The nursing station is behind Plexiglas-glass windows, but it is not sound proof. Constantly there is someone at the window asking for something or repeating themselves as it is part of their behaviour. This is why before I said working in mental health can be draining! Lol.

It is like being home with my 5 year old who is always asking “Why?”. I know this is their behaviour and it is not their fault. There is also nothing I can do about it. You learn to tune things out and get your work done with someone always peering at you through that window.

To many clients smoking is important. They count down the the minute when they can have their next cigarette. Then right at that time, there they are, at the window

Violence can happen in this field as well. A lot of the residents take medications to help control this, but there is still the occasional outburst. You learn to watch for trigger points for each person, so you can help them avoid getting to the point of acting out.

Most of the time it was the residents who would fight with each other. I guess living together, they are family, and we all know family fight. Certain ones you would know to keep away from the others. Personality clashes!

This field to me was very interesting. Most of the patients had been sick most of their lives, always living in a facility. I was told to read all their charts and histories, so I would better understand them. I felt sorry for a lot, as many had no family involved.

So if you can handle being followed, talked to constantly, answering the same questions over and over, then maybe this is for you. The physical work is MUCH easier I enjoyed my time at this place. It was a valuable learning experience, but I found out I am not as assertive as I would like to be, and being in this type of facility made me nervous at times. And, I want to be a confident of a nurse as I can when I work for my safety and the patient’s

…you desire to do, can be found working on a Surgical unit. I have to say of all the places I have worked, this has to be my favourite. The best part of nursing in my eyes, is all the hands on skills.

In Surgery, you see many types of incisions afterwards. It is a great place to practice all the dressing changes you learned. You get to use your critical thinking when it comes to post-op complications and learn the things to watch out for. What’s the number one thing?! Infection!!

Almost every shift you can learn something new. Whether it be a new surgery or specific care for a type of recovery. I never felt like I was done learning. It is nice to work in a place where you can continue to expand your knowledge and become a more experienced nurse.

On a unit like this, it is important to remember that things can change in a instant. A person who has just had surgery is at risk for many complications. You need to be on the ball, watching vital signs to make sure the person remains stable.

Yes, this unit may not be for those who are faint of heart. You will see a lot and need to be able to hold it together Remember what wound Evisceration is? Yes, it really does happen!!

Some of the surgeries are sad. People who are palliative. I found myself many times becoming emotional. You can’t get away from it no matter what unit you work on. Surgery to me is an amazing thing, it saves many lives and it makes life easier for many. Most of the time on this unit the end result is SO positive. 

So, if you want staple or suture removal, catheter insertion, and dressing changes, surgery may be for you. Don’t be afraid to jump in there and get your hands dirty so to speak

I just finished a shift last night at the hospital. As it was Easter Monday it was very quiet – with the exception of Emergency, which I’ve come to realize is hardly ever quiet. Up on the units, when we did our first round as the float nursing unit clerk, we got the same story; nothing happening due it being a bank holiday. So we settled in to what I thought would be a very uneventful night – I don’t like it so much when it’s quiet, and even though the night didn’t really get very busy, there were still a couple of lessons waiting to be given to me.

The first lesson was to do with awareness; how aware you have to be to what is occurring around you at all times. While admitting a patient to CCU, one of the machines started sounding an alarm and my preceptor said in a low voice, ‘Be prepared, we may have a code blue.’ Now, I’ve been waiting for a code blue (which we have to attend as the float), but at the same time dreading it a little. I continued on with my work, all the time with one ear to what was happening over in the corner. We never did have an official code blue – a couple of STAT orders were called for and entered into the computer and the immediate crisis was over – but just the mention of the words code blue were enough to get my heart pumping. My preceptor then advised that what we had just done was like what you would do in a code blue situation; this has made me feel a lot more at ease with what I will need to do when my first code does happen.

This lesson was quickly followed by a lesson in speed and accuracy; a patient needed blood and we were asked to pick it up ASAP from the bank – so I had to quickly complete the previous chart orders (making sure I didn’t make any mistakes) and hoof it down to the Lab to pickup some packed red blood cells – you must check and double check everything when picking up blood – so this was an interesting lesson (and kind of cool in the neat sense of the word, not the heat sense of the word). Finally, when we made it back to CCU with the blood, feeling rather pleased with myself, a lesson in clarity; if you order STAT blood work, make sure to mention STAT to the Lab when you call it in, and not urgent as they are two different things – the Lab called back to clarify if the blood work just ordered was STAT as in now, or urgent as in ASAP as I had entered in the computer as STAT and mentioned it as urgent when I phoned…I will be sure to be specific in future when I call in any blood work.

I thought the night was going to be quiet and boring – it was quiet for sure, but it certainly wasn’t boring, there were still lessons to be learned on a quiet night on a bank holiday when nothing is happening.