baby nurse in a shitstorm

so today was my second day shadowing a nurse on the floor. She had a CRAZY day (both days) although she had *only* 3 patients (most adult med/surg floors you would have 5-6) the patients have complex needs. omg. kids glucose levels rapidly dropping while another kid is needing a med that hasn't been ordered by the doc, threw up her nasogastric tube, and it just went on and on. Plus one of the kids moms yelled at my nurse, and she burst into tears while preparing meds in the med room. I felt so bad and overwhelmed. I mean, i know there will be days like that, but i still don't know how to even work all the pumps, and many of these kids have lines running out of most major organs. SHIT! oh, and speaking of shit. there IS a lot of it. that is not a myth. I think its funny (or insulting) that the perception that the general public has about what "nurses do" is just constantly cleaning up poo or vomit, giving sexy sponge-baths to middle aged men, or being mere handmaidens to patriarchal doctors. oh please, dont even get me started! The work requires complex technical skills, medical knowledge, and mad interpersonal skills. Anyhoo, that said, there is a lot of shit and vomit on this floor. It is a GI floor, so you have to test many of the kids poo for blood (and weigh it, and describe its appearance in detail in the chart) and kids barf, alot. but oh well. Super STinky. i guess i'll just get used to that part of it, and it will make me less quesy. I wanted to work on a medical floor!

Also, they gave me a 2-way pager, so i get pages all day (like "you have a call-parked on 24567" like what the hell does that mean? what? who? where?) that I still don't really know how to answer to respond to. Long story short, its a pretty fast paced environment and its really just hit the ground running. I swear there are like 20 nurses that work on the floor too. I can't even begin to remember who i've met, what their names are, and all that. Geez!

 From here on out, i work 3 12 hour shifts a week (7a-7p). I am tired! I can't wait to get paid! I feel dirty like i need a shower! wish me luck