Diagnosis Wenckebach

A fellow Monitor Tech shared this with me the other day. A music video about "Wenckebach", a disease of the electrical conduction system of the heart. If you know nothing about cardiac rhythms you may not really get the song, but to me it is so ridiculously funny it had me in tears. My coworker suggested we make a video of our own...not sure about that idea...

Don't say the Q word...

I'm shaking my head as I tell you ridiculously superstitious nurses are about jinxing themselves or being jinxed. My coworkers are often warning each other not to use the Q word - quiet. Someone might remark that, "things are quiet tonight" and suddenly instant chaos must come upon us! People I work with really avoid making such comments. One lady went so far as to say, "It's pretty calm tonight. I said CALM! I didn't use the Q word." Excuse me, but aren't calm and quiet synonyms? How is one supposed to be better than the other?
They even knock on the nearest solid object when making such comments (the whole "knock on wood" concept). Seriously, I can't help but just laugh. I'm so glad to be free from worrying over such nonsense.

Drug Seekers

I'd heard of them, but never really realized what they were like until we recently had one at the hospital. I'm sure they show up there often, I had just never been exposed to what they were like. The RN told me that patient had basically been banned from another nearby hospital. If he showed up there he would get arrested for trespassing because he was know for seeking drugs. Every time he would wake up even the slightest bit, he was calling for more pain medicine. Sometimes he would be knocked out again before the nurse could even get into his room. That's how drugged up he was. I can't imagine what would drive a person to be like that. Seems like such a miserable existence. They must be living a miserable existence to want that. It just reminds me how much I can't wait for all such problems to be gone forever...

Night Owl

Hey, everyone! Did you think I forgot about this blog?
I've been so busy adjusting to my new schedule I haven't found much time to post anything. But now I'm back! So, I survived training. I'm on my own now and I feel fairly used to staying up all night. It is easier than I thought it would be. Seriously, getting to work at 7am was torture in comparison. I usually keep busy all night so I don't have much time to get sleepy. Caffeine helps too! I'm now addicted to Pepsi Max. It's the bomb! :D

I really like my new job, though I've discovered I can pretty much do any job I set my mind to doing. Sometimes it can be stressful. Sometimes patients are a pain or coworkers are a pain. One of the best things about my new job is that I can pretty much make my own schedule. And I generally know my schedule months in advance. Right now, I already have my schedule through the middle of January! I never had that in housekeeping.

I guess I'm officially a "night owl" now. It's working for me, but I'm still trying to transition into day shift when I'm off work. That part is harder. Hopefully I get the routine down before long. Well, I hope to be blogging more soon! See ya!

I am a Housekeeper NO MORE!!!

I did it! I'm done! Saturday, August 27th, was my last day cleaning at the hospital. I'm free! It was a busy day, but a good one. I had a bunch of people congratulate me and say they were proud of me for getting the new job. I have to admit, I'm proud of myself. It wasn't as easy as it should have been. I couldn't believe how incredibly good it felt walking out that door and knowing that when I came back it would not be to scrub toilets. All those supervisors who made things so hard for me...now when I see them I can only smile. They can't touch me now.

Wednesday I'll be there again, taking a class that's required for my new position. I get to learn CPR and other basic life saving techniques. It should be fun! I'll also finish cleaning out my locker and get my new ID badge. The next trial will be getting through training. That's always stressful. And after that...getting used to staying awake all night. Once I'm trained I'll be working 12 hour shifts, 7pm to 7am. But I'm preparing a "work survival kit" which includes all sorts of goodies like hard candy, chewing gum, energy drinks and such to keep me awake.

Right now, I'm taking a deep breath as I step into the future. This song fits the way I feel quite well right now. :)

Cubicle Quotes

Office day today! And as it is slightly possible this was my last time cleaning offices at the hospital, I tried to really take it in. I have to admit the offices is one of my favorite areas to clean. I think this is not only because it doesn't get nearly as dirty as other areas, but everyone I'm cleaning around is generally very friendly. I see so many co-workers that you basically never see in patient areas. It kind of adds a whole other layer to the hospital that I didn't have a clue existed when I first started here.

Something I find amusing as I clean offices is the many signs or pictures people have in their work area displaying "words of wisdom". Here is a sampling of ones that I saw:

"If you can laugh together, you can work together."

"If you are good, but don't know why you are good, you are not good and likely cannot stay good."

"If you cannot laugh at yourself, I will be happy to do it for you."

"Few men have virtue enough to resist the highest bidder." (This one is really strange to me...)

"I'm a real optimist. I think people are half FULL of crap."

