Busy Little Bee.....

Well, its been a while since I've posted. I've have rejoined the working world, and let me tell you folks, the 5 day work week is not for me.....or my dog. I've been at Dell Children's Medical Center for 3 weeks, and yesterday is the first day I've been an ACTUAL nurse. Up until now, I've had to sit in lectures that I like to call "Learn how to be an RN in 2 weeks or less." Some of the information was pertinent, but most of it was already common knowledge if you've been a nurse. (This is for you 6 Henson.....I got to learn how to use a glucose monitor and don't worry, we're doing it right! :)

It's very strange to be precepted again after two years of being on your own. After two years, it all eventually becomes clockwork....knowing where things are, what protocol to follow, and what kind of kids you are going to have. Not to say I didn't have fun despite my nerves. My preceptor was so nice and had a contagious laugh as well. Either I was on the top of my game that day with my jokes(very possible), or its really easy to make her laugh. Either way, we had a fun day. And of course, its not a day at a pediatric hospital unless you've got one patient with some social issues.....lets just say it was a doozy, folks. Per HIPAA, I can't disclose much, but you know any time Child Protective Services gets involved, its got to be interesting(and a very sad story at that). All in all, it was a pretty good day to be back in the thick of things. Its a very young floor, only being started up last fall. (The hospital itself was built brand new last summer) We're getting more and more neuroscience patients, and it really does interest me. Kiddos with CP, seizures, etc. are usually so complex, so I think I'm in for some great learning experiences. We'll have to see if it can beat my Cystic fibrosis kids back on 6 Henson. I really enjoyed them.

So like I said, it was great being back on the floor, so it was definitely anticlimactic to have to go back to the clinical education center for one last day of Cerner computer classes. I was trained for Cerner back at Children's Mercy, and I worked with it for 2 days before I left. I felt pretty comfortable with what I was doing on it, plus I can usually figure out computer stuff fairly well. (I'm very smart). I had my first class on Monday, and I will say I did pay attention, although I also emailed back and forth with my mama most of the day. She and I miss each other lots, so we talk quite often. I was hoping to do the same thing today, but we had a different teacher and a "helper" this morning. For approximately the first hour of class, the teacher went on and on about different kinds of orders. (Hello, I've been a nurse for 2 years and am a little familiar with this). So I was on my email with mom again, and this "helper" (I hope you note my contempt when I mention this so-called "helper") comes up and places a post-it in front of me telling me to please use Cerner or move to the back of the class because my email is distracting other people. I found out at lunch that she also did this to another girl in the class, who is also around my age.

I was sitting next to another woman, who was having obvious difficulty with understanding the program. I was helping her quite often(where is this "helper" now??) I didn't mind helping this lady, but I did mind when I saw her doing her hospital learning modules instead of paying attention and not getting a post it placed in front of her. Its not really a big deal, but I thought it was insulting. There were a few of us who had experience with Cerner and computer programs, and that had already been on the floors using this, so it was ridiculous for us to be called out for using our time waiting for others to be done in a way that is most certainly NOT distracting. I was already in the back row.....tell me WHO could have been distracted by me reading my email. Sorry about the anger, folks. I think it just bothered me because a) the lady older than me was not singled out and 2) it wasn't this "helper's" job to be the internet police, it was her job to help people. (Geez Katie....angry much???)Oh well. Smile! :)

In other news, the roommate finally arrived. She is slowly sifting through her million boxes, but I'm hoping it will be close to done when Natalie arrives on Friday. Its definitely nice to have her here. My best friend, Natalie, is coming in this weekend from Minneapolis also, so I'll definitely have some good stories after this weekend. Stay tuned!