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It’s the end of a 12-hour shift at the geriatric psychiatry unit where I work. I’m standing in the hallway waiting for night shift to come out of report. A very delusional woman is conversing brightly with a very confused gentleman who thinks he’s at the bowling alley (but he can’t find his bowling shoes). [...]

One of the things I love most about my job is that you just never know what is going to happen next. It’s never boring! Here’s just one small example of what I mean.
The setting: The geropsych unit where I work, in “Fred’s” room, where he’s just waked up and I’m helping him dress for [...]

Since I haven’t had much time for blogging lately, I thought I’d share something I wrote for school. This is an excerpt from a paper for one of my nursing classes. I hope you like it.
It was compassion that precipitated my journey toward a career in nursing, and like many of my peers, I had [...]

A couple of years ago we found ourselves deep in the throes of a post-911 tech industry downturn financial famine. I had gone from making a six-figure income to being unemployed for 18 months before I finally found work. Jeff had taken on two after-hours jobs to supplement his full-time county employment, and I was [...]

Night Shift
Originally uploaded by LadyLong.
These are some of my co-workers at the hospital. Scott (left) is an RN. He’s about 6′4″ and comes in handy for intimidating problem patients. Jenni is my compadre, another CNA (certified nursing assistant) in nursing school, so during the school term we are always the weekend CNAs. David (right) [...]

I had a patient recently who will stay in my memory for many years to come.
He’s not an old man, barely middle-aged. He’s a homeless drunk, “frequent flier” on the hospital unit where I work as an aide. He’s admitted on a regular basis for various injuries and illnesses. Now he’s got cirrhosis and cancer [...]

Doing admit vitals on a new patient one night, an elderly man with twinkling eyes, long hair, and a Santa Claus beard, I asked him how tall he was. “Pert’ near tall as you are,” he replied, looking up at me from where he lay on the hospital bed. “I’m six two,” I said. “Is [...]