facepalm

I have a friend, if you really want to call her that, and she has recently started to get on my nerves. This chick has some serious mental problems. Which is kinda the only reason I talk to her, because I like to see what kind of crazy delusions she can come up with next.

Her latest rampage has been about some health care issues in America. She has went on and on about numerous tests and treatments and how they are not necessary to saving lives. An example? She thinks that any kind of radiology study (x-ray, CT scan) is poisonous and that having one of these scans will cause some crazy side effects, like making your fingernails stop growing and making your teeth rot (I swear I'm not making that up).

I try to correct her on many points. I refer her to websites and books that will give her correct information. I print shit off the internet, highlight correct information, and she still refuses to believe correct information.

Finally today I asked her why she continues to rebut all the information I have taken the time to refer her to. Her response- "Wikipedia and Yahoo give me everything I need to know, and I know those websites won't lie to me like your crazy doctor ones will". Yeah. Sure.

Sigh. That is a prime example of what is wrong with America today.

Finally

Today I got my first paycheck. 20 hours of orientation doesn't pay too bad, especially because I slept through most of it having heard it before.

I also got my call about finally starting on the floor. Monday morning at 8 am in surgery. It will be part time over the summer, but if I like it, and I can work well with everyone there, I can possibly be full time in a couple months. The only bad thing about starting work is that now I am gonna miss a camping trip next week.

Job #2

Job 2 is really pissing me off, and I haven't even started yet. I'm suppose to start tomorrow, but I don't really see that happening.When I went for my interview the other week, they told me someone would be calling me about getting my employee physical. They were suppose to call 2 weeks ago. I have heard nothing.

I started calling them last week. Since I don't know anyone but the Director of Nursing, the lady who hired me, I called her. I told her that nobody has contacted me, and I needed some information. I'm still setting in the freaking dark.

Thursday, while I was at job 1, a lady called me and said for me to call her back. I call the extension that she gave me, and get told it is incorrect. I call the front desk and ask for her, and people kinda seem unsure of what to do with my call, so I get a weird voicemail. I have left messages, but I feel like this is some kind of joke, and she really doesn't exist.

So now I'm worried about what I should do for tomorrow. The only thing I know, is that I need to bring my SS card, and my license. I have no idea what time to show up. I have no idea if I need to bring anything. Hell, at this point, I'm not even sure if they really want me to work there or not.

I really hope they do want me. This place is nice! It is the best nursing home in the area, and it is like living in a palace. They have exercise equipment, a spa, a projection TV in the lounge, and everything else a person could want. To get into the place, I would have to put my name on the waiting list now, and I might get in when I'm 90, but there are no guarantees. And the employees get some pretty awesome benefits as well.


*Update* HR lady finally calls me back today, and she is a real space cadet. When I started asking questions about getting my physical and coming in for orientation, she told me she has had a note on her desk for the last 2 weeks, but didn't know why, and finally asked about it the other day when she called me. She said she was glad that I left her messages, because she had no idea why  she needed to contact me.... Ummm, WTF?!?!? Anyways, after talking for a few minutes, I found out that because I am working as a PRN nurse, I get an extra $2.00 an hour, since I don't get vacation time or anything like that.

License

Even though I have known for a few days that I have passed boards, it really didn't feel official until I had that small piece of paper in my hands with my name on it.It has definitely been a bittersweet time over the last couple of weeks, and I'm glad ya'll got to share it with me.

In other news, I found this blog, and it is hilarious. You should really check it out. And if you liked the last one, here is another funny one for you to enjoy. :)

What makes Shitty Hospital so shitty?

Today I got an interesting e-mail. The hospital that I work at wants to sue me. Yeah, that's right. They just rehired me, I started orientation this week, and I get an email about an impending lawsuit. The reason?

I have it on my Facebook profile that I work there. According to the message I received, listing them as my place of employment, and then posting "negative things" about the hospital is slander. They even decided to post a screenshot of my posts. And when I looked at them, I almost died of laughter. My post reads: "So happy to get home and crawl into bed after a long night".

According to Administrators, "this post is written and showing negativity towards the hospital as a place of employment. When people from the general public read this post, they are going to get negative thoughts about the hospital, and they are going to want to take their business elsewhere, which means jobs might need to be sacrificed. Facebook posts that show unhappy staff members are not to be tolerated anymore".

