Today was expirey day!
We were at Georgetown Grand Cayman Islands. Of course, crew shore leave was suspended due to operational issues. I think that means there wouldn't be enough time for passengers and crew to get on and off via the tender (water taxi) so passengers get to go and crew gets to stay. Just part of the bargain.
So instead, we got expirey day! That is the day when you go through everthing in the clinic, every needle, iv, medicine, fluid start kit, et tube, etc and pull out everything that has expired and replace it. What a great way to find out what and where everything is. Problems is that it was so much that I can't remember it all. Sigh.
So that was busy. Plus the normal clinic stuff. It still isn't as busy as a 12 hour ER shift.
I got in a workout tonight. Running on a treadmill sucks.
Part of running, at least for me, is engaging with the world around you. It isn't just running, it is running somewhere. I can distract myself a little by focusing on getting to the top of that hill, that stop sign, those trees up there. On a treadmill you don't go anywhere. You just keep looking down at the little red numbers and waiting for them to get high enough to quit. It's like watching a clock and waiting something unpleasant to end. It takes forever and it sucks. I want my world back. So I lift things up and put them down more and run less. Instead of body weight exercises and running 5 miles I do deadlifts and squats, bench press and planks, then run 1-2 miles.
I should go see a show or something.
I did go to the OB last night. Officer's Bar, BTW. I had a rum and coke and sat out on the bow of the ship in the dark. It was nice.
Off to bed, I am 1st call tomorrow and need my beauty rest.
Anne, I'm still trying to find out for you. I'll let you know.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
1-14-13
My habit has been to write up my blog posts on the touchpad and then bulk add them to the blog when I have time. This time however, I am going to go ahead and type it right on the computer.
Woohoo!
Big thrills. Such is the life of a cruise nurse.
Today I was 3rd call, which means I am essentially off. Last night I was up from 0100 to 0300 taking care of a drunken fall. I'm getting the hang of the x-ray thing. Still some work to do though. I want to add a few pictures to the blog for those of you who may look and don't have me friended on Facebook. Just not much time or bandwidth right now and pretty crappy cell phone pictures to boot.
OH well, the computer isn't going to let me do it I am afraid. I'll throw a big post of pictures later when I am home.
So today I finished my book and got another one. I ate some food uhhhh....yeah. Oh yeah, I hit the gym. I ran two miles on a treadmill about three miles off the coas of Cuba. I suppose if I had that run on water thing down like Chun from Remo Williams, I could have made it. Probably best to stay on the ship though.
I have made the mistake of turning on the TV a couple of times over the past few days and getting sucked in to movies. Batman, Matrix and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The last one there is not a good movie to watch when you are an absent father missing your family. I became a weeping simp. S'Ok though, the drunken passengers will pull you right out of that.
Quite the different crowd than the Delbert McClinton cruise. And quite different from the non-charter cruise too. I have yet to do a 'regular' cruise. I am figuring things out though. Mostly I just stick to work and my books. Today I ventured up to see a new friend play in the lounge. I will have to get out and see some more of the performers I am meeting practice their craft.
I am amazed at the Phillipino and Indonesian crew members. They work incredibly hard and are always smiling. I wish I spoke the language, but the barrier is pretty stout between language and culture.
The crew calls everyone from medical 'doctor'. I have been told it is quite a waste of time to correct them as they will smile and say, "OK doctor".
I'm still learning the ropes. I'll try to keep the blog updated. Check back if you don't hear from me.
Woohoo!
Big thrills. Such is the life of a cruise nurse.
Today I was 3rd call, which means I am essentially off. Last night I was up from 0100 to 0300 taking care of a drunken fall. I'm getting the hang of the x-ray thing. Still some work to do though. I want to add a few pictures to the blog for those of you who may look and don't have me friended on Facebook. Just not much time or bandwidth right now and pretty crappy cell phone pictures to boot.
OH well, the computer isn't going to let me do it I am afraid. I'll throw a big post of pictures later when I am home.
