What have you been up to for the past year?

Hi.  Where have I been?  I am around.  Just working a full time job as a clinic nurse and mommy.  Lack of free time means no time for myself to blog... that is ok.  Life is more important than the internet.

So since my last update I have been working in Ophthalmology as an advise nurse.  Working in the clinic is different from hospital.  I miss the patient care, crazy patients, my bond with my cancer patients, the RRT/codes.  I don't miss the stress.  Working in the clinic is a different kind of stress.  Call volume is high.  Sometimes it seems like there are no appointments.  It can be stressful trying to figure out what eye problem a patient may have and which provider it should go to: Optometry or Ophthalmology.  Eye anatomy is complex and most people who have an eye/vision problem don't take it lightly and want to be seen ASAP.

There are 3 RNs that work in Ophthalmology.  We book appointments for 3 clinics and sometimes book for neighbor islands.  Couple months after I started, my nurse supervisor retired, one of the RN left, then the former charge nurse got promoted to supervisor.  It got so busy and hectic I felt like it was just me working because the new supervisor was busy doing other department tasks.  I don't know how I made it work, but I did.  I became a stronger, better nurse because I had to learn fast to keep up with calls.  If I was slow, we would get complaints.  If I was not on it and did not follow up with patients, we would get complaints. I did not want any complaints.  It's a good thing I am a fast typer.  I had to learn to listen and type at the same time and move on to the next call.  Sometimes I could take 50-90 calls in a day!

After my former charge nurse got promoted, she started training me to become charge nurse.  We hired 3 other RN and since I am the senior of the department by default I became charge.  It is a new role for me.  I feel like a crazy women juggling with knives and fire. I am still learning.  My biggest headache about this job is reassigning staff assignment.  We are short handed by 2 Ophthalmologist, 1 LPN and 1 ophthalmic assistant.  It is nice to have 3 new RN, I can use them doing procedures or in clinic, but that would mean they are not on the phones.  They are trying their best to keep up.  I am just grateful they are flexible. 

This job is stressful but it works for me now.  I have a normal day shift life and I can spend more time with my family.  Is this the job I will stay till I retire?  I am not sure.  I still think about going back to school and finishing my Master's to become a Clinical Nurse Specialist.  I started before I got pregnant, but I had a hard time juggling night shift work and the online class.  I guess I was not too motivated.  Now with a baby not sure if I could do it... I guess this is not the right time for school.  I would rather focus on my family.  I have a little girl to raise and she is my reason I decided to get a day shift job.