Now folks, this post here comes from back when I previously worked at Shitty Hospital. This post was written after I worked by myself for a 12 hour shift with no other aides to help me, and I had 16 patients, 12 of whom were a 2+ assist, and 8 of whom were incontinent. And I don't know of too many people who would be full of fucking sunshine and rainbows after a night like I had.

The second thing they brought against me, is a picture I was tagged in with three of my friends. The caption of it is "girls night". In the picture we are setting in my friends living room. Administrators said that having pictures of partying or drinking will not be tolerated, because it is bad for hospital image, and they do not want people to think that they hire irresponsible people. There is no alcohol or anything in the picture, and it was not 'girls night out' it was just a simple picture of me and some friends watching movies.

Now several things about this really piss me off.

First of all, I absolutely loved working as a CNA. And in my post did I ever mention that I was happy to be away from the hospital. For all anyone knows, there could be numerous reasons why I could have been happy to see my bed. I could have been extremely drunk, I could have had car trouble and walked 10 miles, or I could have drank a bunch of Mt Dew and just stayed up all night, and was finally coming down from a caffeine high. Someone in administration just wanted to start some shit, so they decided that my post which has no affiliations with the hospital needed to be brought to my attention.

Secondly, my picture was not offensive. If they wanted to get a good picture to use against me, I have plenty where I am shitfaced, and posing with drinks in my hand. But obviously those are alright because they don't have a caption of "girls night".

Lastly, my Facebook profile is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. If you aren't a friend of mine, you don't see any of my information. So that means the little rotten snitch is someone I'm friends with, and nothing pisses me off more than a knifing backstabbing two-faced bitch.

Administration ended the e-mail by saying I would have 48 hours after reading to change my information, and if no actions were completed then the suit would follow through. So my solution? I am now a RN on a Med/Surg Unit. The way I see it, there are thousands of Med/Surg floors in the US, and my Facebook does not affiliate myself with any of them. I can't wait to go hear back from them.

Also this week, I got reprimanded by the CEO. I was talking to the new Aide who will be taking my old place, and I was telling her what it was like on the floor. I started to tell her how if she had Nursing Home experience then she would have no problem working; because the two are much alike. CEO steps in and says that there is nothing similar, because our patients are all sweet and nice, and none of them have cognitive problems, and they all mostly care for themselves. She said that none of them would ever bite or hurt a soul. I don't know what that bitch was smoking, but I want some. I can't count the number of times I have had shit flung at my face, had to go to the ER because I was bit or scratched, and the list goes on and on. I can't tell the new help what the job is really like, and help her get to know what to expect, but I can get an e-mail saying that the hospital is gonna sue my ass over something that is retarded and they can't prove is about them. I suppose the real moral of this story is that Shitty Hospital is going downhill really fast, and I don't like it.
  

Let me try and control my excitement...

. . .

Alright ya'll,. I can't hide it anymore. Today I officially became a Registered Nurse. And, I also started orientation for my new job.

I'm on cloud 9, and flying high. Seriously, I cannot control my excitement. I spent all day refreshing the webpage trying to see if they updated my license. And they finally decided to do it right before I left for the day. I mean, I was pushing on the front door of the hospital to leave. And then I stopped, screamed, and went running back to tell my friends. I probably looked a little like this:

OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!!

The only downfall? I'm going through the whole hospital orientation thing with the girl who will be taking my old job. Now if any of you have been following my blog, you would probably be a little confused right now, since I haven't been working for a few months. But this girl is working as a CNA on the floor I used to work on, for the shift I worked. And while I am excited to finally be a RN, I am actually gonna miss the days of not having responsibilities, and being able to joke around and have fun. I kinda got a few chances to talk to this new girl and I think she will do a fair job. At least she better, because my old patients/residents mean the world to me, and if she can't care for them properly, there's gonna be a lot of trouble. That girl has some special shoes to fill...

Anyhow, back to some more good news. After I called my dad and calmed down enough to tell him I passed, he invited me out for supper and I never turn down free food. We grilled hotdogs. There is nothing I love more than the taste of a char-grilled hotdog. And I haven't had one yet this summer. 

Risk for brain overload

Well, I did it. Best of all, I survived it.


I took the NCLEX today; I had 75 questions, and it took me about an hour and a half to finish.

