Well hello, here I am again. Without even noticing, we are already halfway to completing the fasting month. It only came to light when I actually looked at the calendar. How time flies.

Without even realising it too, it has been a month since I got back to work. Changes aplenty, I have since got used to the idea of working with the newbies. It was tough for a fast-paced person like me, and I had to keep reminding myself to be patient with them. Thankfully things got better after a while. I can see that some have improved and I'm impressed.

However, there's one thing that upsets me. It's the presence of the new Nurse Clinician (NC). I am truly disappointed by the way she handles things. Let me share with you an incident. It happened on a Monday morning. After the doctors' rounds, I went on to perform my changes. I had a patient, Mr A, a male with a chest tube in place. The team doctors ordered for chest tube suction. Unsure of how to set up the apparatus, I approached the above-mentioned NC in the hope to get some guidance. Her reply to me after that was utterly shocking, as I have never expected it to be coming from an NC.

She asked me, "Is there any senior staff around that can help you?" So I told her, "I'm afraid not, Sister. The rest of the girls are junior staff." She just kept mum, and then this was what she said, "You go around (the ward) and look for someone that can help you. Because I am also not sure."

Still stunned by her reply, I hurriedly went to the other side of the ward to look for help. I knew nobody would be able to help cos all of them were busy with their own changes. And it's a Monday morning for God's sake! Nevertheless, I tried my luck, went over to Renal but all the Staff Nurses were out of sight. Thankfully, a senior friend in Surgical was on duty so I got him to show me the how-tos.

After a very brief session, I quickly grabbed the stuff needed from the store room and began setting up the whole apparatus. I had a good 20 minutes of go-figure-myself, before I finally got the whole thing fully set up. And when I finished, this woman came walking into the cubicle and asked, "So you already set up the whole thing?" And she began inspecting the apparatus.

And then came the bonus question, "So how did you manage to do it?" Thinking back about the whole incident, I felt furious. One, an NC is supposed to provide support and guide the nurses in the clinical area and not let them "suffer" on their own. She is the backbone of the nurses. Two, an NC should be more professional in managing such issues. She could have looked for solutions with me, instead of just shooing me away with the words "I don't know". Lastly, I don't and can never accept those three words coming from an NC. My concern is, just how were you promoted to become an NC?

That one incident have me lose the respect that I had for her. Now she better don't bullshit with me with things like, "If there is any problem, please come and approach/clarify with me." EVER AGAIN. Cos rest assured I won't.

I am very depressed and disgusted at present day's nursing workflow. Everyone works on manual mode. Need anything? Kindly push the start button. It has only been a week but I'm already sick and tired of chasing after people. Even a simple task can become so complicated. Things like "Anyone measured Mr A's urine output?" *Silence* "Err don't look at me I don't know. Ask her she's assigned to this room." What's worse is when the girl you hoped had the answer replied something like "I wasn't the one who measured.. maybe you can check with the patient himself? He's quite rationale he will know."

If I were to ask the patient every single thing then what are you here for? More importantly where is the teamwork? Gone were the days when both staff nurses and assistant nurses work together to ensure tasks are completed well. Can all of us stop being so calculative? We're a team and should function as one! And seniors please don't grumble at the sight of incomplete documentation. It's partly your fault too for not guiding/teaching them juniors to do it the right way.

I knew this was not going to be easy. INVASION OF NEW STAFF. How I hate it now.

You make me feel vainest today.
Thank you mister.

(:

So today I made my 3rd visit to the doctor's. Judging from the Xrays he said my fractures have healed BUT may not be as strong as before. He told me too I can ditch my hand splint already. However I still feel unhappy that he gave me another month's leave from work. I really hope I can resume before August or I can just forget about my one-week getaway in December.

Bones aside let's talk about the scar part. The plastic doctor has been managing my facial scars. To date I still remember how painful my first injection was. After that my whole lip started to swell for nearly one week. Gawd. Thinking back I would rather have the scar to "remodel" itself for 18 months than to suffer looking like a duck. A horrendous one at that. And what's worse I have to live a life similar to a vampire's. No exposure to sun for an outdoor person like me. How is that even possible? Meanwhile I am desperately in need of concealers. The bonus and gst money is in! Shopping anyone? :D :D :D

I know many don't really like him.. but this goal is just amazing (:

Kaka's red card this morning was definitely not fair. And that Ivorian was clearly over-reacting!
It felt very heartbreaking to see him walk off the field. Just like that )):