After four glorious days off—which were amazing, by the way—it’s time to jump right back into a double.

And yes…

I think I may have jinxed myself a little.

Remember when I said the last few weekends had been suspiciously calm?

Yeah.

I should probably stop saying things like that out loud. 👀

But honestly, this first double was still a good day overall.

There was one moment that definitely tested me.

Another resident approached one of my very anxious residents, and from there… things went downhill pretty quickly.

It was hard getting her back to reality.

I ended up giving her a little extra attention throughout the shift, trying different things to help keep her grounded.

We worked on breathing techniques, changed her environment, put on some calming music, and I kept reminding her that she didn’t need to worry about those things right now.

Just breathe.

Focus on your breathing.

One thing at a time.

We made phone calls to family, but unfortunately, those weren’t really helping.

Thankfully, it was also time for her scheduled Ativan, which ended up being helpful.

I also made her some hot tea with milk and honey, which seemed to help settle her down a little.

Sometimes nursing is more than medications and assessments.

Sometimes it’s sitting with someone, redirecting them, changing the environment, reminding them to breathe, and just giving them that extra little bit of attention they need in that moment.

And honestly, I think that’s what she needed today.

Eventually, things settled.

And that was probably the biggest win of the day.

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Of course, we also found ourselves down a dietary staff member.

Because why have enough people when we can just make it work? 😂

And once again, the aides stepped up.

No complaining.

No drama.

They just knew what needed to be done and got it done.

Seriously…

the aides are amazing.

I will say it over and over again.

They are the people who make things work when staffing isn’t exactly ideal.

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Then second shift came around and we got an extra nurse who was shadowing.

And suddenly…

we had:

2 nurses
2 aides
1 activities person

on the unit.

HELLOOOO, DREAM TEAM. 😂🙌🏽

Honestly, I don’t think this combination is happening again anytime soon.

Probably not until I’m the one showing a newly hired nurse the ropes.

But for one shift?

I’ll take it.

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By the end of the night, though…

I was drained.

Physically, sure.

But mostly mentally.

That anxious episode took a lot out of me.

Still, there was one final little victory:

Everyone was in bed by 9 PM.

A definite win.

So here we are.

First double after four days off:

Completed. ✔️

A little chaos? ✔️

A little anxiety? ✔️

Amazing teamwork? ✔️

Dream team staffing? Somehow, yes. 😂

Everyone in bed by 9?

I’ll take it.

One double down.

Now let’s see what the next one brings…

And maybe I’ll stop saying the word calm before I completely jinx myself. 👀

Scrubs and Side Eyes
— Just trying to keep it together one shift at a time.