Almost December....SERIOUSLYYYY??

hey there; sorry..I'm not sorry.. for the blogging hiatus; there was turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberries and WECKA (? spelling, but I think you get the point) to be devoured, family company to be endured (totally joking), and several days off from work and class to be enjoyed!!  These all seem to be perfectly good reasons to lay off the world wide web for a bit and enjoy a spell of R & R (a little bit of my inside Luella coming out).

Professionally, the past two weeks have been an enjoyable conglomerate of classroom lecture, simulation time and some actual, physical work!  If the amount of provided education correlates, in any way, shape or form, to the expectation of clinical care at the bedside.... then I believe there is adequate reason to be suffering from self-diagnosed ATP syndrome (Anxiety, Terror and Paranoia)!  This syndrome is temporarily relieved by the occasional humor injected into these presentations; ex. during our lecture on sedation, analgesia and paralysis, the presenter informs us that "occasionally, from East Baltimore, there are the patients that will pre-medicate themselves before a procedure"; and AMEN to that; because man, you see it all over the place down here...i thought open, day light recreational drug use was illegal; apparently that memo hasn't reached Baltimore yet?

On a lighter and personal note, the Mark Hoffman family celebrated its first thanksgiving on the Inner Harbor! Mom, Dad, Sister Deb and Little Louie arrived safely Wednesday night, after enduring the unwelcome company of I-95 traffic the whole way south...ugggh!  Thankfully, they had a nice place to unpack and unwind.  Apparently, a two bedroom place is still too small;;;; how did I end up on the couch again??? After enjoying a phenomenal meal, compliments to the mother and sister, the lazy, post turkey, afternoon commenced.  A what a commencing it was; seriously...some people's restful breathing borders on an aggressive airway management intervention; literally; i thought i was going to have to break out the intubation kit....good grief! #bettergetthatchecked

until the next time! :)

the view of a scholar....and a gentleman
p.s. look at 'dem shoes...those be runnin shoes, ya'll

the face of a....de-caffeinated, de-energized,
double chinned yet hopeful Bruceellosis! ugggghhhh...

#cantwaittostuffmyface, #thankfulformomscooking

sunrise from the guest room...my mothers favorite!

 

the executive chef's :)

Week #2 UPDATE

hey all; another quick update from the Inner Harbor!

I hope all my NorthEast friends and family survived the 'NorEaster... the citizens of Baltimore truly applaud your ability to survive in such, and I directly quote from one of my co workers, "horrendous and inhumane weather conditions"...i think the wintery mix created more of stir in Baltimore than it did it CT!!!

I still love my job...lol; I spent my last two shifts working the overnight (its been while since I worked a full night shift....#YAWN, #sleepytime, #Iwantmybed, #caffeineisnecessary, but, nevertheless I DID IT and LOVED IT.  Oh, and after a particularly long and intense transport, we jump in the back of the "AMBO" ready to go back to base and the truck was "DEAD"...literally - we needed to have a patient's family member bring their "jumpers" and give us a JOLT; the other nurse and I both brilliantly recommended CPR, EPINEPHRINE 1 mg IE (intra-engine) and ? TCPacing...all at 430AM; you gotta love it!

Despite having worked previous transport jobs, my current role has taken my experience to a whole new level.  These patient's are crazy SICK; everything from 3rd / 4th degree burns s/p house fire in and out of cardiac arrest, G1P0 regular and frequent contractions at 28 weeks requiring constant fetal HR monitoring, bilateral lung transplants with chest and mediastinal tubes with 3 vasopressors and full ventilatory / endotracheal support, facial degloving s/p fall with oro/naso reconstruction, and the list goes on and on...I believe I may have seen more over three days than I have in several years of prior clinical practice.  Despite my urge to jump in and "do", I have, with uhhh...moderate success, had to pull back and simply watch the "flow".  A lot can be learned when you step out of ACTION CIRCLE and survey the entire "scene".

My preceptor is phenomenal; I truly believe this can make or break a new job. She is very smart, comical and most importantly, very CHILL.  What I lack in calm and cool collectivism and sarcasm, is more than made up when we are together!

