ER

In the ER today... 16 hours in the ER.

The good news: we were cleared on IV sticks this past Monday so I was able to get a lot of practice today.

The bad news: missed my first eight IV starts on real people before I got one patent line in.

(Good news again: I got five in a row after that... I'm on a streak!!)


Things were good and the nurses I was working with were very nice and very helpful. Entirely willing to teach... That is, until the end of the day, at 11:30PM when I went to get all my skills and attendance verification sheets signed by the Charge nurse... who said, "Who are you? I've never seen you before!"

Let me tell you -- If you want to beat your head against the f---ing wall, work 16 straight; performing skills and walking past someone all day and have them say that to you. I was about to deck her. She actually refused to sign any of my sheets! (I was able to get the nurse I was working with to sign me off, but technically, the charge nurse is the one who supposed to take care of that.) I really don't understand... it seems only in nursing that you find so many wonderful people doing a job, and yet... just as many bitches doing the exact same job.

I apologize for my use of profanity, but it's hard to convey my frustration to be on the receiving end of undeserved treatment like that after I spend so many hours of my Saturday (unpaid!) working my hardest to learn, doing my best to treat the patients and staff as respectfully as I can, and just generally being helpful... And all for what would have amounted to 15 seconds signing my forms.

A terrible end to an otherwise decent day.

I just hope that a good night's sleep and a day off will cure my newly instilled despair.