Sunday, September 27, 2009

Pillow v/s Shield

So, as usual, we have new nurses. It takes a good four to six weeks to learn your residents. The pictures in the treatment books are nice, but sometimes it can be difficult to tell one from another. Especially if there has been a great physical change in a resident since the photo was taken.

Well, Nurse Noob tries to administer a breathing treatment to Resident A. Unfortunately, the breathing treatment was for Resident B. Resident A is cognitive and doesn't have a nebulizer anyway, so the error was caught before it went too far.

Can I say that I got an earful? Can I also say that Resident A is deaf and speaks loudly? And furthermore, Nurse Noob is in the hallway, just a door down, probably dying of embarrassment.

I probably should have said something in her defense. Instead, I decided that my responsibility was to the resident. So, I nodded and agreed and listened sympathetically. I don't remember if I went so far as to apologize for Nurse Noob. I may have. In any event, I figured I'm paid to be a pillow for the residents, not a shield for the nurses. I may come to regret this course of action. But I'm confident she'll eventually get her resident's straight and Resident A will eventually forgive and forget her error. Eventually, all will be well.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

WWRXT*

*What Would Resident X Think?

Whenever I'm making a change in my appearance, wardrobe or routine at work, I always try to see it from Resident X's point of view. Resident X is my benchmark. If I think they won't be able to handle the change, I seriously reconsider my position.

Resident X is my most difficult patient. They have severe dementia with behavioral outbursts. They don't like new staff or residents. They don't like being told what to do. They don't want anyone doing anything they don't approve of first. If the weather's bad or the moon is full or they're sick, their world rocks and crumbles.

For example, I'm planning on getting new glasses soon. Some of the chunky new styles are cute, but I will probably stick with simple wire frames just because I don't want Resident X to think I'm someone new. It took me nearly nine months to get them to recognize me on a daily basis. I don't want to have to start over.

Is it extreme? Yes. Does it make my work life easier? Definitely yes. If Resident X can handle the change, everyone else will be perfectly fine with it. It can mean the difference between a good day and a day where I'm trying to push water uphill for eight hours. I'm happer when those days were few and far between. And so are my residents.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Finally

I should have weekly access to my blog now. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Right after my last post, the library decided that it wasn't going to allow us to use Blogger any more. It's a social networking site, ya know. And all social networking sites are the devil, apparently.

In any event, I plan to post every Sunday. I realize I've lost what few readers I had, but I hope to lure a few of y'all back in once I get back to regular posting.