Thursday, October 08, 2009

Day One of !!!Touching Patients!!!

Critical care?

Rocks.
My.
Socks.

Okay, okay. It was a fantastic day. I know there will be days when things don't go so well, when people code and die or I get shat upon or I can't keep track of my fluids or don't run a bolus and I'll end up not feeling so swell, but tonight?

I left work with a smile on my face. This has not happened in, oh....four years?

And *everybody* who found out I was moving to the CCU--from the attending physician who's spoken to me exactly twice in seven years, to the respiratory therapists, to the other nurses--said almost exactly the same thing. "What the hell took you so long?"

The MEDICAL FUCKING DIRECTOR, who is also a surgeon, and whom I've worked pretty closely with for the last several years, looked me up and down after I said I was in my CCU internship and remarked, "It's about damn time. I always knew you were a CCU nurse."

The best part of it? If you talk to the nurses in the CCU, they get all excited about their jobs. Like, one nurse's nose and ears turned all pink as she told me how cool it was to work with really sick people and know--rather than feel like--you've saved a life. There is none of that on the floor from whence I came; although people do love their jobs, there's no freshness any more, no enthusiasm.

I have tons to learn. Absolute tons. I've never worked with cancer patients undergoing treatment; I've never seen a really huge radical neck dissection fresh out of surgery. I know almost nothing about immediate postop care of urology patients. But I can learn. And I will.

Why didn't I do this years ago? I always knew, deep down, that I was a CCU nurse.

9 comments:

An Open Heart said...

Congratulations!

I just finished reading a great book written by a CCU nurse, maybe you've already read it, but, if you haven't:
"A Nurses Story" by Tilda Shalof. It was a great read.

Your blog is great.

S

Penny Mitchell said...

HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!!!!!!!!

P.S. I double dog dare you to go back to that asshat who wouldn't let you touch patients, shake your hands in his face and sing, "I toucccched paaaaaatients and you wouldn't lettttt me and I-iiii liiiiiked it."

But I'm kind of a prick sometimes.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed your day and are optimistic about life in the CCU. Rock on, lady lady!

woolywoman said...

Wow! Glad to hear happy talk. Was it a different preceptor, or did she just google your ass and see that you really were a nurse, or what? ( Just remember to always be nice to the PICC nurse!)

Anonymous said...

Ha! Did you watch "Will and Grace" way back when? If so, didja see the one where Grace's mom (Debbie Reynolds!!) does the "Told ya so" song and dance? I guess it's sorta mean-spirited in W&G, but still it's hilariously done, and now I'm hearing Debbie chanting, "Told ya so, told ya so, told ya so" in my head, 'cause we all of us told you so! We knew you could do it and we hoped so much that it'd be great!
Yay, you!

Anonymous said...

So thrilled you're so happy! I'm hoping to start nursing school next year (I'm 40 and in corporate America). You're a huge inspiration.

Julianne said...

Hi I'm Julianne, a 2nd year paediatric nursing student from the UK. You know when you said about the other nurses nose and ears turning pink? I just love it when I see that in another professional. That's the way it should be :) Glad your loving CCU. Feel free to stop by my blog sometime

bobbie said...

I knew would were ICU nurse material the first time I read your blog!!!

Now will you PLEASE come do something about this gas pain??? (I'm **theeeeese close to exploding!!! (other that that, the surgery went great!)

All good luck and best wishes on your new career!!

Yr. tympanic nurse reader

UnsinkableMB said...

Good for you! Glad you've found a home in the CCU. Life is too short not to be happy.

Hopefully, I won't be too far behind you in finding a new role in nursing. I don't think it will be in a CCU, but it will definitely be something that turns my nose and ears pink. :)