The front of the Harley Street Clinic, my new hospital.
It’s official, I am back in the working world! As of last Friday, I am earning some money and getting back into nursing, well a little nursing, still waiting for that silly little number to be processed so I can actually have responsibility and duties all my own. Wait, do I really want that?!?
My current uniform, it will change to dark purple top when I am a RN
walking to work in the morning, before Oxford street wakes up!
I get to work a bit differently these days, gone are the days of walking thru the dark park alone with a steak knife in my bag and ever alert senses! Now I walk 3 minutes to a tube stop, take 3 different tubes, then walk thru Oxford Street (one of the busiest places for tourists, especially in the evening! but very peaceful in the morning) and then I am there! It takes about 40 min, so not too bad considering most of the nurses commute an hour at least…big shout out to the wife here for finding us a house in the perfect location.
View out the window…a bit like Mary Poppins
Now on to the work stuff….it is a bit like starting completely over! Those of you that are nurses on 7 Long have NO IDEA how good you have it, I didn’t when I was there! Everything is done by hand and by the nurses, and I mean everything! The pharmacy makes up the actual chemo, but that is about it! Nurses dilute and mix up every IV infusion, medication, pain med infusions…everything! And because pharmacy isn’t doing all of that, it is necessary to have two nurses check every single medication that is given. Just a small example of how I will be starting completely over! I am up for the challenge though 🙂 Because I am working at a private hospital (and they have free NHS health care in the UK) most (99%) of all patients are foreign. They come from everywhere, even the US! But most are from Russia, Greece, and UAE. I am grateful for my lack of language skills, well not really, but over the years I have figured out how to communicate via body language and gestures, I think it is really going to help me out here! Everything is paper charted, which is a serious flash back to when I first became a nurse…have to get out the calculator on an hourly basis to total up my in’s and out’s!
Making Ambisome!
Need some added Electrolytes?!? Well, they are all added by the nurses!
Nurses Station, Doctors Station, Break Room…All in one cozy little corner!
Paper Charting!
Liquid medications
Tablets
IV Medications
the on floor pharmacy
EVERY single item has to be scanned and charged to the patient as it is all private pay!
how the narcotics are counted
where narcotics are kept
med room and supply room
Fancy! This is what the patients get in their rooms!
That all being said, the nurses are great. They have been so helpful and welcoming and really want to learn some of the ways that things were done in the US, well at least on 7Long, and have me help them implement changes for the better. So Lisa Tsang, if you are reading this, you may get an email or two from me…. you always wanted to work internationally right!?!
I think one of hardest things though will be getting use to the “lingo”
Vitals=Obs
Pee=Wee
RoapMap=Flow Chart
Zero=Naught
Bowel Movement= Opening their bowels
Attending doctor=Consultant
And a WHOLE host of different brand names for all the medications! And lots of medications we don’t use in the USA or meds that we do use, that they don’t use…I think these areas are where the learning curve will be the greatest!
Play space for the kids
Overall, these differences are small, huge for now, but I will learn this new and different way of doing things. The one thing that is the same is that I am in the environment I love. There will be things I find strange, and they find strange that I do, but ultimately, I get to do the job I am meant to do. When this process started, I didn’t think I would even get to care for kids, let alone pedi BMT and Oncology.
Yesterday I admitted a teenager who was going to receive his first ever chemo. It felt great to be back in that teaching and supportive role that I love. His cousin brought him a shirt that said “FUCK CANCER”. I guess it doesn’t matter what country you are from, everyone has the same thoughts towards cancer.
I left work yesterday with a smile on my face and a pep in my step. I am so happy to be back in the game!
Adventures in love & life 