So today I finished my book and got another one. I ate some food uhhhh....yeah. Oh yeah, I hit the gym. I ran two miles on a treadmill about three miles off the coas of Cuba. I suppose if I had that run on water thing down like Chun from Remo Williams, I could have made it. Probably best to stay on the ship though.
I have made the mistake of turning on the TV a couple of times over the past few days and getting sucked in to movies. Batman, Matrix and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The last one there is not a good movie to watch when you are an absent father missing your family. I became a weeping simp. S'Ok though, the drunken passengers will pull you right out of that.
Quite the different crowd than the Delbert McClinton cruise. And quite different from the non-charter cruise too. I have yet to do a 'regular' cruise. I am figuring things out though. Mostly I just stick to work and my books. Today I ventured up to see a new friend play in the lounge. I will have to get out and see some more of the performers I am meeting practice their craft.
I am amazed at the Phillipino and Indonesian crew members. They work incredibly hard and are always smiling. I wish I spoke the language, but the barrier is pretty stout between language and culture.
The crew calls everyone from medical 'doctor'. I have been told it is quite a waste of time to correct them as they will smile and say, "OK doctor".
I'm still learning the ropes. I'll try to keep the blog updated. Check back if you don't hear from me.
1-13-13
1-13-13
Scene from the buffet line today on the Lido Deck. We are standing in the Asian food line and an older, overweight midwestern gentleman is pointing at the various sushi rolls on display. He points to a daikon nigiri roll It is a half moon shaped slice of a yellow vegetable secured to a bed of rice with a ribbon of seaweed. He asks the small Phillipino man behind the glass and asking what it is. The server responds, "Daikon"'. The man asks, "Bacon?"
The server smiles and shakes his head, "Daikon. It's a vegetable."
"Bacon? The yellow one?"
This goes on for a few seconds as the Phillipino man tries to explain to the passenger in a reasonably heavy accent that the yellow thing is a vegetable and not some mutant bacon. The passenger is standing there wondering what kind of place is serving raw, yellow bacon. I figured it would be best to step in and explain. Once he understood he promptly ordered one of every roll except the freaky yellow bacon.
Scene from the buffet line today on the Lido Deck. We are standing in the Asian food line and an older, overweight midwestern gentleman is pointing at the various sushi rolls on display. He points to a daikon nigiri roll It is a half moon shaped slice of a yellow vegetable secured to a bed of rice with a ribbon of seaweed. He asks the small Phillipino man behind the glass and asking what it is. The server responds, "Daikon"'. The man asks, "Bacon?"
The server smiles and shakes his head, "Daikon. It's a vegetable."
"Bacon? The yellow one?"
This goes on for a few seconds as the Phillipino man tries to explain to the passenger in a reasonably heavy accent that the yellow thing is a vegetable and not some mutant bacon. The passenger is standing there wondering what kind of place is serving raw, yellow bacon. I figured it would be best to step in and explain. Once he understood he promptly ordered one of every roll except the freaky yellow bacon.
1-12-13
1-12-13
Two go off and two go on. Two weeks left in the contract. Today's number is two. Now, a new LMO and crew MO who has been a LMO. Should be a great opportunity for learning everything I can. I got to talk to Sarah today, which is always wonderful. I miss her smile, her face, her voice, her everything. I even got to talk to Michael for a second or two. He was working on coloring some dragon pictues that were his masterpiece. I love them so much.
So we pulled in early morning and the passengers debarked, disembarked, got off, whatever it is officially that they do. Not much happening in the clinic while all that was going on. We got the end of voyage stuff done the previous night. Then we waited a little bit and started boarding the new passengers. This is another charter cruise-some construction supply company. They loaded an open wheeled race car to the back Lido deck pool. They have an open bar for the whole cruise. This could get ugly.
There are NFL playoff games tonight, two of them. I think I will watch a little tonight then off to bed. Tomorrow we go to Half Moon Cay, the private island owned by Carnival cruise lines. The procedures are different, I will be on the island to start and then trade out with someone. I'll try to take some pictures.
Next trip I will have the good camera.
