Metro tales

     Visited Arlington National Cemetery on my day off. This would be my first venture into the city, my first time on a metro train and my first outing since being here in the DMV. I know I will be here 13 weeks but I didn't want to waste any time. I used my handy dandy DC Metro app for the iPhone and I was really excited. Purchasing a SMART card took more time than I anticipated. I thought I would just walk up to a booth and buy a card, but instead I had to contend with a vending machine, which should not have been difficult, but proved to be just that. 

     After what seemed like 30 minutes I had a SMART card which covers the parking too. After getting off, I walked up the stairs to the street and the sunlight actually kind of rained down on me as I walked upwards toward the street. I turned to the left and as I walked I began to see the beginnings of the cemetery and just how expansive it really was. I believe it creates a U shape, so it is on both sides of the street.

     I decided on a drop off tour so I saw the major sites of Arlington. And the piece de la resistance was the changing of the guard. Simply incredible. As I was leaving and walking back to the Metro, I realize that one of the many other monuments is just down the street, but my feet really hurt and I was hungry so I decided to call it a day and take my tired bones home.

Culture Club

     This area has a lot of diversity. West Indian, Hispanic, Indian, African, Korean, Filipino and an array of Middle Eastern culture. I met a patient from Afghanistan. The patient was older and spoke no English. I could tell she was nervous. She asked her daughter to apologize for not speaking-she was so sweet to be thinking about manners when she was about to undergo surgery. One of her children tried to review a few important words in English, things like 'take a deep breath' and of course 'pain'. I tried to recall something concerning cultural diversity from nursing school. She wore the traditional head covering and I remembered that it was important so I didn't want it to be stained by the Betadine prep or anything else, yet I wasn't sure if I could remove it, so I finally had to ask about removing it and why. I assured her daughter that it would remain in place until after she was asleep and I made it my business to replace it as best I could before she awoke.
     The adventures continued as I prepped a patient for a hernia repair, a common surgery that I have prepped for many times before. It was a pretty significant bulge in the groin which had pushed the penis away from midline already, but as I performed the scrub and paint I noticed that things were getting firmer. Oh OK harder! There I said it! Just then the surgeon walks in and says "what's going on in here." I couldn't even say anything. One of the surgical assistants chimed in "I shaved him and he didn't do that for me!" Later the other surgical assistant told me that the surgeon stated I had actually made his job easier...

Adventures with Doctors!

     So it takes 3 weeks to finally gain computer access so that I can work on my own. Before and after that time I endure the looks of 'who is this new nurse & I don't want her in my room', which is quite funny to me, but I endure. Sooner or later they will have to come through me. I am a traveler. It's what I do ;)
     So I am finally on my own and I am awaiting the arrival of my surgeon, who I have no idea what he looks like. On top of that I am not wearing my contacts so I can't read the name tags! I am depending on the pre-op staff to give me a description. My surgeon walks in and the description was right on so I knew who he was immediately. My eyes go straight to the Dallas Cowboys lanyard around his neck. I proceed to blurt out not an introduction but "I like you already", to which I get a sideways look as he walks away. Oops!
     A few days later, one of the surgeons is sitting on a cord. I figure its a thin cord, I should be able to pull it out without him noticing. Well he does - only he thought it was my hand. I say,  "Dr. we just met!". He says, "I know, I was thinking I may come here more often!"