My orientation has been established to course in the following manner: intra-hospital CCT (critical care transport), ground CCT and Helicopter / Fixed wing CCT.  In between are plenty of days in the NICU, PICU, Cath Lab, OR and simluation lab time.  YEEEHHAAAAAH!

Until next time....

"the book...."

In the back of the mobile ICU with a patient - tubes, wires, lines, etc...everywhere!!! ahhhhh.

One of the non-invasive / invasive monitors and a 3-channel IV Pump (so slick...)

the in house "PURPLE TEAM" taking an IABP s/p CT Sx patient somewhere....

work week 1: status COMPLETE

After a full 36 hour, 4 DAY work week, I finally made it to my three day weekend....ahhhhh! This whole "working 5 day a week" thing needs to cease, immediately. I can not remember the last time I worked more than three days in a full week or in a row and thank goodness for that, because I'm not sure I could hold out much longer..! LOL;

The week starts with two days of hospital wide/central orientation! As mentioned previously, I am very thankful for the opportunity I have been given to work with such an amazing team! Wednesday started with 4 hours of nursing orientation, followed by the initiation of LIFELINE orientation; and HOLY MOLY...after seeing my orientation packet of all the things I am to learn over the next six weeks, I am officially - VERY, VERY NERVOUS, but wicked (...i know it's a CT thing) excited!

I hemmed my scrubs for the first time by way of scissor and steady hand; so far only a few people have noticed and commented on, what I believe to be, one of the truest signatures of bachelorism!

Thursday started with me asking where I punch in, my attempt at making myself feel extra good by punching in 15 minutes early...AGAIN (and having it documented..LOL), and was delightfully told "oh, don't worry about that, we don't punch in or out here; just show up early all the time and leave whenever you are done"; #BITTERSWEET; 

So far, clinically, I have encountered a wild array of life altering diagnoses.  The cases that this hospital becomes involved with and sees is beyond anything I had ever imagined; and I LOVE IT.  There is also a very sad component to working in an institution like this; for many customers, patient's and families, they believe Johns Hopkins to be the only light at the end of a very dark tunnel and their only hope for medical diagnosis, treatment and LIFE.  However, regardless of the name or institution, healthcare providers work to lessen the anxiety and fear, and attempt to bring healing to where it is needed most! 

Until the next time....!

The scrubs are purple; making us an easy, although respected, target!

My dear mother sent this photo of the wintery mix in CT - makes me miss home more than ever; SNOW, HOT CHOCOLATE, FIRE PLACES, SLEDDING, TUBING, and most of all NO SCHOOOOOL!!!

Another mystery solved!!!

I now know why the ID Bage Officer was giving me the hairy eyeball...!!!! LOL; I should probably inform HR of this... good grief!

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!

Day #1: I'm off to a running and partially winded (but so far successful) start; I was about 15 minutes EARLY to work.  For those of you who don't know me, look to the sky, because it may be starting to cave in...! Me being on time, and further more, EARLY...uhhh, for anything is completely miraculous...here's hoping that this may be a lasting streak!!...you know, at least until I'm off probation :)

After a self directed, unintentional, breath taking - LITERALLY - tour of about 5 miles of the hospital's main campus, I arrive at orientation PART 1.  History, Mission, Vision, Past, Present and Future; what an awesome LEGACY and STORY! So far I'm psyched and (simultaneously) humbled, to have joined myself to such an amazing group of dedicated, hardworking professionals who are lending their lives to building one of the world's greatest healthcare systems!

Plus they've only had three muggings this week...(for those not familiar with JHH, it is in less reputable part of Baltimore - however about every 50 feet there is hand sanitizer and a diligent member of the security team; attempting to calm the frightened nerves of the poor souls trying to make the JHH difference!!!  All kidding aside, the whole security force at Hopkins is excellent (so far) and does the best they can with what they have to deal with!  However, to accurately quote the the Chief of Security, I repeat..."if you're gonna run away, RUN LIKE YOU MEAN IT"....it is with such pleasant thoughts and memories of Part #1; that I call it a day... until next time!

lets do this... :)

ONE OF THE MANY WONDERS OF MY WORLD!!!

Good Morning Baltimore!!