Given the fact that this morning it was raining quite heavily it was nice to be at work. Today was a return to the same bay where I was covering yesterday, though this time I was covering the role that is normally associated with the duty HCA (though I was not being used as a substitute, simply having the floating task as I had been joined by a male colleague student nurse who is an ex-HCA from the same hospital having served for 13 years in post). This was nice as I was able to undertake a few different tasks on the discharge of several patients in the catchment area of the ward for discharge by ambulance this afternoon. What made this even more unusually is that it was my dear old mother who was the ambulance crew who took one patient off another bay for us. I know that she has complained that she has gone up onto wards and has been told that a patient is in "Bay 2 bed D" which of course means nothing to the ambulance crew, or find that control send them too early for the ward staff and that the patients are not ready and/or need medication sorting out. Today, bar one patient was was handed to mother as pathology were causing delay, all ours were ready and waiting and also meant that several new admissions were sent straight into us which sped up other wards.
One annoying things is that the patients I had yesterday were starting to get a bit wearing by them wanting one thing, changing their minds, then wanting the original request before deciding they really wanted the second option all along. There was a few moments today when that was really starting to try my patients as there were some in particular where the effects are more behavioral rather then illness based. I was more involved in the observations of patients, and even did a manual BP today which is a rare thing (though the second one I have done on the ward).
The patient was shouting out nearly all day (I did investigate as initially I thourght it was one of my side room patients. The one thing that did get to me was that the person was repeating the same name over and over again which was the same as my own...definatly something haunting about hearing an invisable voice you thinks calling to you).
Still, cant complain as the day was steady and productive and cant really moan about that shift. Of course some of that steady and laid back gait which people thourght I was exhibiting today has a far more benigne reason. You see, I normally walk quite fast, but this morning I had to hurry as I thourght I was running late (I wasn't in the end but at the time I thourght I was). Anyway, I managed to make a small skin tear on my right heel, so anything over "moderate amble" speed meant the "Oh bloody hell thats stinging" pain sensation, so the net result was a gentle amble through the ward. This while done for my own comfort also made some think that I was taking a calm and collected approach. I must admit it was a bit more therapeutic then my normal "Mad man tearing on another errand" speed that sometimes is used. I think that we all managed to get the patients seen too with good personal care but also got through very smoothly. Now I am home, I am cracking on with two essays and the letter asking about jobs.
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