Today we had a new nurse on duty, and that oh so delicate beast “the chain of command” was broken in a serious way because us lowly PSW’s knew more about what was going on than did our superior. That always makes for an interesting day, but there was the added complication of a very ill patient this morning. I had to tell myself “you are not the nurse on duty” like five times.

I wanted to be the nurse today so badly and did the open mouth-insert foot trick more than I usually care to in one day. It was just really surreal – you see paramedics, you take them to the appropriate room, they ask questions which you start to answer, only to stop halfway and excuse yourself to fetch the nurse. Or when the nurse looks at you with questioning eyes while she’s trying to make a difficult decision.

The last one happens again and again everyday actually when shift change happens. The fresh nurse comes on the floor and you jump up to rattle off the status of patient A and patient B and what you’ve done for their conditions, what needs to be done, what needs to be watched, etc. when all of a sudden you see that funny look on her face. It’s pretty unmistakable. You are not the nurse! My response involves an internal expletive, a pair of eyes and “One day I will be!”

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