hugggggggsssssss
tommie