Two go off and two go on. Two weeks left in the contract. Today's number is two. Now, a new LMO and crew MO who has been a LMO. Should be a great opportunity for learning everything I can. I got to talk to Sarah today, which is always wonderful. I miss her smile, her face, her voice, her everything. I even got to talk to Michael for a second or two. He was working on coloring some dragon pictues that were his masterpiece. I love them so much.
So we pulled in early morning and the passengers debarked, disembarked, got off, whatever it is officially that they do. Not much happening in the clinic while all that was going on. We got the end of voyage stuff done the previous night. Then we waited a little bit and started boarding the new passengers. This is another charter cruise-some construction supply company. They loaded an open wheeled race car to the back Lido deck pool. They have an open bar for the whole cruise. This could get ugly.
There are NFL playoff games tonight, two of them. I think I will watch a little tonight then off to bed. Tomorrow we go to Half Moon Cay, the private island owned by Carnival cruise lines. The procedures are different, I will be on the island to start and then trade out with someone. I'll try to take some pictures.
Next trip I will have the good camera.
1-11-13
1-11-13
Today was not as pleasant as yesterday. Started off OK I guess. Awake at 0645, breakfast and then clinic. I did the wheelchair and CPR pocket mask checks which have to be done each voyage. This involved going to every crew stairwell landing and every restaurant and roaming all over the ship to verify that what was supposed to be there was. It took a couple of hours and introduced me to nooks and crannies of which I was previously unaware.
Then lunch and more clinic. Somewhere in this mix I started thinking. Then I reality checked my thinking. You see, there is a conference for full time cruise nurses who will be LMO (Lead Medical Officer). This conference is in San Diego the week of my first cruise with the family. Since I was only penciled in on the cruise, it means they are planning on taking me off of the first 10 day rotation. This causes a lot of problems. I'm not really sure how to deal with them all. Loss of 10 days of much needed pay. Loss of cruising time with the family...much needed time with the family. That would halve the amount of time they would get to cruise with me, which would make us question the cost effectiveness of taking the other half of the cruise. Dominos knocking over other dominos leading to getting squished by an opportunity.
I don't really know what to do about it all. On top of that, I was going to come in and write after I sent an email or two out, but when I went to the clinic, the 1st call was getting a call about two patients coming down. Trying to be a team player, I got stuck over there for an hour working. Such is life.
Today was not as pleasant as yesterday. Started off OK I guess. Awake at 0645, breakfast and then clinic. I did the wheelchair and CPR pocket mask checks which have to be done each voyage. This involved going to every crew stairwell landing and every restaurant and roaming all over the ship to verify that what was supposed to be there was. It took a couple of hours and introduced me to nooks and crannies of which I was previously unaware.
Then lunch and more clinic. Somewhere in this mix I started thinking. Then I reality checked my thinking. You see, there is a conference for full time cruise nurses who will be LMO (Lead Medical Officer). This conference is in San Diego the week of my first cruise with the family. Since I was only penciled in on the cruise, it means they are planning on taking me off of the first 10 day rotation. This causes a lot of problems. I'm not really sure how to deal with them all. Loss of 10 days of much needed pay. Loss of cruising time with the family...much needed time with the family. That would halve the amount of time they would get to cruise with me, which would make us question the cost effectiveness of taking the other half of the cruise. Dominos knocking over other dominos leading to getting squished by an opportunity.
I don't really know what to do about it all. On top of that, I was going to come in and write after I sent an email or two out, but when I went to the clinic, the 1st call was getting a call about two patients coming down. Trying to be a team player, I got stuck over there for an hour working. Such is life.
1-10-13
1-10-13 2138
Ahh...day off. And I took it too. On my other days I had been staying in clinic all the time to learn as much as possible, but today I took off. I checked out a new book from the ship's library and sat in bed for pretty much the entire morning. Then I had lunch with the rest of the medical staff. On the advice of the doctor, I sat out on the promenade deck and read in a deck chair. Very nice.
