Happy Halloween!

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Work is Fun

I forgot how tiring night shifts can be. Actually, its not the night shift that's the problem, its the recovery time. I used to work a couple of 12-hr night shifts, then switch back to a regular sleep schedule in a couple of days. I just finished 3 nights and then last night I couldn't sleep and I was up until 5:30am! *sigh* I'm getting soft.

Well the first 5 days of our GoLive have been pretty successful. A couple of minor glitches and one bigger behind-the-scenes glitch that we're working on. Nothing huge, the system just doesn't want to be told what to do. Damnit HAL, do your job! Tomorrow will be the next step. Three nursing units go Live with electronic order entry. This is my module so at least when nurses ask me something I'll probably know the answer. I get to sit in emerg when this gets turned on. I have a feeling this will be a busy busy day! The final step will be on Nov 1 when the rest of the nursing units get turned on. I'm working almost every day until Nov 5 but that's okay because I'm actually enjoying this.

Batteries and the Law of Murphy

So I'm at the mall the other day and I make the executive decision to replace the batteries for my digital camera. I haven't been able to find mine for, like, 2 months now and my camera is just sitting there. When I get home, I open the package, pull out the new batteries, reach under the chair where my charger is, pull on the cable which seems to be stuck on something, and what do I find? My old batteries! FUCK! I hate when shit like this happens! Oh well, now I have spare rechargables.

smoking

So last night on my break I went outside for a smoke. When I came back in I guess the smell of smoke was still on me. A "co-worker" told me that smoking could be fatal and I should quit. Well, I looked it up on Google and as it turns out, she was right. Holy crap, now I'm going to quit no matter what it takes - even if it kills me.

Everybody's Got a Story Part 4

Last night went well. No major glitches. Mostly just stupid stuff like, "it didn't print" which I answered, "is your printer on?" and they responded, "oh. oops." Brian and I decided that our team motto should be "Teaching the world, one dumb-ass at a time."

One of the things I noticed since taking this new job was that I didn't have any more good hospital stories. Last night I sat at Triage in the ER so here you go:

Last night there was a big accident on the Patullo Bridge so the ER was pretty busy. Some other guy walks in with his buddy and his face is all messed up. Looks like he got beat up real good. Half his face was all swollen, bloody, and pretty f$@!-ed up. But, he walked in, talked to the triage nurse clearly, and was otherwise in pretty good shape so the nurse tells him to get registered with the admitting people and wait. Oh, and the wait will be about 2 hours because of the accident. This guy was not impressed. If you saw him you'd think he needed to be seen right away, but because his injuries weren't life-threatening, he had to wait. That sux.

What else did I see last night? Let's see: multiple stab wounds, head lacerations, someone drinking bleach, lots of people that got assaulted, a guy that got hit by a car, a DOA, and a bunch of sick babies. I tell ya, emerg is pretty crazy. If you've got a cut on your pinky finger, unless its falling off go to a walk-in clinic.

Progress Means Change

Today was the day they flipped the switch. Actually, last night at midnight. Our system went Live today and so far there have been only a few little glitches. For the most part, everything is working as designed. But, because nurses don't go live until next week, there have been a few problems with access (mostly for the people in charge). I get to go to work tonight (back to night shifts: 2300-0700hrs) and help support the admissions team in the ER. I get to sit with the triage nurse to help him/her enter patients into the system the second they walk in the door. How exciting. NOT. ER is one of those places where a computer system becomes very difficult for those who aren't computer savvy or if there aren't enough computers around. Its the kind of environment where its a lot faster to just yell down the hall to the lab tech "hey! I need a stat CBC and Lytes here!" And the ER at my hospital has been used to doing things this way for years. As in however many years the ER has been open. Well tough for them. Time to join the 21st Century. Cya in a few days. I'll let you know how it went.

Maybe Not World-Changing, But...

Work has been pretty stressful lately. Before, in my old job, the stress had to do with people's lives - directly. If I mssed something or made a mistake, the consequences for that patient could have been fatal (at other times, sometimes merely... inconvenient). But now, in my new job, if we've made a mistake or forgot something, the consequences for the entire hospital could be fatal (at other times, sometimes merely... inconvenient). Every department is in a mad rush to make sure everything is ready for Saturday's Go-Live. Looks like this weekend I'm back to working night shifts for our 24-7 on-site support. This is going to one crazy weekend for me - and exciting. I've never worked on any project that has been as BIG or important for such a large population. I can't even put into words how huge the impact this project will have on our hospital. And to imagine, when we're finished we simply move on to another hospital and then keep on going until we've done all 12 hospitals. Whoa. Wish me luck, I'm gonna go puke. Any advice for dealing with this? I think my head is going to explode.

