I love traumas!

I had the best day at work yesterday. My friend Belinda and I got assigned to 1202, which is the surgical/trauma observation area. I love this area. The nurses and other staff are so wonderful and we get so much great experience.

Well...there is this pager that goes off occasionally. It is the TTA (trauma team activation) pager. When this pager goes off it means there is a trauma coming into the ER. Well, being that this is a teaching hospital, there is a platform set up behind the "trauma room" so that we can look over the wall to see what's going on. This platform is obviously for staff or students only. It's a great idea! It allows us to watch what is going on but keeps everyone out of the trauma team's way. It was awesome to see the trauma team in action. Everyone works so well together.

The first TTA was a drive by shooting. Pretty amazing that the guy was alive considering the bullet went in through his right ear lobe and came out an inch behind his left ear lobe.

The second TTA was a teen on a motorcyle joy ride who ended up flying head first into the windshield of a parked car. That one was pretty gory! I love it!

Anyway...the day was great. We only had 3 patients all day. It's rarely slow like that so we cherish those days.

Got it...

I got a part time job at a surgical center in Beverly Hills today. Not sure when I am starting but I am really looking forward to a new aspect of nursing. I will be doing pre-op, post-op (recovery), and will get to circulate in the OR eventually. I am really excited!

I am going to work at least one more 3 month contract at the county hospital. Once that is finished I may decide to do the surgery center full time and work per diem with county. County sprung a new "rule" (in the middle of our contracts) that all travelers have to work 3 weekends per month. On the weekends they are staffed at about 50% of what they are during the week...therefore, travelers get to pick up the slack. I can deal with it for another couple of months I guess.

That's it for now!

Well...?

Something happened to my old blog so I had to delete it and start a new one.

Work is going well. I picked up a registry shift at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center the other day. The hospital is really nice but I like the old, creepy, County hospital better. Maybe it's because I am used to it there...I don't know.

I had my first code blue on Memorial Day. Was that ever an experience!! Everything we were taught in nursing school all came rushing back to my head. I'm glad I was paying attention ;) I won't say much on here so I don't violate HIPAA laws. The Code Blue team rushed my patient to the ICU. He died later the next day from a massive heart attack. That experience has made me change some of the things I do...or the way I do them at least.

The benefit of being a traveling nurse is that you get floated a lot. I think it's a benefit because I am getting so much great experience. Aside from being assigned to the med-surg/Psych floor I have floated to oncology, surgical trauma, vascular, genitourinary, and the psychiatric ER. I love it. I'm becoming a pro at starting IV's on people who virtually have no veins. I'm definitely a pro at drawing blood. I even drew blood from one man's foot because I couldn't get it anywhere else.
My contract is up mid July. I would love to re-sign again with this hospital but ultimately it is up to the nursing office. I haven't gotten a bad review so there really is no reason that they wouldn't sign another contract. If I am not able to sign with them I may try UC Irvine.

With that said, it's time to get off of this computer and start cleaning my apartment!

A healthy dose of inspiration...

A friend posted these videos on her MySpace page recently. Even if you aren't a Christian...even if you don't believe in God...these videos are a healthy dose of inspiration that you should see. You are missing out if you don't watch them!



To read the story behind this father and son team, click here.