Y’all, when I say this weekend was rough—I mean it was a whole mess. Between Epic training, dealing with families, and juggling all my usual responsibilities, I was seriously counting down the minutes until my time off. Honestly, if I had to go in one more day, I think I would’ve had a full-blown meltdown in the break room.
High: I didn’t break down crying (a major win), and I got to treat myself to my favorite comfort food—Cheeto Puffs. Chips are basically my therapy at this point.
Lows: This past Saturday, I had one of those moments where I really could have used a heads-up from the weekday case manager. I walked into a meeting with a patient and their family, thinking it would be routine, only to get screamed at when I informed them that their appeal had been denied. It was clear they weren’t happy with the decision and immediately demanded that I do XYZ.
Fast forward to the next day—noon was the agreed time for them to leave until their financial liability would start, but I got a call from the charge nurse asking for help because the family was refusing to go. I walked in, explained the entire discharge process again, and answered every question they threw at me. But no matter what I said, they just weren’t having it.
At that point, it escalated to our nursing OA and my manager, but the whole situation felt like unnecessary chaos that could have been avoided with better communication. It’s moments like these that remind me how important it is to stay mentally prepared for anything and to not take things to personally- it’s just a job.