New Phone

I went out with mom today so she could get a new phone. I ended up trading in my old phone for a new flip phone with a camera. Oh, and I also changed plans, providers and phone numbers. If you have my old cell number, delete it and replace it with my new one. You can call me for the new number.

Blog Links

Just in case you didn't notice, I alphabetized my blog links and replaced your name with your blog title. I'm going to add more too. Even if I don't know you, If I've read your blog, I'm going to add a link to your site. Be warned.

Let us have a moment of silence...

Usually, I don't get involved with the lives of music and movie stars. I mean, I don't know them except from movies and music videos. So when tragedy strikes in their lives, I don't think much of it. However, there is one movie star that I must say has been inspirational and became a real hero to many people. Today, Christopher Reeve died. Remembered best for his role as Superman, Christopher Reeve led research on stem cell research and became a source of inspiration for all those with spinal cord injuries. He was treating a bedsore (a common problem in para/quadriplegics) which became infected leading to a blood infection. He went into cardiac arrest and died today. Let us all take a moment to remember someone that truly was a super man.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I often think about what I don't have. I don't have a barbeque grill, I don't have an LCD monitor, I don't have a very big house, I don't have a new car, I don't have washboard abs, I don't have condo in Whistler, and I don't have a lot of clothes. But this time of year we're supposed to think about what we do have and give thanks for our blessings. Let's see, here's what I have to be thankful for (in no particular order):

1. a good job
2. a hot, loving girlfriend :)
3. warm clothes in winter
4. food at all times
5. family
6. good friends
7. my own home
8. good health
9. 42" widescreen TV with 5.1 surround sound
10. PS2 with Dance Dance Revolution and dance mats
11. oh crap, I'm getting off topic here
12. a car that works
13. good neighbours
14. high speed internet
15. a pretty good computer
16. a wireless-g network
17. wireless mouse and keyboard
18. uh oh, starting to stray again
19. why am I still counting?

Anyhoo, even though sometimes I don't take things as seriously as I should, I am very thankful for the things in my life and I try to never forget that I'm very lucky to have these things. I've met many people over the years who have less and are in worse shape than me (and I don't mean physically) and have a harder time with (it seems) everything. I have to remind myself regularly that I'm a lucky person and not to take things for granted. So now, although I never say it enough, I'd like to make sure that all those who fall under #2, 5, 6, and 13 know that I appreciate everything you've ever done for me and thank you all for being there for me during the good and bad times and for supporting me in everything I do.

Happy Thanksgiving

Shout-Outs

I just realized that I haven't done any shout-outs in a long time.

-thanks to that special person who's made the past 6 months fun, exciting, challenging, and great!

-thanks to my employer (from my manager right up to the bigwigs) for giving me a job doing something that I really enjoy. for challenging me and making work more than just a job.

-thanks to Miss Vickie for making such great chips

see you all soon!

Everybody's Got a Story - Part 3

I picked up a shift on my old ward last night. First of all, night shifts are a lot more tiring than I remember - and last night I only did an 8hr shift instead of a 12. I was pretty bagged when I got home in the morning. Second, I'm not sure I can go back to my old job in April. Its a hard job and dealing with difficult patients is very very very frustrating. Anyway, on to the story:

I had this one patient, a 93 year-old lady with a fractured right femur. A broken leg is a painful thing to deal with, but when you're 93 years old its something you don't really deserve to have. Well, the docs weren't sure she was stable enough for surgery (we're looking at 4-5 hour anesthetic and close to 4 litres of blood loss) so she was laying in bed in traction. By the sounds of it, she would probably go for surgery, but in the meantime they had a few other docs look at her to make sure (you don't want to jump in to major surgery when you're that old). The problem is that she was basically laying there in pain - and we're talking a lot of pain, not the "oh I stubbed my toe pain", but the "oh, a car ran over my leg" kind. You're probably thinking, "can't you give her something for that?" Oh sure, I could give her morphine, but then you have to worry about respiratory depression, decreased level of consciousness, confusion and dementia, and whether or not her kidney can handle it. On top of the pain, you have to consider that if she has a foley catheter too long she's at risk for a bladder infection; if she lays in one position too long, she can develop bed sores and pneumonia, but you have to change her position regularly (every 2-3 hours) or else she could develop a clot that could move to her lung or heart or brain. At 93 years old, this is most likely the last few years of her life. I wouldn't want to spend my final days like this.