And so it is the end of the current quarter.

7 weeks, going into the 8th week of leadership.

But.

I have not looked at my graded work.

All of a sudden I am afraid to look.

I put this fear down to the C I got last summer.

The one that knocked me out of the program.

I got myself back in.

But now I am afraid to look at my progress.

How do I do this?

At my latest shared governance meeting, which I was not anticipating,  I shared my latest project with one of the other nurses.

And, to my surprise, she was interested and thought it would be useful for her coworkers who also don’t sleep on call.

So, I am developing it to share sooner than I thought.

And the call for poster abstracts went out this week and I have until September 27 to write up the Call Preserver for AORN next week.

Apparently I was wrong.

The presentation abstract and the poster abstract.

Two totally different things.

Which means that when I submitted last year for my RF project I only submitted for the presentation.

Not the poster.

Bother.

Now I am going to submit both projects.

Fingers crossed.

Wish me luck.

The thing about becoming a fully functional OR nurse is that the education cannot stop with me.

I cannot stop learning.

I cannot stop teaching.

Today, I cannot stop validating what other people know.

The corporation that I work for has mandatory annual validation of skills.

Every employee has to do online education every year.

Some of the skills must be validated.

Today I am running the Fire Safety and Prevention booth for OR/PACU/ENDO staff.

I am manning the table from 0700-1200.

Although I am a big proponent of being paid every time I work, I am volunteering today.

Why?

Because I will eventually be paid when I turn my clinical ladder in next year.

I can wait for the payoff.

I am patient.

The Call-Preserver: how to be successful at call and get some sleep is the title of my presentation submission for AORN for next year.

I don’t like the submission process.

I am not a brief writer.

I am much funnier in person.

But I believe in my project.

People need to relax on call.

People need to sleep on call.

Neither of which is happening for some people.

I want to help.

I want to be their life-preserver.

Their Call-preserver.

You see what I did there?

I’m not supposed to be working this much.

I’m not.

I should have realized that opening the expansion of the hospital would come with some serious hours attached.

I’m not sure why, though.

I was involved in some of the planning.

I went to the opening day party.

On my lunch break. (The falafel pita was wonderful! More foodtrucks!!!)

And I worked my regular shift.

Plus an 8 hour pediatric life support class.

Plus a 2 hour mandatory education class.

Plus a one hour seminar on staff injury that I chose to watch.

Plus a one hour seminar on leadership roles.

Plus 24 hours of week call (we worked 6 hours).

Plus 48 hours of weekend call (we worked 12).

Plus 4 hour professional nurse council meeting.

Plus evenings has been slammed all week.

No, I’m not really sure how I got to over fifty hours.

Not sure at all.

(facepalm)

And Nurse’s Week bled into Hospital Week which was the same week as the Magnet Site visit for my hospital system.

Being involved as I am in leadership, and Shared Governance, and all around yes-woman, I worked a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean it.

I squired around my hospital’s Magnet appraiser for two days, plus worked my usual shift. As I do.

One day of just my shift.

Two more days of Magnet meetings.

Plus my shift.

Is it any wonder I left on pager at 2100 on Friday night?

Of course I was on call the weekend.

Of course.

And did another 12 hour day and 6 hour day.

I’ve been work hungover all week.

Naps and sleeping late.

Ignoring my work email.

I deserve it.

My class for the quarter is Management and Leadership. As I understand I have to create a strategic plan for a fake business as the major project. I need to read more about what exactly it entails.

I am rather tired of the less than stellar explanations of major papers.

Sigh.

Back to the keyboard and books.

Happy Nurse’s Week. And teacher appreciation week as well.

Wednesday I received a nurse of the year award from my hospital system at a dinner near the mother ship hospital. I was the only one from my hospital.

It was lovely.

My dad was there and watched me get the award. Which was amazing that he was still in town as I’d expected him to go back to California the week before. But he stayed to go to the awards banquet.

I’m not much on people or awards banquets, being introverted and shy. I can tell when I’m overwhelmed, I stand at rest, my hands at the base of my back. There are probably many pictures of me standing like that from Wednesday.

But I am happy I won this award. My husband jokes that we need more wall space. I tell him it’s the third award I’ve received, in eighteen years so I think our walls are safe.

And a very happy nurse’s week to all the nurses who toil.

Who hold their patient’s hands until the end.

Who welcome newborn babies.

Who work hard so that patients and families do not feel the lack.

Who work behind the scenes so that the hospitalization/surgery/chemotherapy goes smoothly.

Kudos to us all.

This is a hard profession.

And we are all here for it all.

If you didn’t get the message I passed my research class.

The same one I got a C on last year.

The same one that knocked me out for four months while I got my act together.

It was a little easier this time because instead of weekly discussion posts there were 4. And five major papers.

But I passed.

This is the same project that I presented to research council last month and the nurse scientist asked if I could get a poster together to present on May 1 at the poster gallery the main hospital is having.

I did not get my poster to the printer in time.

So I will be using printouts and a trifold posterboard.

But it will be done and presented on Wednesday.

I think I’ll go to bed early.