!Skeleton crews redux
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agk's phlog
23 May 2021 @ 2108
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written on x61 after work
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This morning I listened to the Kendrick Lamar album
where he asks "Who's gonna pray for me?" I thought
to myself, "I could pray for Brother Kendrick." On
my drive to work I prayed for him. I did. No lie.
Before that I thought about how I can't go to work
with bitterness and resentment in my heart for
management. It distracts me from the needs, strengths,
and growth of patients and coworkers, and clouds my
judgment.
There might be a time to talk union and change bad
staffing ratios, but ruminating on problems is like
peeing on myself. No good.
I spent a lot of the day running patients and staff
to the emergency department of the big university
hospital where my spouse works. I saw a big family
grieving on the sidewalk and in the parking lot.
Suicide season is over; it's four-wheeler accident
season now.
On a hospital run I had a great conversation with a
coworker who came from the rehabilitation hospital
where I interned. We have five nurses who came from
that hospital. He complained about the ratios.
Wound-vacs, tracheostomy care, complex dressing
changes, ileostomy/colostomy care, tube feedings,
close monitoring of vitals and fluid balance,
procedures complicated by bariatric status, giving
crushed meds by tube, etc., are standard nursing
tasks there. They'd give twenty-one patients with
that level of acuity to three nurses.
I remember from my internship. The nurses are happy
things aren't quite so bad here as there. I'm
excited to get back into physical health nursing.
It's such an intimate honor to be entrusted with
someone's care.