"I am Woman. I am invincible. I am tired."

"I spend my day snacking and surfing the internet for a good job. Luckily, my boss hasn't noticed yet."

It's Unofficially Official...I Guess

Well...nothing is in writing yet, but apparently the people who want to hire me are planning on me getting the job. Human Resources told me that because of some technicalities, I'm not actually able to apply for the job until August 18th. My original transfer request was thus considered invalid. So if for some reason the job is still available by then, that department really wants to hire me. Hearing this was rather discouraging because I understood they needed the position filled A.S.A.P. But the supervisors and director in that department have been telling people that I'm going to be transferring. In fact, whenever one of them sees me they smile and say, "Just a little while longer!" or "Are you excited about working with us? I'm excited." They talk like it's a done deal. This is incredibly reassuring, but I'm still holding my breath. It just seems too unreal that they would want me that much that they'd jump through all these hoops with HR and wait so long. Sure enough though, the job remains posted on the job board as available. They even filled a part-time position in the same department, but left the full-time one(the one I requested) open.
As long as I'm a good little housekeeper between now and the 18th, I should be free. HR reminded me though to be careful about my attendance and tardiness between now and then so that "nothing might interfere with me transferring". So you better believe my bosses are watching me like a hawk waiting for me to screw up. Didn't I tell you they enjoy ruining my life? Well, if they are looking for something they aren't going to find it. I'm getting out of here! ^_^

Operation "Escape Housekeeping" has been Initiated

Well, I did it. I applied for another job. After a year and a half doing housekeeping in this hospital, and several years of cleaning houses before that, I'm finally trying to make a career change. I am super excited about it! The job I applied for will allow me to use the skills I learned in class back in February. I really hope it works out.

Of course back then, when I was taking the class, my supervisors found some excuse to give me a warning. This stopped me from transferring to another field back then. Now everything should be cleared for me to transfer...if my boss gives the approval. Right now I'm kind of holding my breath. I swear, some of the people in authority at my job seem to enjoy trying to ruin my life. Not sure what pleasure they get from it, but I'm am determined not to be repressed. Here's a good example of what I mean...enjoy!

Volunteering

The hospital put up posters in the elevators advertising their need for volunteers. This colorful poster shows a smiling, happy volunteer as she assists a smiling patient...very nice photo. It describes some of the things volunteers help out with and then makes the statement, "Volunteering is the greatest job you'll never get paid for!"

Is just me, or is that statement not very motivating?

All in a Day

I see a lot of interesting or even heartbreaking things within a day at the hospital. Here's a sample of things I witnessed just today...

Caring for crazies - a patient in intensive care sat in her bed mumbling on and on, words that were seldom coherent. Her hands and feet restrained, she began kicking the foot of the bed fiercely in an attempt to escape. Her nurse was able to calm her thankfully. I couldn't help but think that in former times people would have assumed such a person was possessed. Today though, we have more knowledge of things like mental disorders, drug withdraw, ect.

Letting nature take its course - a patient was brought into the ICU from another floor. His health was failing and the doctors realized there was little more they could do. I watched as a family member signed a waiver agreeing to "let nature take its course".

The man with the robot voice - I was a bit startled when I heard a very distinct tin-sounding robot voice coming from the hall. Peering out of the room I had been cleaning, I saw that the sound was indeed coming from a patient. There was obviously something wrong with his throat or vocal cords. He would press a device to his mouth that transmitted the vibrations into actual sound, though the result sounded very artificial. First thought, I'm so glad I have my voice. Second thought, it's wonderful they've created devices like that to help people.

Begging and sobbing - I heard and saw a woman running through the hall, talking on her cell phone and sobbing loudly. She was talking to her mother apparently (not that I was eavesdropping, but seriously everyone could hear). It wasn't a show. It was the sound of true despair and distress. Stuff like that always pulls at my heart, especially when there's nothing I can do about it.

Well...tomorrow is office day so it shouldn't be as exciting. However, that's actually okay with me.

Firing Nurses Isn't Groovy

So the hospital I work at is one of many owned by the Hospital Corporation of America or HCA. And recently, more and more HCA hospitals are becoming unionized. Our hospital became unionized last fall and the unions are still working on our initial contracts to begin changing working conditions. Anyway...there are two unions involved: National Nurses United is for RNs and 1199SEIU for all non-RN staff (people like me). Both of these unions frequently post flyers in our break rooms to notify us of what is going on in bargaining or in other unionized hospitals around the country. Today, one such flyer caught my eye...

