Sufficiently transitioned to the schedule of night float. Never had trouble sleeping during the day this time, but staying awake through the night proved difficult at first. Now I can say we are good to go for the rest of the month.
The least fun part of night float I've encountered so far are direct admits to the floor that no one knows anything about. If I'm lucky I get a call from the nurse manager to let me know Mr. So-and-So will be arriving soon. So I have at least some time to try and figure out who Mr. So-and-So is, why he's coming, and what I'm supposed to do with him when he does arrive. If I'm not so lucky I get a call from the nurse manager to let me know that Mr. So-and-So is here....already....in his bed. Leaving me with no time to figure out the who, why, and what. I was unaware that clairvoyance was a necessity in this job. And it makes me wonder if such horrible lack of communication exists across the board....or if we are just extra special at WMC.
The most frustrating part of night float I've encountered so far is the expectation that I handle everything on the floors overnight, and yet without the independence to do just that. To put it in a picture. It's like someone telling you to go pick up boxes, but oh wait, they first tie your hands behind your back. So really what they're saying is 'when you see a box, call someone to come pick it up.' Trouble I've encountered with this method of picking up boxes, is that No. One. Comes. Seriously, I had a patient who had a heart attack, the most I immediately could do on my own was order the labs and studies proving that he was in fact having a heart attack and then call Cardiology. But actual treatment.....it took 6 hours before I could get my seniors to get back to me with the okay to order it. In the meantime, I had sufficiently lost my patience and gone ahead and ordered it at one point....which my senior than made me cancel.....so that he could then tell me to reorder it hours later when he finally conceded that yes, perhaps we should treat. Worse part about this 6 hour delay. None of my seniors actually physically came to the floor to see the patient.
Overall, night float is not bad. I'm learning how to deal with a lot of stuff. Kind of like learning how to swim by throwing you in the water without the floaties. Your head goes under a couple of times. Swallow a mouthful of water. And come up each time coughing and sputtering. Not the nicest way to learn, but perhaps the fastest way.
Much Love.
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