Back in the Saddle

So tomorrow I am heading to the coast for a 2 week ER contract. Today I pulled my scrubs out from the back of my closet and found my stethoscope. Those clothes are like a costume that I haven't worn in a really long time...I seem to forget the role that I used to play in them.

I am feeling pretty excited and slightly gun shy about going back to work after not touching a patient for almost a year. Plus I was outpost nursing prior to going back to school full time, so it has been over a year and a half since I've even stepped foot in an actual ER department.

As opposed to me flicking on the lights in an empty clinic, and making my way to the trauma room in the middle of the night, wearing half pajamas and half clinic clothes. That has been my only type of emergency 'department' for a long time.

Why is is Murphy's Law that when you are wearing a polka-dot drawstring pair of pants to see a see a kid in the middle of the night (who you saw that afternoon and seemed to be improving) that they inevitably are the pt that needs to be medivaced by the Infant Transport Team and a peds resident? So this big group of SUPERSTARS show up with a couple of bush pilots and you look like you just crawled out of the tickle chest on a kids t.v show. They think you're a psyche patient that is also being medivaced and look around for the nurse (true story).

And you spend the rest of the pack and stack time trying to demonstrate to the transport team that you are
a) not a psyche patient (at least not that night)
b) a competent and knowledgeable health care provider despite your appearance, slowed speech, and lazy eye from lack of sleep.

But this job will be nothing like that. This is a nice, old fashioned, rural ER. Now I have to play nice with others again. I don't get to do the fun stuff like suturing when I am in the south. It's tough having your skill set and brain usage cut in half. It's not that actually. I am still using my brain, I just have to mostly keep my thoughts to myself.

Now I am back to needing an order to give a tylenol. Back to biting my tongue. I am sure it'll be fun though, overall. I do miss working and I do love being at the bedside.

So tomorrow brings another 6h drive through the mountains. At least I'll have David Sedaris
and Atul Gawande trapped in my ipod for the ride.