A Blog-Worthy Night

I generally do not blog about happenings at work, but last night was a blog-worthy night.

I wish I could go into all the juicy details (and there's lots!), but I can't shouldn't. In a nutshell, a doctor threw a fit about something that I have no control over whatsoever as a nurse and ultimately affected the care my patient received. It was absolutely ridiculous. This doctor made me SO mad, I actually found my voice and stood up for myself and more importantly for my patient who I am an advocate for!!! {I'm usually very timid and afraid to step on anyone's toes... you'll notice this theme again...}. We went back & forth for a good 5 minutes on the phone. Bummer, it got me no where. I immediately informed my charge nurse and over the course of the night/morning, I spoke with 5 people different people in 4 different areas of the patient care team, 3 of which are supervisors/managers! As professionally and neutrally as I could as to not bash the doctor, I explained the situation to my patient and thankfully he/she understood. I must have kept apologizing because I remember them saying "I know it's not your fault, Lauren". I'm sure I will hear more of the incident in the near future... goodie.

So after all that, I went down to the cafeteria with 2 other nurses to get "lunch". I ordered a BLT from the grill. The "chef" rolled her eyes at me, probably because BLT is not on the every day menu; it is offered on occasion as a "grill special". I get it a lot {remember, I've been craving bacon lately!} and it's never been a problem. All that is involved is throwing 2 pieces of bread with butter on the grill and putting a few strips of already-cooked-sitting-under-the-warmer bacon on it. Shredded lettuce & tomato slices are kept on the self-serve condiments bar so I do that part myself; when it's the "special", the "chef" has leaf lettuce & tomato slices and makes the whole sandwich for you. Big difference, huh? While my toast was cooking along with several other people's orders, the "chef" went over to work on something else behind the counter. I watched her handle raw bacon then put some pans into the sink and wash them out... I kept thinking to myself, "She's going to change her gloves, she's going to change her gloves" but tried to come up with the nicest thing to say in case she didn't. Sure enough, she walked back to the grill and continued preparing food without changing her gloves!!!!!! Now the pressure's on for me to speak up. I kept praying that she would just use tongs to serve my bacon, but no. I started to speak just as her hand went in. I think I got out "Um, could you just--" when she said "What, hun?" and I chickened out and said "Uh-- Never mind". I took the plate from her. I was disgusted by my BLT and frustrated with myself.

I did not realize anyone else noticed, but Vivian, one of the nurses I work with, was standing next to me and picked up on the whole thing. She was lucky and ordered tater tots that were served with tongs! I went on ahead through the checkout line and paid for my nasty BLT. Jamie, my friend & the other nurse with us, suggested I microwave the bacon when we got back to our floor. But when Vivian met up with us, she said she'd take it back for me! The cashier approached us so we told her what was wrong- and I BURST into tears!!! She was really nice & made me a fresh BLT herself. Seriously? I cried over a sandwich. That was my first silly, pregnancy-hormone related breakdown. It didn't take me long at all to start laughing and crying. A few minutes later, I was all better! The sad thing is the cashier said "Sure baby, no problem. Just don't mention anything, you know she's got a big mouth". Well, I have already left a message for their manager to contact me because that cross-contamination is NOT okay.

In addition to that, I was:
*cussed out/yelled at/verbally abused by a patient several times
*fussed at by a pharmacist. First I wasn't 100% sure I had done the right thing but I searched through my saved e-mails and found where my manager specifically instructed us to do what I did... I called her back to tell her this, but she was still unhappy. I wanted to say "Take it up with SOMEONE ELSE!!!"

I'm so glad to have tonight off.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -Jesus [[John 16:33]]