Shut the front door!

As a nurse, you have to leave your ego at the door of the hospital. When dealing with people's lives, there is no time to nurture someone's wounded pride when they are wrong and the risks are too high to think you know it all. This is particularly true as a travel nurse, I've decided. I had been told several times before I left on this adventure by other travel nurses, don't try to change how the facility does things. Just follow their rules and don't offer your opinion.

Today challenged my ability to bite my tongue. I was given an order by the physician, I carried out that order, and documented my actions. No problem, right? Well, I learned the nurse I work with would "never have done it that way." I didn't violate any policy, just the way the nurse would want things done. It was difficult for me to navigate through this situation without sticking my foot totally in my mouth. I had to accept that I didn't harm the patient in any way, nor did I disobey any policies set forth by the institution. But, in order to "play by the rules" I had to accept what this nurse was saying and move on. Because, again, I'm not there to fix or change anything, I'm there simply to do a job. At the end of the day, as long as the patients are taken care of, that's all that matters, not my ego.

Sorry for the random buzzing and alert tone in the background, an incoming text message interrupted my video!