14-16.1.2018 – Night shifts

I had two days off to switch my sleeping schedule. I was almost ready for the night shifts. I woke up late in the afternoon, took a shower, ate, took some pictures and finally went to work. The only missing ingredient now was caffeine. It is a strange feeling walking into the office and seeing everyone else leaving. I settled down onto an office chair and started sipping my first cup of the night. The early evening was busy. I helped people calling for help getting into bed and prepared a tray of medication for the next day. The night went by quietly, we took turns answering calls. At six o’clock I went with the nurse to take blood samples. There were three patients with blood tests scheduled. The first one had very bad circulation in the extremities and even the nurse had trouble finding a vein. He settled for taking a sample from the wrist, right above the thumb. I managed to take samples from the other two patients without any problems, which surprised me since I had tried it only once before – at school. I got some feedback about the technique, which I had for some reason completely forgotten, and corrected myself on the next try. The next night was quite similar. I got to do two more blood tests. Palpating with a bandage on my finger was a little tedious, but I managed well. I had one and a half days off after the two night shifts, which I spent mostly sleeping and then on Wednesday I headed to an evening shift.