Night shift in the pharmacy

My second night at work is over, three more to go! Working night shift is a little different than days, and I've been seeing new parts of the hospital. At night is when we restock the OR, cath lab, and other areas associated with procedures. There are eight operating rooms, two endo suites, and four cath labs, each with a Pyxis machine.

Pyxis anesthesia system

Unless there's an emergency, the OR suites aren't used at night. There's only a few operating personnel on call, and you might not even see them. I've never had a good look at the operating rooms - I've had to go up during the day a time or two when they ran out of something, but usually they would be in the middle of a case and I had to get in and out as quickly as possible. It's quite a feeling to be in a cold, silent operating room at night, surrounded by expensive equipment and technology. It makes me even more intrigued with what goes on there. I'd love to watch a procedure in real life sometime. One of the rooms is for robotic surgery.

Da Vinci robot

In a robotic surgery, the instruments are held by the robot while the surgeon sits at a console, controlling the arms. When I was studying medical coding, my course gave me access to videos of real-life recorded surgeries. I watched one of a robotic surgery and was totally fascinated.

Our job during night shift is to pull all the drugs for the OR Pyxis machines, label all IV fluids and OR solutions for the day's cases, and deliver them. At night there's only one pharmacist and one tech working, so you are also responsible to answer phones, make any stat IV meds, and deliver meds to nursing floors as needed. The first night I was training was a lot busier than last night and I didn't even have a chance to sit down until around 5:00. Last night was slower - it depends somewhat on how many cases are scheduled for the day. The first night went by pretty fast, but last night seemed to drag because I had more time to watch the clock.

The first night I felt good and wasn't tired until towards morning, but last night wasn't so great. Being up all night and sleeping during the day messes with your internal biological clock. I worked night shift one week when I first started at the hospital as a secretary and was training in the ER. My stomach was upset for the first few nights and I'm experiencing that again. I had a few snacks and tried to drink lots of water, but that didn't really help. I feel like I need a caffeinated drink to keep me awake and alert through the night, and that probably doesn't make my stomach issues any better. Both nights I got a McDonald's large sweet tea and sipped it throughout my shift. For some reason a coffee drink didn't seem enticing, but now sweet tea doesn't sound good to me either. I'm not sure what I'll have tonight. After tonight I have one night off, then finish up Sunday night. I kind of wish my five nights were all in a row instead of broken up like that. It's hard on your circadian rhythm and you can't really get in a routine. But this too shall pass!

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day and after sleeping until noon, I worked outside for several hours. Today is rainy and dreary and I don't have much motivation to get anything done. Maybe it will be a curl-up-on-the-couch-and-read type of day!