Monday Again

I've had enough days off between work days to not dread going to work. Actually, I rarely dread going . . . some days I even look forward to the change in routine. The routine is a bit different every day, so it's nice to have that variety.

There wasn't a nurse Saturday or last night, so SL was extra "funky-no-bath" smelling when I got there. UGH. I think I get her cleaner when I give her a bedbath--I can get to all of her "parts," including her back, much better than I can in the shower. But her mom really likes her to have a shower, so today I gave her one.

She has a custom-built shower chair, and we use a lift to transfer her from her bed to the shower. She's a tall girl, so it's tricky to get her from the bed to the shower without bumping her head or feet on something. Today I was thinking thru the process and realized that if I turned the shower chair the other way, I would not have to turn SL completely around between her bed and the shower, and again on the way back to her bed.

I got her undressed completely and got the sling positioned under her in bed. I took a few minutes to make sure everything was set up in the bathroom, and then transfered her to the shower chair. The shower went OK . . .but my legs got soaked! I'm not the most graceful person in the world when it comes to water . . .

I did SL's trach and g-tube care while she was in the shower; it was nice to do it in the bathroom where all the supplies are located. I enjoy doing those technical tasks; it makes me really feel like I'm using my nursing education.

When I went to put pads and a towel on the bed before I took SL back to bed, I discovered that in the time she'd been on the sling and before I took her to the tub, she'd urinated a LOT--and I had to do a quick linen change. ARGH! Monday.

SL did NOT like her shower . . . and it took longer than giving her a bedbath and washing her hair in bed . . . plus I had to wash her back and bottom when I got her back in bed, to complete the bath. I know it's important to her mom . . . so I'll continue to do it, at least once in awhile!

Private Duty/Home Health nursing is different than acute care nursing in that family preferences and routine dictate OUR routine much more than they do in the hospital. This can be good . . . or bad! Most of the parents are extremely knowledgeable about their child's illness or condition and medications and treatments. All the parents I've met in doing private duty/home health nursing have had at least one quirk relating to the care of their child . . . but then again, ALL of us have quirks when dealing with our children! The majority of the parents have been easy to work around, at least for me.

Part of what I love about private duty/home health (from now on known as PD/HH) nursing IS the usually relaxed pace of only having one patient. Even if the patient has multiple medications and treatments, and/or needs constant supervision . . . the nurse can do everything without that feeling of having three more patients down the hall waiting for their own medication/treatment/cares, etc.

Time to check my other patient . . . my son! More about him tomorrow.