The best thing about it, I didn't cry, scream, or piss my pants! :-) I was really nervous going into the testing center, but after I got started, everything seemed to calm down a great deal, and by the time I got through the tutorial questions, I felt calm and ready to focus. The test was hard, but for most questions, I was able to breathe and think through the problems. At least, I could eliminate one answer from the question. There were only a few questions where I was at a complete loss, and had no idea what the hell was going on.

How I looked and felt testing

Anyways, I came home and tried the Pearson Vue computer trick. According to it, I have passed, but I'm not getting my hopes up yet.

But hopefully there will be more good news to follow!

Full circle

6/16/2008 was my first day at work as an Aide. As I think back to that day when I was a scared timid little girl walking the halls wondering if I really wanted to put myself through this for the rest of my life, I realize how much I have grown.

In the first hour of my new job, I had oatmeal thrown at me, I was shit on, and I made a lady cry because I didn't understand what she was asking for. The rest of the day didn't get any better. I went home that night and cried and debated calling the owner of the gift shop I previously worked at to beg for my job back. But instead I passed out and woke up to do the same thing over again, and after getting to know my co-workers, and getting to understand more about the elderly group I was caring for, I realized there was nothing more that I wanted to do with my life... Well, most of the time at least.

In four short years I have grown up alot. I have learned not to take everything that every patient says to heart, and instead I have learned to smile and let go. I have learned that no matter how hard you try, you cannot save everyone. Sometimes, the patients that you really want to go because they are suffering so bad will hold on the longest. I have learned that death is a part of living. I have learned that a simple touch or just setting in silence beside someone can mean the world to a patient.  And most importantly, I have learned what it really means to care. 

Monday I sit for the NCLEX. And even thought I am scared to death about it, I have a feeling I will be ok. Tuesday, I will begin orientation for my new job. Tuesday I will become that scared shitless girl again.

Todays young people.

I hate being a young person in today's society. Because seriously, 9 out of 10 are lazy fucks that want everything handed to them on a silver platter, and they will not work for it. It makes me sick.

I'm 22. I have managed to hold a job down since I was 16. Yes, my parents bought me a car, but it was because we lived 26 miles from town, and both of my parents worked weird hours, and nobody could come pick me up from practice after school. But when my Dad took me to get my license, he filled up my tank, and turned to me and said "You got a full tank, and your license, now go get a damn job". And I did.

I hate having to hear that young people are not responsible. Even though I did manage to get 2 jobs last week, at both interviews, I was asked about my responsibility, if I was willing to take the job seriously (you are in charge of people's lives now!), if I would show up to work on time daily, and if I was going to stick around for more than a couple weeks.

These questions were asked instead of questions that I felt were really important for an interview, something like, "How would you deal with a stressful situation you encounter" or "What are your strengths and weaknesses" etc.

Today I was at the store, and I happened to see a girl who looked to be about my age or maybe a little older with her father and they were looking at cell phones. She was begging her father to buy her an iPhone 4S. And I mean begging. She did everything but get on her knees. I could tell her father was slightly pissed and embarrassed, hell I was embarrassed for him. His reasoning for not getting it was that it would raise their monthly bill, and it was something they couldn't afford.

But Daddy! I want it!

But in the end, she walked out of the store with her bright shiny new iPhone. Seriously?!?!?!?!?!

What happened to becoming an adult, moving out and getting a job of your own so you can buy your own things and be proud of what you have? I have lived away from my parents for 2 years now, worked part-time, and went to school full-time. With some help of my fiance, (because he works full-time at a good job) we have managed to buy all our own things, and not relied on our parents for anything. Is it really that hard, or are we just weird for doing it?

Maybe it's because we don't have to have the newest and greatest technology. My phone was a free upgrade from AT&T that I have had for about 3 years. The keypad barely works and the back to it got lost a long time ago, but it still sends and receives calls, so I don't really mind. I can't see half of what I'm typing, because my screen is cracked. I also shop secondhand stores for clothes and other household items, and also go to alot of yardsales. It saves money.  Maybe I was just born in the wrong decade or something. Or maybe my parents actually did something right in raising me.

Mine isn't quite this bad, but it's pretty close.

(Rant!) Disgusting

I was checking out some blogs earlier today, when I found one that really bugged me. It was a lady talking about how adoption is wrong, and women should just abort their unwanted fetuses.

Ladies and Gentlemen, just typing that previous statement got my blood boiling again.

I decided to post a comment on the blog to talk about this with the author. Little did I know I would be talking to a complete moron who contradicts herself. Her argument?

