Blue Christmas?

Sometimes it is really easy to get down in the dumps. I'm not saying I am there but feel like I could be on my way. I try to maintain a pretty positive attitude towards life and the day to day but sometimes it is easy to let the way others are acting bring you down.

Sigh. I don't know where to start. I'm making a better attempt to finish my Treatment Nurse syllabus by my one year anniversary at the EC. I took home my binder and some "train wreck" flow sheets so I could work on getting those checked off. While doing such, I decided to take a break and look up information on DKA and try to learn more about the disease process. It's a pretty tricky one to understand but it is one of the most common critical cases we see. So much must be done to supplement and support these animals it is unreal. Dextrose, KPhos, KCl, insulin CRI and constant blood glucose checks are required to help these patients. Some are getting their glucose checked every 3-4 hours as that is how quickly their condition can change. I'm not really allowed to monitor these cases on my own as I am not a CCN but I do try to help with them when I can.

There are many things Treatment Nurses are not allowed to do but some do anyways. And honestly, I think there are many different levels of TN. While I feel I am a good tech, I know what I know and more importantly, what I don't know. I'm modest and quick to ask questions when I am even a slight bit uncertain. Many have told me that that is one of the things that makes me a great tech. Great is fine but I want to be the best.....I have a long way to go.

I did monitor Parvo ward on Sunday and boy what was I thinking?! There were three cases in there all of which seemed to be doing fairly well. I learned how quickly that can change. One case started to become critical and I brought it to the doctor's attention right away. It turns out my patient needed new antibiotics and a plasma transfusion. I spent most of my shift in isolation. I felt beat up when I left work that night and even cried a little in my car. I felt so down and it really was hard to explain. The doctor overseeing isolation said I did a really good job tonight. He said I am observant and good at communicating. That made me feel awesome. He also said he admired anyone who oversees Parvo as it is pretty intense patient care. These 3 were smaller and easy to clean up after but the bigger pups with Parvo....oy vey! What a bloody, smelly mess they make sometimes.

So overall, I'm doing ok. I hope this blue feeling I have today passes soon. I'm sure it will, it always does. I'm just trying to not be so sensitive to the way others act sometimes. This is especially so when I know it has nothing to do with me or how they feel about me.