Glamorous Nurses

Is nursing a glamorous job? Hardly. The nurses you see on TV or in movies bear virtually no resemblence to the ones I work with. We are not perfectly made up and our hair is not perfectly styled. Our scrubs are not tailor made and our bodies are far from perfect. Sometimes we don't get breaks and when we do, we certainly don't get to go out on the roof with a hot male doctor and kiss passionately underneath the stars (an actual scene on ER).

Oh, yeah, we're so glamorous!

What are real nurses like? Well, we're predominately female but that is changing. I've worked one shift where I was the only female nurse and not one of those male nurses was gay. That's another nursing myth which assumes that if a male is a nurse, he must be gay. I'm telling you it's just not true.

Makeup? What's that? Most of us have full-time jobs as homemakers and mothers; personally, I'm lucky to have time for mascara, and that's on a good day. Not only do we not wear makeup, we do not bother to hide the circles under our eyes that come from years of shfift work.

Our hair is hurriedly tied into a pony tail as we rush out the door. Who has time to style their hair to perfection? The young nurses with no family responsibilities, that's who. They've also got the income for regular haircuts and colors. Tonight I'm at work with half an inch of grey roots showing and I don't really care. While I believe that we should care more about our appearance, work is not a meat market.

Our scrubs tend to be loose and baggy and cofortable. When you are bending down to pick up dropped pills or to check a urine bag, loose clothing works best. It's not realistic to wear tight scrubs with the amount of moving around we do.

The other reason our scrubs are comfortable and loose is that it hides our imperfect bodies. While you'd think with the miles we walk every shift our bodies would be firm and buff, that is simply not the case. Any benefit that may be gained from our highly physical job is quicky negated by junk food. Appreciative patients and family members believe that chocolates and other sweets is a way of expressing gratitude. Would it kill anyone to bring us veggies and dip once in awhile?!

By law we are entitled to 97.5 minutes of break per 12 hour shift. When we get breaks we inhale our food and argue over who gets to curl up on our miniature couch. As far as I know, there is no way for staff to get up to the roof. As far as having a makeout session under the stars, there's not one male I've met to date that I would consider a makeout partner.

TV doesn't show the routine things a nurse does in a shift. So far tonight I've taken vital signs 7 times, given numerous narcotics and other medications. I've turned 4 patients, and checked each of their bums for potential skin breakdown. I've checked urine bags for amount and color of urine. I've looked at a bazillion dressings, done two hours of paperwork, poked a few fingers for blood sugar checks, given some puffers, and done a little impromptu dancing with a patient of mine.

The rest of my night is more of the same. And when my shift ends at 0745 I'll drive an hour home, pay the sitter, do some errands around town, and pray fervently that naptime for Kev comes early.

First Day at Our New Home

The car was loaded to the max before 0900 but we couldn't leave because of a scheduled appointment at 1020. After the appointment we made the hour long drive to Steinbach, stopped at Century 21 where I nearly whooped for joy when the keys were in my hand! Poor staff, they must not be used to such displays of emotion.

Off to the house; I have been briefing Kev on moving for a few weeks now, so this did not seem to be a surprise to him at all. The house was a mere 12 degrees and Kev was feverish so he began shivering violently once inside the house. Luckily I, being the clever and organized Grandma that I am, had brought a large bag of blankets in the car. He soon feel asleep in the nest I made for him on the living room carpet, and I unpacked the car. By the time he woke, the tylenol had taken effect and he was ready to explore. We dumped a giant bin (again, organized and thoughtful Grandma) of toys on his bedroom floor; toys that he hadn't seen in the four weeks since I packed them away. What excitement!! It was as if I had given him all new toys!

Interestingly, Kev's bedroom is not a "bedroom" on the floor plan, it is a "lifestyle" room! Hmmm, still trying to decide what that is. His room is at the very front of the house, facing
south. The window has curtains but it's going to also need blinds to keep out the bright summer sun in the mornings.