Babies aren't living, and there are tens of thousands of mothers who die each year due to giving birth. Abortion will save the mothers from dying. OK, now I'm not an OB nurse, so I have no idea how many deaths there are annually due to childbirth, but if someone would happen to know the statistic, I would love to know it. But it doesn't make sense to me to keep an old(er) person and kill a baby. I mean, how is the human population going to continue?

Anyhow "Julie" as her screen name appears continues to contradict herself with her lack of proofreading and a lesson in English, with  this argument, along with telling me that I am a woman hater and I kill my patients. Dafuck? She also states that by working in healthcare I should realize that many people need to have abortions. Umm, ok. I can agree with this, if your daddy or your uncle raped you. I'm cool with that. But getting an abortion because you and your boyfriend went out behind the barn one night and decided to have a little fun? Nope, you should have to suffer the consequences of that shit.

Please feel free to tell me if you agree with me, or if I'm just being a "woman-hating selfless bitch".

I'm sure there will be more to follow

*Update 6/16* Nothing new on the blog, except for the fact that she wrote a new post saying people who don't agree with her posts should not post their opinion and try to debate things with her. Someone can't handle criticism. 

I'm on fire

I'm fanfuckingtastic. I went for interview number 2 today, and at the end of the interview the DON states- "There is nobody here in HR right now, but I'm gonna make the executive decision to hire you right now, you're awesome". Yeah, that's right folks. 2 jobs in 2 days. Or a day and a half if you want to get technical about it.

Now I have to work like hell to pass these dreaded state boards.

Lucky streak

Yesterday was my first interview. And while I was nervous as crap, I have friends in high places at Shitty Hospital, who said I would get hired.



And it worked!

I got a call back this morning, with the offer. It's part time, but it is in surgery. I absolutely love being in surgery. Of course, I will probably get the shitty job of just taking everyone's BP every 5 minutes or some shit, but still. It's a job, and it is in one of my favorite places in the hospital.

Today is interview number 2 at the local Nursing Home. Let's hope I still have a little bit of luck left in me for the PRN job there, because they pay alot of money. And right now this chick is broke (too much Ebay fun).

Downfall

I loved my job as a CNA. I hated the barely-above-minium-wage-pay, and the nurses who thought they were too high and mighty to ever help (where I worked, the RNs would walk by an old man laying on the floor calling for help to come find me and ask me to please shut him up- no shit) and I hated my new boss. But I woke up and put a smile on my face every day for the patients.

Now not every one of them were fun to be around, and some of them made me question if I really wanted to go into nursing for the rest of my life. But in general, I loved getting to know and spend time with these people, and get to help them get better.

The hardest part is always saying goodbye. Most of the time, saying goodbye is temporary, because these patients have a chronic illness that will bring them back in a couple months.

Today I found out that one of my favorite little old ladies has passed away. I was looking forward to going back and getting to talk to her again. I never got to say goodbye.

RIP M.F.

New Best Friend

I'm getting married in September, which is like 3 months away. I also have barely started any plans, I have the basics I guess- a groom and a preacher, but other than that, I'm stuck. And until I take (and hopefully pass!) the NCLEX in a couple weeks, I have no time to really work on any plans. At least I thought.

Guys, I found the easiest way to do wedding planning, and it's cheap too! Ebay! I have taken care of half of everything I needed through a few auctions and some buy-it-now sales. It's also alot cheaper than going to the few stores I have around home, because I just bought my veil and headpiece for $19, and it was going to cost me $28 otherwise. Ok, so it isn't major savings, but I buy stuff with free shipping, and seeing as how it would cost me $30 in gas and 2 hours of driving time (nothing is close in WV), I am elated. I also managed to buy my flower girls dresses and now I'm looking at rings.

I think there will be alot more study breaks now, :)

Also, if any of you have ideas about where I can get other cheap wedding ideas, I would appreciate it greatly!

2 in 2 days

Just when I thought I was gonna have to go back to being a waitress to get some money, I finally get the calls I have been waiting for. I go Thursday for an interview at Crappy Memorial Hospital where I worked as a CNA for an interview, and Friday for an interview at the local nursing home. It's a start I suppose, and I am more than excited for both of them. So I would appreciate some well-wishes and happy thoughts those 2 days!

Of course, waitressing might still be an option, since I'm not guaranteed to get either job, but I'm gonna hold off on going back for at least another couple weeks (if the bank will let me) and hope for the best.