I did get a workout in. Let me just say for the record that deadlifts and squats are hard on a cruise ship. The weight changes as the ship moves up and down and also side to side. And running on a treadmill is tough too. I want to run on the deck, but that is officially prohibited. That means passengers can get away with it, but I can't.
Tomorrow is back to work. It was a nice holiday and I am glad to have had it.
Back to my book.
Ahh...day off. And I took it too. On my other days I had been staying in clinic all the time to learn as much as possible, but today I took off. I checked out a new book from the ship's library and sat in bed for pretty much the entire morning. Then I had lunch with the rest of the medical staff. On the advice of the doctor, I sat out on the promenade deck and read in a deck chair. Very nice.
I did get a workout in. Let me just say for the record that deadlifts and squats are hard on a cruise ship. The weight changes as the ship moves up and down and also side to side. And running on a treadmill is tough too. I want to run on the deck, but that is officially prohibited. That means passengers can get away with it, but I can't.
Tomorrow is back to work. It was a nice holiday and I am glad to have had it.
Back to my book.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
1-9-13
1-9-13 2156
Wow,busy day. Didn't start off that way, but it sure got that way. It was my first day being 1st call. I got to the clinic, opened it up and started things just like I was supposed to. A few minor problems cropped up, a passenger with a sunburn, seasickness, etc. We got an email saying a passenger had chipped a tooth on a piece of bacon the previous night and declined to see medical. The passenger showed up right before lunch time and wanted to talk about his tooth problem, which quickly ate into lunchtime. But, it is a customer service job, so I answered everything I could and tried my best to be helpful.
I skipped lunch up on the Lido deck because we were pulling into San Juan at 1300 and I, along with all newly embarked crew, were supposed to meet up with Puerto Rico customs agents on the 2nd deck. So, I had to change out of scrubs and into the monkey suit and hang out so that a guy could look at my passport, look at me and say have a nice day. Only took about 40 minutes. I got to talk to some of the musicians I met at the hotel and around the ship. Nice folks.
So, I ended up snatching a bite to eat down in the PO mess, which is not of the same quality as they feed the passengers. More like Phillipino and Indonesian comfort foods. Still pretty tasty, just not as healthy for you. We pulled in to port and I took the stairs up to the 11th deck to check out the city. San Juan is pretty from here. We moor right across from an old stone fort. Pretty neat really. The Nieuw Amsterdam is here along with a Norwegian Cruise line and a Carnival cruise line. I snapped some pictures and headed back down. Getting tired of those stairs, but I made a commitment. I am averaging 40 flights of stairs a day.
Then it was back down stairs so I could open the clinic by 1400. I am supposed to run the clinic until 1600 and then be off for two hours to rest because I will be on call all night. It stayed pretty slow until the ship's captain walked in. He just needed some OTC medication, no biggie. Then the phone rang. It was the front desk telling me there was a 911 call up on the 4th deck. I called my backup to come take over the clinic, grabbed teh cabin bag and closed the doors on my way out. I checked the elevators as I passed, but they were all up on 8 or above, so it was the stairs. 5 flights at a sprint and then a run all the way to the back of the ship.
Chest pain.
We took him back to the clinic and started the workup. Potential heart attack. The guest physician was on shore, enjoying the day. Luckily the crew physician was there and we got busy. All of the normal ER protocols were done, although some of our testing on board is limited. I think back to the door to balloon time goal of 90 minutes in some of the heart care ERs and laugh. It took all day figuring out what to do with this guy and where he was going to go. Everything from med evac jets, to several local hospitals, to 24 hour ICU care on the ship all the way home was considered. Eventually, after around 5 hours, he was sent ashore to a local hospital in San Juan.
All of this, on my first day as 1st call. Now I get to try to get some sleep while waiting for the phone to ring.
All of this leads me to the suggestion that, should you go on a trip like this, get the travel insurance. I heard a story about a ship getting turned around to medically evacuate a patient back to the port they just left. IT was $70k for the fuel alone, which was charged to the patient. Above all the other medical cost onboard. Get the insurance. Some air services won't take an uninsured passenger without cash up front. Unless you can produce $10,000 or more for a medical charter flight, get the insurance.