This flyer said that in an HCA-affiliated hospital in Texas, seven nurses were recently fired. The reason? These nurses worked in the ICU and they refused to accept an additional assignment that in their professional judgment was unsafe.

Hospital management demanded the nurses, who in the ICU provide constant care for the hospital’s most severely ill patients, take on additional duties of temporary charge nurse, who make clinical assignments for patients and staff on the floor, and code team assignments, which can require them to rush to other hospital floors to assist with patients – leaving their own ICU patients and their ICU charge duties behind.

In addition, when the chief nursing officer was notified by email of HR's decision to threaten termination of the nurses, his response was, "Groovy". So today, RNs at the hospital where I work were passing out stickers that read: "Firing Nurses isn't groovy". Sounds like they might be wearing these stickers to the next union bargaining session.

Not in the job description

So I was thinking today, dear God, if I have to see any more nudity today I'm gonna puke. I do not ever recall reading it the job description that as I clean patient rooms I may or may not have to put up with seeing much more than I want to! And why are so many people completely unconcerned with rather or not they are flashing people?

Thankfully, this situation has made me very skilled at being able to do all my work while keeping my eyes focused only on the floor. I'll tell you, it takes some skill to be able to do that. But hey, you can't come in the room after me and say that floor is dirty. Trust me, it's the cleanest thing in the room.

Wondering when will my life begin...

I've seen the movie Tangled a few times recently and those songs from it get stuck in my head. After spending about 8 hours at work with one of the songs in my head, I started coming up with alternate lyrics that had to do with my job. It struck me that at the beginning of the song, she says, "7 AM the usual morning line-up." Well, I just so happen to start work at 7 AM every morning. So, here is a clip of the actual song from the movie and then the lyrics I came up with. Enjoy! It's very silly! =)



My lyrics:

Seven AM the usual morning line-up...
Set up my cart, then mop 'til the floor's all clean!
Someone spilled coffee and I've gotta soak the spill up.
Mop again, and by then it's like seven fifteen.
And so I'll clean a room or maybe two or three,
I'll fill a couple bags with dirty laundry.
I'll grab the trash and dust and mop and basically,
Just wonder, "when will my life begin?"

Then after lunch I'll have to start cleaning discharges.
Make up the beds and make sure the room smells fresh.
Wipe down the tub, sink, fixtures and toilet,
Then the kitchen I'll clean, check the bed-tracker screen.
And then I'll clean the glass if I have time to spare.
I'll wipe the ceiling vents, I'm sure there's dust up there!
And then I'll wipe down each and every waiting room chair,
Stuck in the same place I've always been...
And I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering,
"When will my life begin?"

Items most often discarded...

So when a patient leaves the hospital all too often things are left behind that perhaps shouldn't have been. I being the one who has to go in and clean that room, I often find these sad, abandoned objects. So I compiled a small list of the 5 items most often left behind in hospital rooms. Anyone care to take a guess????

Proper Etiquette When Using Public Restrooms

I would like to take a moment to educate the public on the proper etiquette to display when using a public restroom. Cleaning some public restrooms at the hospital over the weekend reminded me that though most of these tips may seem like common sense, some people obviously need reminders. So here we go!

TIP #1 -
Upon leaving the stall, make sure to WASH YOUR HANDS. No one likes the idea of you spreading your germs onto the bathroom door or anywhere else you go afterward. This is a basic you should have learned from an early age. If you gave up on it years ago, there is something seriously wrong with you. Remember, just because you aren't worried about germs, doesn't mean everyone else isn't.

TIP #2 -
If your cell is on your person and begins ringing while you are using the restroom, is it really that urgent to answer it??? Seriously, no one in the stall next to you wants to hear your conversation. And whoever is on the phone with you doesn't want to hear the toilet flushing or you washing your hands while you chat with them. Granted the use of bluetooth may make this bad habit somewhat less prone to the spreading of germs, but still...Please be considerate of others and wait until you leave the bathroom to have your phone conversation. I'm sure whoever is calling will appreciate it as well.

Tip #3 -
For all you ladies out there, I feel the need to explain the purpose of those little shiny boxes that are installed on the wall by the toilet. When stocked properly, these boxes should contain several small paper bags. These bags are meant as a place for you to dispose of sanitary napkins. To use, open the lid of the box, OPEN THE PAPER BAG and deposit the soiled sanitary napkin or wrapping within. DO NOT just shove these items into the box without any regard to rather or not the ended up in a bag. Doing so leaves the housekeeper *ahem* like me, the pleasant task of reaching deep into the box and fishing out whatever goodies were left inside.

