Monday, June 18, 2012

the weekly roundup

5: the number of admits that we got on our shift even though we were down a nurse and all going up to five (pretty high acuity, i may add) patients apiece and generally running around the unit in a panic.

8: the number of units of blood that this guy required in surgery today.  his crit was down to 15 in the OR...for you non-medical folks that's about a third of normal, and basically means you have next to no cells carrying oxygen around your body.  i'm not going to say i told you so.  but it's implied.

45: the number of dollars our patient who is a pimp (literally) tried to beg off his nurse so he could get a hotel room upon discharge.  apparently business is bad?

1: the number of vail beds that we have on the floor right now.  try getting out of this, squirrelly brain injured patient.  (picture a small, beat up man trying to vault over the siderails of his bed, yanking off his arm splint and having full conversations with it, and yelling "hey ho" to people walking by his room.  now repeat times 4092902345 and you have my night.  thus the bed.)

10: the number of minutes i had to bite my tongue for while being screamed at by a patient because someone moved his linens to the bottom of his bed and closed his blinds.  literally, i spoke not one word.  mostly because everything in my head started with "i hate you".

100: the mEqs of potassium that i gave to my lady with the lasix drip tonight, which makes a grand total of 280 mEq of KCl in 24 hours.  this is the most potassium i have ever given a patient, and was just enough to make her K hit 3.0, which is still low but finally not critical.  i consider this victory, and worthy of a small happy dance in the nurses station.

and lastly.

105: the number of minutes of overtime that it took me to dig myself out of the hole that was today.

please excuse me, i'm 'bouts to go sleep for the next three days.

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