Yesterday was a day where things just kept getting better and better! As I pulled up to the house for the very first time, I got a call from Bethesda Hospital. My start date is March 15; I'll be starting with a fairly lengthy and intensive orientation to the Emergency Department. I laughed when they asked if I would be okay with them starting me at a higher EFT than I was hired into! Of course!! We also discussed the possibility of floating off to the medical or surgical wards.

Late afternoon found Kev and I at his new babysitter's home, simply getting him acquainted with her and the other children in her care. I've known her all my life so we discussed different things. She is also a single parent and we obviously have some of the same issues in that area. Bringing Kev to her home means 20 minutes and 12 miles of driving before and after every shift, plus I'm paying her more than a public daycare. Why? Because I want a sitter who will truly love my child, and a sitter that Kev can bond with and feel at ease with. He has all those things at his current daycare in the city; I am extremely particular of who I allow to take care of him in my absence. I also need to have open communication with the sitter, and common ideas as to what quality childcare is.

Back to the new house, we brought my Mom and my dear sister in laws to tour my magnificent mansion. They were suitably impressed! Especially with my organized closet! Ha! It'll be that neat and organized for a month or two! Besides, there were only hangars and shoes in the HUGE closet.

Suppertime rolled around and Virg came over and shared pizza with me; later another friend came down and finished the last of the pizza so I wouldn't have to deal with leftovers. It was fantastic having people over to my house and knowing that these same people are now neighbors and can drop by anytime without having to make an hour long drive!

In short, it feels like life is coming together beautifully! Being in the house felt "home-like" instantly. Kev was relaxed there and even showed Virg his bedroom when she asked! The drive to get my Mom was so short! When it was time to head back to the city for night, it was quite difficult to leave; had I thought to bring along my evening medication, we would have spent the night there.

At this point, it sounds like we'll be moving more boxes today and spending time there till Monday. Them returning to the city for my last two day shifts, then completing the move next weekend.

Thanks for reading, hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

More Details

As promised, and I know you all were waiting with baited breath for this post, here are more details about the position I've accepted at Bethesda Hospital.


It's a .4 position, which means that out of every six week rotation I will be scheduled for 8 12-hour shifts. That's not a lot for the sole money-maker of the house. It'd be great as a supplementary income in a two parent home, but not enough for my situation. And that is why I look for extra shifts whenever and wherever I can. At HSC I nearly doubled my shifts just by picking up extras.

Some people ask me why I don't look for a full-time position. It's very simple, I love the flexibility this gives me. I can work as much or as little as I want. It allows me lengthy periods of time off work if I choose; my last rotation had 2 11-day gaps in it. Usually I filled them with extra shifts, but sometimes I used them as a mini vacation at home. Until recently there has never been a shortage of hours for pick up and that was awesome!

The position is in the Emergency Department of the Bethesda Hospital, which is something I've been eager to try for a long looooooong time! This emergency department is quite busy due to the rapidly growing population of Southeastern Manitoba. So busy that they are planning to break ground for a new ER sometime in spring. Exciting stuff!

Apparently I will receive a lengthy and extensive orientation, which suits me just fine!! There will be some courses that I need to take and I've been warned that I will have lots of reading to do. A challenge? Bring it on!

HSC has an IV team; ward nurses do not do IV starts. At Bethesda we do that ourselves, that's another skill I'll need to work on. I've successfully started two IV's in my nursing career and did the dance of joy each time. Have I ever mentioned that I really love being a nurse?!!

My last day shifts at HSC are next Tuesday and Wednesday; my last night shifts are the following Monday and Thursday. That makes my last shift March 11. I'm hoping that my start date at Bethesda will be March 15, but am currently unsure.

Best news of all, my position does not include any nights. Days and evenings only. Not sure how that will work with babysitting, bit I have faith that something will work out.

There's the details I promised. Enjoy!