Today was my first day back at work on the ward as an actual paid RN! Man! Did I earn my pay today!

Within 1 hour of starting I had one person go home, before she had even left, a new person was sent up who was going to be admitted to that bed. We had to have her wait in the waiting room until the other woman went home and we could get the bed cleaned.

Just after we put the new patient into that room, I got yet another admission to another room. So that's 1 discharge and 2 admissions within one hour of starting. Usually that hour is spent going to see your existing patients, doing their vital signs and assessing them, plus giving 8 am medications. I was behind from the get go.

I managed to get a 10 minute coffee break (should have been 30 minutes), and I sat down for 15 minutes to have my lunch around 2pm. My lunch should have been 45 minutes. Those were the only 2 times I sat down all day long!

My feet are sore. My legs are sore. My lower back is killing me!
But I loved every minute of it!!!

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi