Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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I think I found some uniforms

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Earlier I was talking about getting some new nursing uniforms for when I go back to work. Think positive think positive that I’ll be feeling good enough to go back in December.

I was looking at Scrubs Gallery and I think I found a style of nursing pants that I like. Their flare leg elastic waist band pants. Yeah the elastic waist band doesn’t sound as cool as the flare leg style does, does it? But most nursing uniforms have elastic waistband for comfort and probably because they’re easier to make that way too. I’d maybe match those red pants with this Christmassy scrub top too.

I often end up working with small children so something cheery and playful would be great. yeah, I think I might get those. What do you think?

In those unfortunate times that you’ve had to be hospitalized or even spend a bit of time in the ER did you like the nurses uniforms when they were wearing bright colors or cheery prints?





Going over old bookmarks

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Thinking about what could have been …

I keep thinking about the plastic surgeon that I worked for a few years ago. I helped him start his clinic and he’d offered me part of the profits once the clinic was on it’s feet. What would I be making now if I was still working there? I wonder about that sometime. Oh well I left for the job that I thought was better for me and that’s the way it is.

When I was preparing to take that job I was checking out all kinds of websites on the internet about plastic surgery, Plastic surgery nurses, I even joined the Association of plastic surgery nurses when I started my job. The doctor that I was working for paid for it as he wanted me to join and get as much info as possible to help both me and his clinic.

I still have my list of bookmarks of sites I viewed or even studied! One of them was Facial Plastic Surgery in Austin. It’s packed full of information about the different types of surgeries that are commonly performed. If you are a nurse as I am, or even if you are someone thinking about getting some cosmetic surgery done you might want to visit the site and do some reading.

Back to work soon I hope

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I’m trying to think positively about going back to work. My next visit with the Occupational health doctor takes place December 15th. As with all of my other visits to the good doctor that will be when we decide if I’m off again for a month or more or if I’m finally ready to start working on moderated hours which will gradually increase until I’m back up to 12 hours a day. Ahhhh! Yeah- 3 different 12 hour shifts in four days- that was my usual schedule. No wonder I got sicker and sicker huh?

I think to motivate myself a little bit I might go shopping for some new Nursing Scrubs. Maybe I’ll get some colorful outfits. The patients I care for usually like the uniforms that I wear to work because I like bright colors. Now normally, in my day to day life I don’t wear really bright colors, but when I’m working in the ER I do. Why? I don’t know, but I know it makes the patients a little bit happier so that’s good enough for me.

While I’m looking perhaps I’ll find a lab coat or a suitable sweater to wear at work too. Sometimes it gets cold.

I used to be a plastic surgery nurse

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As some of you know I used to work in a plastic surgery clinic. I helped the doctor set up his practice and I was his only employee when he first started – I was many things- receptionist, computer technician (I set up the whole system! plus the computerized inventory system), assisted during small procedures such as mole removal and then when he did surgeries such as breast augmentation, face lifts and liposuction I cleaned and sterilized all the equipment that he would need for each surgery and laid it out for the team that he brought in to assist him, acted as circulating nurse during the surgeries and then recovery room nurse when the surgery was finished.

I ended up leaving after 6 months because I was just too over worked. My 8 hour days were often 12 hour days or more, and when I wasn’t working for the plastic surgeon I was training in the ER where I now work. Yes I had two extremely heavy nursing jobs at the same time. I worked 7 days a week. Eventually, after 6 months of doing that I had to decide which job I wanted and I decided to work in the ER – mostly at that time because I was so worn out and it was walking distance from my home.

I still wonder from time to time how things would have turned out if I’d continued my career as plastic surgery nurse. Every now and then I get the urge to look up plastic surgery clinics and have a peek at what types of procedures they are doing. It was by doing this that I discovered New Jersey plastic surgeons. They are a group of plastic surgeons who are related. Yeah- two sons and their father all named Dr. Glasgold. How could that not stand out. LOL I’ve never come across a family run cosmetic surgery clinic before. How different. Someone check that place out and tell me if they all look alike.

Perhaps some day, if I get tired of working in the ER I’ll look into working in a plastic surgeons office again. I certainly have some experience behind me, but unless I was paid a heck of a lot more than than the doctor who’s surgery I helped set up paid me I won’t be overworking myself again. Well, maybe I will if I really love the job.

Sqeaky Clean Golden Girl

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Well now I finally understand why I hate citrus flavored drinks. Bleh!

Last week I managed to get an early appointment with the specialist I’ve been waiting to see about my tummy troubles. The appointment went very well! I was quite pleased with how seriously they were taking my situation. I left there with appointments to be made for a special abdominal Cat-Scan, and for an MRI.

Oh yes, I also had to have a ton of blood work done while I was at the hospital. Nice 4 inch bruise on my arm now. It’s black! Plus, as a special treat, I had to have my eyeballs xrayed. Yes you read that correctly. My eyeballs.

Why you ask? Well, I used to be a jeweller. No, not the kind that stands behind the spotless glass counter and sells you expensive jewels. Nope, I was the one who actually made those precious designs. I used to be a diamond cutter (among other things that I did when I was a jeweller). No, I didn’t cut diamonds – I used a diamond on a “Diamond Cutting Machine” to cut designs into gold rings, bracelets, bangles, well – just about anything that is considered jewelery. Whichever diamond I was using spun around at 35,000 rotations per minute. Gold flew everywhere.

Flecks of gold in my hair, on my clothes … embedded in my clothing to tell the truth, on my face and about once every three or four weeks a splinter of gold would find it’s way past my safety goggles and stick into my eyeball. Ow! I can still feel how much that hurt. I’d leave my office and stumble down the buildings stairs to the optometrist that happened to work a few floors down. The receptionist would just say “Again?” and put me in a room to have the good doctor remove the gold from my eye.

Now I really doubt that I still have any gold embedded in my eyeballs, but since I’m going to have an MRI at some undetermined date in the future I had to have my eyes xrayed to make sure. My eyes could explode or something during the test if I do have any metal in them. Interesting yes – but probably not fun.

Wow, when I go off on a tangent, I really go off on a tangent don’t I?

To get us back on track. I hate citrus flavored drinks and I know why. Yep! It has to do with the only scheduled appointment that I left the doctors office with that day. Uh huh. Yep. That’s right- that nasty test. A colonoscopy and gastroscopy.

Ok, those tests really aren’t that nasty. The last few that I’ve had done (last time was January!) I was actually put to sleep. Man that was nice. I’ve done a gastroscopy (tube down throat into stomach) without any sedation in the past thought and that was not pleasant. I highly recommend sedation.

It’s preparing for the test the day before that’s so bad. My appointment was scheduled for September. Now, when you are in a lot of pain and haven’t been able to work for almost eight months, waiting two plus more months for a test that might finally help the doctors get to the bottom of things (pun intended) is a long time. On top of that, the test was scheduled for the day after my birthday!

That would mean I’d have to prepare for the test on my birthday! Ah, no way! My birthday isn’t a big deal, but to have to go through that on my special day, uh huh. I accepted the appointment but asked if they could put me on a cancellation list.

Just my luck, they called me on Thursday and told me that they had a cancellation for Monday at 7 a.m. Boy am I lucky!

Have you figured out why I hate citrus drinks yet? For those that are not in “the know” I’ll tell you why. It’s because the drinks that they make you take the day before your test are citrus flavored. Yeah, the drinks that clean you out. I’m not even going to get into that … let’s just say I’m squeaky clean inside and out right now with 5 hours to go before my test.

It’s bad enough what the drinks do to you. For me it’s particularly bad because I already have abdominal pain. The cramping from the drinks almost made me pass out a few times. But why on earth can’t the drinks come in different flavors? Maybe a chocolate or berry flavored one wouldn’t be so bad?

The clean out stuff that I had to drink on Sunday was very very lemony. So lemony that it seemed like I was sucking on a lemon. I shivered every time I swallowed a sip. Yuck and double yuck.

Wish me luck!

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