Riverside Saga 1

This place I am working at now is A TRIP! They hired me to staff a certain unit, however, it really feels like I am working a float pool position. I understand floating, however, again, HIRE ME UNDER THAT POSITION! But I have gotten over it...the place I am hired to work is any ICU nurses worse nightmare.....

ER Holding

So this is the hospital's purgatory....Your not in ER hell...but you haven't quite made it upstairs to the units. You are assigned 2 ICU patients (required ratio by California state law) which are brought over from ER. But this is killing part, they are RUTHLESS!!!! How you ask!? For example: the 1st night I worked there off of orientation I was given report on a patient that was to be brought over to holding...they arrived as expected. 30 seconds later I learned I was admitting another patient...2 minutes later the other patient rolled up! YES! Without a report being given or any prior notice! Of course the ER nurses were like "so what!?" I was like every where else in America before you transport a patient to a different unit or area proper report needs to be given! How can I set up a room and prepare equipment if I have no prior notice or report? Yes its a nightmare, but it gets worse!!!! This ER holding area is set up like the ER!! Supplies are spread out every where, noting makes sense, very scattered brained! For example, to get central line dressings you have to walk over to main ER to get it! ITS RIDICULOUS! It gets worse....so I asked the charge nurse for an IV pump and she LAUGHED IN MY FACE! I thought I was being punked! Is it so much to ask for a couple IV pumps in a HOSPITAL!? I didn't know it was so BLASPHEMOUS! Its something else! You can't be expected to preform at a maximum capacity if you don't have basic equipment! To safe guard myself, I definitely let my recruiter know who passed it on to the clinical liaison at my company. A great fellow traveler told me "you don't communicate things like that directly to the facility, the company acts as the liaison and fights your battle". Not to mention you have these patients behind curtains and can't see your monitors. Its a trip yall. The lengths hospitals go to make money. In the main ER its worse they actually line people up in the hallways and separate them by cloth dividers...you know the kind from the 1920's....

Night in ICU

Aside from the ER holding hell, I had the opportunity to work in ICU there and it was pretty nice. Because of the mandatory ratios there is no tripling! I told those nurses of how I was tripled and treated in New York they were shocked. Hell this one nurse almost had a panic attack thinking about it. The unit was well stocked with supplies the nurses were extremely sweet and knowledgeable it was a little slice of heaven. As far as acuity goes, I don't think I will ever encounter the high levels of the Texas Medical Center in Houston. The unit took care of post op heart and trauma/neuro patients. Only level II trauma, and your average cardiac surgeries. No devices and no transplants. They DO transplant kidney and pancreas at this facility. At 1st the idea scared the heck out of me, but im sure due to financial circumstances everyone can't move to the big city to go get their transplants. The most seemingly "complicated" patient on the unit had a balloon pump and a swan catheter. Nothing special to me. CVRR at S.L probably has the sickest patients in the nation hands down.

Worthless charge nurse

OK I experienced the dumbest charge nurse in Temple Texas and I have just experienced the laziest worthless charge nurse in the history of nursing on this med/surg floor last night. Strike 1: I asked her to assist my patient with wound vac change. She ignored me. I am not well versed in wound vacs! I AM A CARDIAC CRITICAL CARE NURSE!!! She didn't offer any alternatives nor take any real interest in the fact the patient needed help. Strike 2: Cops were on unit investigating an elder abuse charge. The cop approaches me and was like "well the patient gave verbal consent for us to review her medical record". WRONG! A new grad would have accepted that, however my license is more important to me than that! HIPPA violations can END your career! Therefore, I needed something in writing! I called the charge nurse to inquire and she cut me off exclaiming "Im in a MEETING". Whoa! Lol of course i pissed her off...in so many words I was like I don't care what you are doing, the cops are on the unit! LOL! She then throws this piece of paper at me that I was not familiar with...so staying true to Brandon lol, I looked at the paper and told her "I don't know what this is, I don't have time to deal with this...I need to give meds to my other patients". Strike 3: I had a patient in respiratory distress and where was she?! Sitting at the nurses station! If looks could kill!!!! I am going to report that incident to my recruiter also! Its ridiculous! Of course I knew exactly what to do with my patient in respiratory distress but its the principles!

More to come!!!

BS RN