So. As most of you may or may not know, I just started a new
job in August. As a nurse. A REAL nurse. Well kinda, not really. You
see, I have the paper license behind my name proving that I am a “real” nurse.
But I don’t think one becomes a real nurse until they can successfully manage
3-4 patients on their own. Or at least find the ice machine on their first try.
So, first off, this job is on the surgical/rehabilitation/neurology floor at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado. Children’s Hospital
Colorado has consistently been ranked in the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the
nation… I say this not to toot my own horn, but to tell you that, folks, I
should not have gotten this job. If it weren’t for the mighty hand of God
working in my life and placing me right where He wanted me to be I would still
be sitting on my couch right now, jobless, and broker by the day. Anyway that’s
another story for another time.
Back to it. My first month as a nurse. Well the first two
weeks were sitting in a classroom learning about everything from oxygen to the
mission and values of CHCO… nice, for sure, but let me tell you I picked the
right profession because I was just OVER sitting still.
The learning curve is steep… and I could write about how
incompetent I feel on a daily minute-to-minute basis… but I won’t bore you with
the sob stories. Instead you can hear how I have absolutely embarrassed myself
in my first 10 shifts as a nurse. I’m hoping that the more I tell these stories,
the more funny, and less mortifying they’ll become.
Let’s start with the first day shall we.
Here’s my first day of school I mean work picture.
Only difference is, I’m by myself in my house and it’s a lot darker and earlier
than I ever would have dreamed of waking up for the first day of school .
And why, yes, I did put a lot of thought into my first day
of work outfit, and pack my lunch the night before. Which brings me to
embarrassing moment #1.
See those light yellow scrub pants? They are virtually the
most comfortable things I have worn ever- they basically feel like awesome
sweat pants instead of the awkward drawstring-you-have-to-pull-really-tight
scrubs that I’m used to. NOTE, however, the LIGHT yellow color.
Cheery, yes, but also very see through. Which, I failed to
notice until halfway through my shift… by then I’m sure everyone and their
mother had noticed, and I spent the rest of the day talking to people only if I
was seated or had my back to a wall.
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I spent all of 3 years of nursing school SUCCESSFULLY
concealing my undergarments beneath the famously dreaded all-white scrubs. Only
to fail on the first day of being a “real nurse”.
*facepalm*
Let’s move on to incident number two. I had sweet adolescent
girl as my patient—she happened to be pretty sick and consequently had about
two million IV lines running from her various machines to various tubes
inserted into her body.
I was in there administering a medication, pretending like I
knew what I was doing, only to unhook two ends of tubing and have white liquid
squirt all over my entire patient’s belly. I had forgotten to clamp the tube,
and lo and behold, here came the flood (flood of lipids, to be exact).
Oh, and did I mention there were 5 doctors in the room
standing all over my patient as I so gracefully managed to give her her morning shower. 5 is not an exaggeration… Children’s is a teaching hospital so there will
often be multiple people rounding on one patient—the attending, the
resident, the interns, the who-knows-who. 5 people indeed witnessed the great white shower.
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And finally, onto my third mistake. There’s more than 3, but
these are the most memorable (for the wrong reason?)
I decided I felt confident enough to go into the medication
room without my orienting nurse and prepare an IV bag of an antifungal. Well
long story short, a couple tubes in the wrong place and one wrong hole, and sure
enough, 10 minutes later my attempt at independence had turned into an
environmental health concern as I watched my antifungal medication squirt all
over the wall and floor as I tried to unsuccessfully stop it.
Well, what can you do?
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This was my first month as a nurse.
Definitely funnier now that it’s over, and it’s not ALL bad. The nurses I’ve
been working with have been super supportive (“Oh you squirted a medication all
over the wall? No problem, I’ve done that too!”), and really helpful (“Psss,
Sarah, clamp your tube!)
Which is MORE than I could ever have even hoped for.
Mistakes don’t seem so bad when they’re taken in stride by those around you. Or
even better when they’re not hung over your head threatening to have your grade
failed.
All in all, I expect more mortifying moments to come. I just
really try to avoid having one each day. And, I am continually grateful for all
the support I receive from the staff and nurses (yayy!)
And last but not least, I think the hardest part of the job
so far has been being nice to myself. Not shaming myself for making a fool of
myself in front of doctors; not expecting myself to know everything after two
weeks on the job; not beating myself up for having to be reminded where the
diapers are…again.
And ultimately, remembering that God is with me every step
of the way.
~SJ
