After a brief detour...

... I'm back on track. I had a nasty intestinal bug that took me several days to shake. Diarrhea is just a word 'till you have it every 15 minutes...

By the time I shook it off, I had a night shift Monday night, followed by an exam in my Medical Microbiology class yesterday and nursing class 'till nearly 8pm. Whew!

I'm getting concerned about the patient load I'm being assigned at the hospital. When I came on Monday night, I was about to be assigned 12 patients. 12. I'm fresh out of LPN school, for cryin' out loud. I had to get all vocal about it and ended up with 7.

Even the most experienced nurses with whom I work stay stressed out and behind at work. I'm thinking, doesn't it stop making sense when it's 3am and nurses haven't opened charts from when they came on at 7pm? Isn't that exposing them to unnecessary risk? Doesn't it place patients at risk when your patient load is that heavy? At the very least, doesn't it impact patient care?

At any rate, it dampens my enthusiasm for work. I'm going to start looking around at other area hosptials to see what they offer. Why not drive a little distance if it means higher pay, better benefits and lighter patient loads?

Enough of that. I'm about to be on my way to stay the night with my Mom & Dad. They live closer to the state capitol, where I'll be tomorrow to participate in the American Cancer Society's Lobby Day.

Yeah, that's right. Not only am I a "gun nut," but I also play a lobbyist. Good Lord, I'm like the embodiment of abject evil...