Long Shifts

Amaryllis update. I am turning it a quarter turn every day. The other plants aren't doing so well.

Fetching are finished. I don't like to use flash, but this is the true colour. A raspberry pink. Serendipitously, my flute teacher picked this colour out of my silk shawl as her favourite. I had already bought the merino/cashmere.

This is the form picture. I loved knitting these again. I loved playing with the magic loop. I can't wait to cast on a pair of socks. Well, I have to wait to buy a stupidly long needle in a crazily small size.

I successfully finished two 12-hour day shifts. Our unit is medicine and palliative. The patients have multiple illnesses in all body systems. But the level of assessment and care is very safe. There is time to include the family, do personal care and assessments and just listen to the patient.I have been welcomed by the headnurse ( an old friend whom I pushed into going into nursing), the nursing educator (very generous with her time though she is juggling many duties) and the nurses on our shift. Now when a nurse asks my preceptor if she can borrow her muscles, she means me.

My nurse preceptor is very sensitive to the bedside environment and has a silence I will never achieve. Days are crazy with patients being admitted and moved from front to back. We have only had one death (while I was in my first report). But if you have a terminal or end-stage illness, and can't manage at home or in our new hospice beds, you'll see me. I started in oncology and I'm OK with this. I'm already fond of one of my families that I didn't appreciate on first impression. I like that there's time for teaching.

Tonight is my first night (in 13 years!) I slept 9 hours last night and hope to lie down from 1-2 pm. It's already coming noon. Better finish the laundry and do my errands. Maybe knitting tonight! I'll bring my silk shawl- easy, pleasant and pretty.