Dora in Charge

I was the charge nurse today. The head honcha. The (sometimes) fearless leader. What does it mean to do charge? Well, it means I take responsibility for the PICU … coordinating/overseeing admissions and discharges, making assignments, ensuring that the nurses get out on breaks, rounding with the doctors, wearing the code beeper and responding if it goes off, making sure the pyxxis accounting sheets are printed and passed out at the end of the shift, receiving and giving shift-change report on all patients, and being a resource for the nurses on the unit. I do it maybe once every six to seven weeks. It's always a good learning experience because there's more time to question the docs on the plans of treatment for the various patients. On a slow day it can be rather boring. On a hectic day (like those crazy nights I was on with EY), it can be immensely draining.

Today was an okay day. Two fresh post-op admissions, two unforeseen admissions, one discharge, one pt went to CT, and one to MRI. Had to pair two patients to take the first admit, then use my team leader to take the second. One of our transfers got kicked back, and the other one was a solid no-go. By the time I got around to doing staffing, there was just enough room to take one admit, and that still left night shift rather short. In the end, JW volunteered to stay over-time, and which was a huge relief, and it all worked out. Someday I want to be able to do charge as easily and effortlessly as CY … she makes it look so easy, and she’s always calm, even when the unit is exploding around her. I guess that’s one of the reasons she’s a Clin IV. That, and she knows just about everything.

Went home and was still too hyped up to relax. Watched Sunday’s tivo’d episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” I’m not sure if Perky was more amused or annoyed at my running commentary on how the writers need better medical consultants. Sometimes they’re just laughable.