That's all for now. Time to try for some sleep.
2311
Just as I was about to turn out the lights, the phone rings. It was the ships doctor asking if I wanted to go to the bow to watch the sail away. We ran up in time to watch the pastel colored lights of the city shrouded in fog as we passed by in the night. The old Fort on the hill, the doctor called it Moro, was beautiful. But, the fog turned to rain and we went back inside. There are parts of this which are awesome.
Wow,busy day. Didn't start off that way, but it sure got that way. It was my first day being 1st call. I got to the clinic, opened it up and started things just like I was supposed to. A few minor problems cropped up, a passenger with a sunburn, seasickness, etc. We got an email saying a passenger had chipped a tooth on a piece of bacon the previous night and declined to see medical. The passenger showed up right before lunch time and wanted to talk about his tooth problem, which quickly ate into lunchtime. But, it is a customer service job, so I answered everything I could and tried my best to be helpful.
I skipped lunch up on the Lido deck because we were pulling into San Juan at 1300 and I, along with all newly embarked crew, were supposed to meet up with Puerto Rico customs agents on the 2nd deck. So, I had to change out of scrubs and into the monkey suit and hang out so that a guy could look at my passport, look at me and say have a nice day. Only took about 40 minutes. I got to talk to some of the musicians I met at the hotel and around the ship. Nice folks.
So, I ended up snatching a bite to eat down in the PO mess, which is not of the same quality as they feed the passengers. More like Phillipino and Indonesian comfort foods. Still pretty tasty, just not as healthy for you. We pulled in to port and I took the stairs up to the 11th deck to check out the city. San Juan is pretty from here. We moor right across from an old stone fort. Pretty neat really. The Nieuw Amsterdam is here along with a Norwegian Cruise line and a Carnival cruise line. I snapped some pictures and headed back down. Getting tired of those stairs, but I made a commitment. I am averaging 40 flights of stairs a day.
Then it was back down stairs so I could open the clinic by 1400. I am supposed to run the clinic until 1600 and then be off for two hours to rest because I will be on call all night. It stayed pretty slow until the ship's captain walked in. He just needed some OTC medication, no biggie. Then the phone rang. It was the front desk telling me there was a 911 call up on the 4th deck. I called my backup to come take over the clinic, grabbed teh cabin bag and closed the doors on my way out. I checked the elevators as I passed, but they were all up on 8 or above, so it was the stairs. 5 flights at a sprint and then a run all the way to the back of the ship.
Chest pain.
We took him back to the clinic and started the workup. Potential heart attack. The guest physician was on shore, enjoying the day. Luckily the crew physician was there and we got busy. All of the normal ER protocols were done, although some of our testing on board is limited. I think back to the door to balloon time goal of 90 minutes in some of the heart care ERs and laugh. It took all day figuring out what to do with this guy and where he was going to go. Everything from med evac jets, to several local hospitals, to 24 hour ICU care on the ship all the way home was considered. Eventually, after around 5 hours, he was sent ashore to a local hospital in San Juan.
All of this, on my first day as 1st call. Now I get to try to get some sleep while waiting for the phone to ring.
All of this leads me to the suggestion that, should you go on a trip like this, get the travel insurance. I heard a story about a ship getting turned around to medically evacuate a patient back to the port they just left. IT was $70k for the fuel alone, which was charged to the patient. Above all the other medical cost onboard. Get the insurance. Some air services won't take an uninsured passenger without cash up front. Unless you can produce $10,000 or more for a medical charter flight, get the insurance.
That's all for now. Time to try for some sleep.
2311
Just as I was about to turn out the lights, the phone rings. It was the ships doctor asking if I wanted to go to the bow to watch the sail away. We ran up in time to watch the pastel colored lights of the city shrouded in fog as we passed by in the night. The old Fort on the hill, the doctor called it Moro, was beautiful. But, the fog turned to rain and we went back inside. There are parts of this which are awesome.
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