!Skeleton crews redux
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agk's phlog 
23 May 2021 @ 2108
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written on x61 after work
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This morning I listened to the Kendrick Lamar album 
where he asks "Who's gonna pray for me?" I thought 
to myself, "I could pray for Brother Kendrick." On 
my drive to work I prayed for him. I did. No lie.

Before that I thought about how I can't go to work 
with bitterness and resentment in my heart for 
management. It distracts me from the needs, strengths, 
and growth of patients and coworkers, and clouds my 
judgment.

There might be a time to talk union and change bad 
staffing ratios, but ruminating on problems is like 
peeing on myself. No good.

I spent a lot of the day running patients and staff 
to the emergency department of the big university 
hospital where my spouse works. I saw a big family 
grieving on the sidewalk and in the parking lot. 
Suicide season is over; it's four-wheeler accident 
season now.

On a hospital run I had a great conversation with a 
coworker who came from the rehabilitation hospital 
where I interned. We have five nurses who came from 
that hospital. He complained about the ratios.

Wound-vacs, tracheostomy care, complex dressing 
changes, ileostomy/colostomy care, tube feedings, 
close monitoring of vitals and fluid balance,
procedures complicated by bariatric status, giving 
crushed meds by tube, etc., are standard nursing 
tasks there. They'd give twenty-one patients with 
that level of acuity to three nurses.

I remember from my internship. The nurses are happy 
things aren't quite so bad here as there. I'm 
excited to get back into physical health nursing. 
It's such an intimate honor to be entrusted with 
someone's care.