Nursing on the Night Shift...

When I became a nurse, I was a day shift girl... 7a-7p was it for me. I didn't know how those girls survived the wee hours of the morning! I spent 2 years as a day-shifter. 

I loved the "organized chaos" of days--tracking down patient charts after the doctors just left them everywhere, trying to remember which patient was in surgery and which one was at MRI, discharging patients home and admitting new ones, coordinating care with our case managers and talking to worried family members (and oh yeah, don't forget to hang that antibiotic on time).  However, there's ALWAYS something new to learn from the sea of residents, doctors, and interdisciplinary team members that you are around on day shift.

Last spring, I filled in a few shifts when we were super short on nights....J was deployed, so I wasn't missing out on any time with him. I never knew that hospital could be so quiet, lonely, almost desolate.

Night shift is a totally different world....things get busy, it can definitely get hectic, but it's just different. Aside from emergencies and late transfers/discharges, no routine tests or scheduled surgeries means that your patients stay put for the most part. Most nights, there's time to breath, time to actually read your patient's chart and put the puzzle pieces together. Sometimes, there's even time to talk to patients who aren't sleeping....just learn about their past. 85-year-old little ladies can teach you some life lessons!!!

Of course on the night shift, there's always that chance of getting sleepy... especially around 3 am... when ALL of the rest of the world is sleeping. There's very little movement in the hospital. That's when you get to know your co-workers... you keep each other moving through the shift.

Now that I'm on my new unit, I'm 50/50. Half my shifts are days, half of them are nights. Although it means I'm on no set schedule at home by any means, I also get the best of both worlds. However, I still rely on a few things to help me make it through each shift, especially my first night shift back (like when I took these photos!):

Diet Coke = love

I'm convinced that cute socks help me make it through my shift sometimes! Oh, and cute underwear too....but a pic of that would be inappropriate!

Tomorrow, I start Operation House Hunt with my trusty sidekick named Mom....Stay tuned....

Happy Birthday J!

See that little nugget up there? That's J.... and it looks like it was roughly 24 years ago. I'm gonna pretend that he was wishing for a great new wife one day and a pretty little yellow dog!!

April 22nd was my husband's birthday....and I decided a post dedicated to him was a wonderful way to celebrate it. Between the two of us, this is "our" 4th birthday since we've started dating...and we've only celebrated one of them  together. Last night, we got to videochat, so we actually got to see each other on his birthday (I sang him Happy Birthday also!).

While I would give anything to have him here beside me to celebrate his special day and the wonderful man he is....I know he has a job to do. So, I try to make it as special as possible.  He has a birthday package coming in the next few days so I'm super excited for him to get it!!

 I'm hoping this is the first birthday of MANY that we have ahead of us as "the Bradleys!!" He is my world...and I silently thank his mama all the time for raising him right and turning him into a good man...  Happy birthday to my husband and my best friend!! I love you to the moon and back!!

Growing Up Nurse....

New last name, new job. Shortly after we got married, I started a new job. I transferred from the floor that I started on a "baby nurse" and moved to our stepdown ICU. It's not where ventilators and such are, but it is a critical care unit. My patients are kind of in limbo...they still need to be hooked up to heart and oxygen monitors, but aren't quite sick enough for the ICU. I work at a Level One trauma center, so we get the "sickest of the sick" and all traumas that happen around this area. Needless to say, there is a lot that I am going to get to see and learn!!!

Four weeks later, I am now off orientation and working on my own. After two years of working on a med-surg floor, it was time to move on and learn some new things! I've done a lot since these days....

My last day of clinical

First day as a real RN!

I've worked through training two (amazing)  new nurses and watched them succeed. I've also made it through more than a few long shifts of managing the craziness that is charge nurse! Although it was super hard to leave my amazing coworkers and start over with a whole new group and environment, I took the plunge. I haven't forgotten about y'all though....I look forward to girls' nights!!

Everything has been amazing so far. My normal workload will be 2-3 patients verses my former load of 5-6! I get to spend a lot more time with my patients and I am learning so much. The people I work with have been so helpful and friendly. Moving into the unknown was scary, but I am so glad I had confidence in myself. In keeping with tradition, I used a little self-timer action and snapped a (blurry) photo of my new venture:

Tonight will be the conclusion of my first week solo and I'm eager to see what awaits me!

Pretty Flowers...

Remember those flowers I got from J? They are finally open- smellin' good and lookin' pretty! I just wanted to post a quick photo before I get back to working on my paper for school...maybe I'll write more later today.

 

 

Friday the 13th

I'm not an overly superstitious person by any means, but there's just something about the social stigma of Friday the 13th that makes me a little wary. At least it isn't a full moon out tonight! I don't think I would ever do anything risky like get a new haircut or color (yes, risky and scary for me!!), go skydiving (on my list of MAYBEs),attempt to drive a stick shift (nope, never have) and let a black cat cross my path on this day. I guess I'm not brave enough to take the chance. In fact, I even try really hard not to schedule myself for work on Friday the 13th.

*Sidenote: I am also really thankful when I do not have to work on a full moon. I really believe it

 affects my patients and our shifts are ALWAYS a little crazier  than normal.

I was off work today, and it wasn't a bad day. Aside from the fact I've been working on a crazy-hard paper for school!! Early afternoon, I received a knock on my door....and since I was in seriously bummy clothes (see afore-mentioned paper), I struggled to throw on some pants, smooth my hair, and contain my ferocious- sounding dog who HATES knocks. I expected maintenance.... nope, instead it was a green box left by the Fed-Ex man.

This is the first time I've received a green box at my door! They were flowers from my husband!!  I LOVE just-because flowers. It was like he knew I needed a smile. Since it was from Pro-Flowers, I had to play florist and trim the stems, put the water in the vase, and all that jazz... it was pretty fun! The flowers are still blooming and opening up, and I can't wait to see how pretty they look tomorrow.  

Yeah, I have a great hubby...I think I'll keep him!

~Jess

The Beginning...

Hey ya'll! My name is Jessica, but more often than not, it's pronounced Jess. Which is perfectly ok! I'm a newlywed gal in her 20s.... creeping on up to 30 faster than I'd like. Enjoying life in the South while attempting to have a full-time job and excel in grad school! Throw in to the mix my amazing husband (call him J) and our pretty little four-legged child (Miss Beaches).  This will be the record of our day to day life as the Bradleys. Watch us grow...who knows what the next few years are going to bring!