Great Shift

I had a wonderful shift as a bank healthcare assistant on an emergency medical assessment unit(EMAU) today. This shift has come in the middle of a series of horrifically busy and understaffed shifts. Today we were busy(the busiest ward in the hospital) and understaffed as well. The key difference was who I was working with. My recent bad shifts have been working with people who panic, they get stressed and it paralyses them. I honestly found someone crying at the fact our linin cupboard had run out of organge pajamas so she would have to dress her patients in the green or pink ones. When one person on a shift gets overly stressed the rest of staff on that shift feel it and get stressed too. Fortunately working on A&E has taught me how to stay calm when others are freaking out however eventually it does get to me too.

Todays shift was busy, I had fourteen patients to myself as did the other three healthcare assistants(its a big ward). However I spent more time on this shift laughing than any other time in my recent memory. We kept each other calm and focused. There was one point where another HCA was feeling a bit shakey about being told to take the obs of a patient she knew was close to death(I recently posted on a similar matter). I uttered something along the lines of "Our job is to play the game, and if we get really really good at it we can change some of the smaller rules". It was just an off the cuff and hopefully supportive sentiment which had the desired effect however it wasnt until I had said it that I realised it was true. The best incentive for ambition in healthcare is the ability to tweek the minor rules regarding patient care(the big rules will never be dictated by anyone with a clinical education).

I'm currently aching but still smiling, Today wasnt just about the much needed money for me, I really enjoyed my shift.