Dear Diary

It's hard being a (new) nurse. These days I feel like I'm always asking questions or needing help with something --all the time.

The other day I was in the midst of transferring a patient and thought to bladder scan her because she'd been having low urine output, and lo and behold she had over 600 mL of urine hanging out in her bladder (that's over half a 40 oz for all you ghetto fabs out there). That meant I'd have to straight cath her which can be difficult to do on a female patient because the anatomy is not as clear cut as in the picture I just linked up there (I wish). I tried and failed and had to ask for help, and fortunately the nurse who helped me is one of my all time favorites in terms of being available and willing to help. She never seems too busy to lend a hand. An hour or more ended up passing before I was able to transfer the patient to the other floor. I was flustered, didn't take my meal break, lost my assignment sheet and my stethoscope (I thought). This was one of those days that I felt was my time to cry on the job. Luckily it didn't happen. I told myself I'd just have to stay as long as it took me to get the job done. But in the back of my mind I worried that I'd get in trouble for a) missing my break and b) leaving late.

What's a rookie to do?

Night Shift

I took care of a patient last night who reminded me of the character "Petunia" from Futurama. I imagine her as leading a similar lifestyle out in the non-hospital world but who knows...

This morning as I was helping her get cleaned up for the day I asked if we'd gotten her...., her...
"Coochie?" She replied.
"Yeah, coochie."

Dear Patron Saint of Nurses...

Please help me pass the NCLEX!!!! I'm straight up loozin my shizz over here...

So many urias... so little time

Oliguria -- low urine output
Anuria -- no urine output (less than 50 mL/day)! (eeek!)
Polyuria -- too MUCH urine output
Dysuria -- PAINful urination
Enuresis -- inability to control urination!! (subclasses include: nocturnal, diurnal)
Hematuria -- blizzud in yr pizzee