Tip #4 -
Before you leave the stall, please be sure to FLUSH THE TOILET!!! No one coming in behind you wants to see your business. Come on people, it's not that hard!

One Loaded Question

So last night I was playing "Loaded Questions" with some friends and one of the questions was: If you could be your boss, what incentives/perks, aside from money, would you offer your employees?

My first thought was...can I make a list?
Well that didn't really work for the game, but mentally I was thinking of a list.

How about no penalty sick days? I mean, as long as you have a doctor's note or a supervisor's permission to go home early because of sickness, should you really be penalized for that?
Especially when I'm working in health care! I mean, you would think my boss would assume that since I spend all day working around infected bodily fluids, garbage, and sick people who are sneezing, have open wounds or sound like they are hacking up a lung...just maybe...every once in a while I might actually get sick. Maybe I'm crazy to think the odds of me getting sick over someone who say, works in a cubicle, are pretty high.
But no, if I call out sick or am unable to complete my shift due to illness, I'm in trouble. Doesn't matter if I had my supervisor's permission, doesn't matter if I have a doctor's note.

Idea #2 - Would it kill them to provide us with more uniforms? They give us shirts to wear and we select our own pants. No big deal, but this one housekeeper only has ONE top! Can you imagine working a full week like that?

Idea #3 - Some sort of annual award, recognizing hard workers, great team players, ect.
I have had lots of people in the hospital say I clean very well or that I am a hard worker, but besides that nice feeling of being complimented, I don't really have anything to show for it. And honestly, it starts feeling like my supervisors really don't appreciate it. Then you can start thinking if it isn't appreciated, why bother? So I think it would be encouraging for everyone on the team to get some sort of prize and recognition for their hard work. Besides, it would motivate people do always do their best.

So anyway, that was some of my ideas. Apparently, my bosses had other ideas because one of them brought breakfast in for us this morning. *sigh* Gotta take what you can get, I guess. Oh well, my cinnamon bun tasted awesome! :D

Masked Housekeeper No More!

Apparently on April 1st, flu germs magically cease to exist until the witty scientists decree that they can return sometime around November. Which basically means...I don't have to wear my mask anymore!!! I get seven months of freedom before I go back to the five months of wearing it again. Today was my first day working without it and it felt good. I do kinda miss being mysterious though...it was so much easier to hide my expressions with the mask. It is nice to be able to smile at people though and they actually know I'm smiling. I'm gonna enjoy this while it lasts...

No Life too Small to Save

At the hospital we are all about trying to save lives. So the other day, a lowly housekeeper got to play a role in this lofty endeavor. I single-handedly saved a life from near certain death! This poor soul I saved was a fuzzy caterpillar that I found in a trash can... :)
The poor little guy freaked me out at first. A live caterpillar is hardly something you expect to find when emptying the trash. But since I had gloves on, I let him escape onto my hand and I walked him outside. Of course, I showed off the handsome fellow to a few nurses on the way. It's amazing how such a small creation of Jehovah can inspire wonder and awe. Anyway, I let him out onto some green grass where he may live the rest of his life happily ever after. Remember, no life is too small to be worth saving. :)

Foul weather = foul moods and no babies

We had some serious storms this morning, which was rather out of the blue. I could have sworn the weather report said it would be sunny all week. Thankfully, I made it into work before the rain hit and by the time I left the sun had returned. Seemed like the weather had a negative effect on some people's mood though. There was an unusual amount of crabbiness in the air, most of it emanating from my boss.

On another note...
Strangely the baby suites were empty today. Guess no one likes having babies during a thunderstorm. Oh well, less work for me!

Coffee and stress keep the blood pumping!

Drank a full cup of coffee yesterday! WOW!
I hadn't done that an about a month. Been trying to stay away from caffeine since I went to the ER with heart palpitations the first week of February. But yesterday was my sixth day straight of work and I was desperate. It was amazing the difference. I felt like I worked twice as fast as I normally. Of course at the end of the day I felt like my legs might keep walking while the rest of me just fell apart. >_<
Clearly I should not make caffeine consumption a regular habit...

On another note, seems like the supervisors are watching everyone like hawks. They've even been checking the security cameras to see what the employees are up to while on the premises. Seems like some of my co-workers are being less than honest...taking unauthorized breaks, texting in the halls, smoking in the parking lot (which is not allowed on hospital property) and ect. It's really frustrating, because now they are suspicious of even the honest, hardworking people. All of us pay for our co-workers stupidity. It keeps us all on our toes. I'm just being the best worker I can be so, it will take a lot for them to get me in trouble.