A Different Kind of Toxicity

Toxicity have different meanings in a nurse point of view. It may mean toxic patient, toxic doctor or toxic relatives. But one thing for sure, toxicity means stressful.

In an operating room set-up, being toxic may mean having a lot of cases in a day that even though you're in a 6am-2pm shift, it is 100% sure that you will be asked to do an overtime work and you'll be getting home late. Being toxic may also mean having a toxic case, where the patient have a lot of contraptions when brought to OR or the patient may end up in ICU after the surgery. Or being toxic in an OR may mean having a toxic surgeon or anesthesiologist, that even though your case is simple and the patient is not in an immediate danger, you'll still be having a stressful day.

Anyways, today I experienced a different kind of toxicity and that is being a head nurse for the day or HNOD. I knew from the start that being a HNOD is difficult but it was only yesterday that I experienced how difficult it was. In our department it was not only in one shift that you'll become a HNOD. Aside from the 2-10 shift, you'll be automatically become the HNOD for the 6-2 shift the following day. Mahirap yun dahil every 8 ka na nga, toxic pa buhay mo.

The 6-2 HNOD is difficult because if there's a problem in the schedule, or in the supplies, equipments, rooms, you'll need to face the wrath of the consultants that were being affected. On the other hand, the 2-10 HNOD's toxicity comes from how you need to arrange and prepare the operating room the following day. Ang mahirap dito, every now and then may tatawag to schedule an operation the following day and you need to satisfy what the consultants wanted. But sometimes it was difficult because some of them wanted to do the surgery on a certain time but unfortunately, there are no more available rooms for that surgery.

Anyways, today I'm a 2-10 HNOD. Supposedly tomorrow I should be a 6-2 HNOD but Sir G asked me to have a change of shift with him, so instead of being a 6-2 HNOD, he'll take that and I'll be the 2-10 HNOD instead (yun kasi sched nya, palit na lang daw kami). So in the end, I'm having a 2-10 HNOD again. I'm just hoping that it would not be difficult like yesterday.

Kahapon kasi hirap na hirap na ako. Andaming nagpapasched at wala na akong mga kwarto to accommodate their surgeries ang masaklap pa ayaw nilang ipa ibang araw yung mga surgeries nila. Tsk tsk mga pasaway na serohano.

Goodluck na lang talaga sa akin tomorrow!