A day in my life...

Ever wondered what it's like to be a nurse? 
The long hours, no breaks, and heaps of overtime. Nah, not really. I can't complain about my day. 
Nursing is one of those jobs where you never know what your day will hold. Even when I prepare for my day in the morning, it might end up completely different by the time I walk out of the hospital. 
This means that one of the best traits for a nurse to have is adaptability - the ability to handle any situation as it arises. 

Take a look to see what a typical day in my life entails. 
If this post proves popular, I will write one about be day of being on call. 

5:45am: My alarm clock rings. I decide that I'm still sleepy, so I snooze!
6:15am: Second alarm clock. Well, better get out of bed now. Like all millennials - I gotta check all of my notifications. Time for breakfast, something healthy to start the day.  Go through my closet and find something nice to wear to work (mind you I only walk from my car to the hospital before getting changed again). Get ready to seize my day! 
7:00am: Leave to go to work.
7:10am: Arrive at work. Get changed into theatre scrubs. Greet my Nurse Unit Manager, who is usually standing by the whiteboard preparing for his day. At this point I go into my allocated Operating Theatre and make sure that my machines have been tested in the morning, and that everything is well stocked. I'll take a look at my theatre list, and prepare for my day.
7:45am: Start the work day by having a team huddle at the whiteboard. Here we can talk about any concerns or issues that we think may arise during the day, and notify of any list changes. 
7:50am: Greet my patient, assess them and comfort them. We have an amazing nurse who makes sure that all our patients are in the holding bays (where you wait before your operation) on time so that we have enough time to meet them, ask questions and assess their health. This is also a great time to comfort them if they are scared. After seeing my patient, I will go and find my anaesthetist. I will tell them what I have found out, and confirmed our anaesthetic plan.
8:00am: Check in with the scrub and scout nurses, and see if there is anything that I can help them with. 
8:30am: Time to get the show on the road by bringing the first patient into theatre. 

From here, I spend the rest of my day greeting the next patients, preparing the operating theatre for them, working on an anaesthetic plan, and caring for patients throughout their operation. Everyday is different, with new patients and new challenges to work through. Some days are less busy, and some days feel like they'll never end. But no day is so stressful that you can't have some fun with your colleagues. We spend most of our lives at work, so why make it boring? 

End of the Day: Once the theatre list is finished, and our last patient has left us, it's time to start the clean up. Of course, this isn't done without some music playing. And, we all come to help each other. At this part of the day I also replace the disposables on the anaesthetic machine, do a machine check (just in case there is an emergency overnight), and restock my trolley (trust me, you'll be in trouble the next day if you haven't restocked!). 

7:15pm: Time to get changed, leave work and head to the gym. 
8:00pm: This is the time where I realise that I'm too tired for the gym, and decide to go home!
8:15pm: Have some dinner, finally! Take a shower, and get ready for tomorrow. 
9:00pm: Hmmm... Study or Netflix? Guess that assignment could wait another day.


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