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Cassie Alexander, ICU RN

@CassieY4

15 Apr

While the venn diagram between hospital work & police work aren't 100%, they do share many similarities -- we're both forward facing to the public, we work with people from all walks of life, and we're both threatened with personal violence.

1x

And, sometimes, sadly, people do lose their lives.

When you accidentally harm someone at the hospital, it's called an sentinel event.

Immediately afterwards a fleet of people step in and consider what happened, how to fix it, and how to stop it from ever happening again.

2x

At my old hospital, we had a pediatric nurse float over to care for a pediatric burned patient.

She put oral oxycodone into an IV line.

Now, already, there's ways to prevent damage from taking place -- oral oxy is a vibrant pink-orange....

3x

Read 16 tweets

Cassie Alexander, ICU RN

@CassieY4

15 Apr

Trying to stay vigilant about recognizing my PTSD-hypervigilance is going swimmingly, lolsob.

Anyways, here are some plants from today:

This one is my current best "feed me, Seymour" out of a tough field:

Read 8 tweets

Cassie Alexander, ICU RN

@CassieY4

28 Dec 20

My mom does have covid.

Explaining to her how to prone herself.

Texting my dad with quarantine instructions for himself and everyone in my brother's household and everyone they saw over Xmas.

While at work.

Taking care of covid patients.

My current pt, I asked our MD what the plan is, and he was all, "find more people to carry the coffin" -- by which he means involve a few more services, so we can get this family to understand that the patient won't make it.

My husband asked if I should come home.

I can't.

Can't change anything for my mom, she's 3 states away.

Can't bone over my coworkers. My patient is a 1:1, we're gonna be short at 11 as is.

Told him my plan was just to be a mess on twitter so here we are.

Brace yourselves.

Read 13 tweets

Cassie Alexander, ICU RN

@CassieY4

27 Dec 20

My elderly parents, who I, even as an ICU RN, could not talk out of making a cross country move and visiting all of their relatives along the way, are in Texas now.

My aunt and uncle who they saw in AZ are now covid positive and my mom is sick.

I just want to throw up and cry.

If my mom does have covid, which seems likely, seeing as they visited my aunt/uncle 2 days prior to their positive diagnosis -- they hung out with my brother's wife's whole family on Christmas, including her elderly parents as well.

I try and I try and I do nothing but try and for what?

What is even the point of all this trying?

I am breaking myself and for why or who or who the fuck cares?

Read 4 tweets

Cassie Alexander, ICU RN

@CassieY4

7 Dec 20

I'm seeing a lot of trash takes on ICU capacity today, so here goes me explaining things (before I very much log off to write):

Yes! We have flu seasons here! And yes, our hospitals can get full during those flu seasons!

But what armchair ICU managers aren't realizing is

1/

that it is unheard of for ALL ICUS EVERYWHERE IN THE STATE to be under thread of running out of beds (or currently out of them!)

Usually regions of the state can help one another. There's a fire, a disaster, the ambulances run, everyone pitches in.

I used to be a burn RN

2/

And I got to see this collaborative process several times, first hand.

When there was that big gas explosion in Nor Cal a few years ago, you'd better believe every burn center in the state was overstaffed just in case.

Same same for the fires when the Camp Fire occurred.

3/

Read 34 tweets

Cassie Alexander, ICU RN

@CassieY4

20 Nov 20

It's really frustrating to not have the right words to explain all this covid/nursing as someone who writes professionally.

When you're a writer you're used to thinking, 'There's some perfect way to explain this experience. If I keep trying, I'll get it right, and people will understand me. I can make this experience universal. I can change lives.'

I keep trying, and there's just...not.

I feel like a whiner. We're merely full, but not slammed. But I can't help but see what's coming for us. And feel how disposable our lives and the candlewicks of our souls seem to be.

Read 8 tweets

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