Easing into the role.

After three days of hospital orientation and one day on the floor, I am taking time to explore the city and make my list of things to do in my time here. They were very nice to me and gave me an easy patient to ease into the new charting system and ask any questions that I may have. The CVSICU here is quite the hopping unit. They get post-op open heart, heart transplant, lung transplant, ventricular assist devices of various sorts, and congenital heart malformation patients. Their average heart surgery is not just a bypass surgery x 3-5 grafts. Average here is bypass grafts x 4-5, an aneurysm repair, and a double valve repair/replacement. For the record, that is a lot to be done in one OR stent. Those patients usually come out of the OR pretty rocky. Next week I work wednesday, thursday, friday dayshift and will be admitting some patients from the OR and then this little bird must flee the nest on her own. Should be exciting!

Last night I met two other travel nurses down in the Inner Harbor for some drinks and to mingle. It is a married couple that have been traveling for about a year and a half. They are originally from St. Louis. They are very nice and very full of tips and tricks for the travel nursing realm. I am like a sponge for any tips they have to share with me. At my first assignment in VA, I was one of very few travelers in the hospital and I really didn't know there were other travelers there until the last couple of weeks there. So I was very excited to start orientation here and meet two other travelers whom were here with their husbands. Upon meeting other travelers it is an uncanny instant friendship. We both acknowledge that we are outsiders on our respective floors and often at some hospitals, the nurses make that very well known. I can't say that I have gotten that impression here though. Everyone has been very nice. It often depends how exposed the hospital is to travelers as well.

So last night I opted to take the Light Rail from very close to where my apartment is, south to just outside of the Inner Harbor. I then planned to pick up what is known as the Charm City Circulator, which is a free bus system that runs 3-4 routes through the city. I arrived at the Light Rail station and purchased my round trip ticket to get downtown. This system is run 100% on the honor system. Nobody checks your ticket other than at random stops someone may get on and check tickets. Interesting system. I found this experience to be comparable to my metro days in DC. It takes more time to get places, but it is much cheaper and the hassle of parking is eliminated. So the options must be weighed. Also, the parking here in Baltimore is either downtown and ridiculous as in $20 for anything greater than 4 hours or you have to park in a questionable neighborhood and then one must walk through that questionable neighborhood. I think the Light Rail is a good option. It just takes some time. Luckily I mastered the DC metro so this one is cake. Where the DC Metro has five routes, Baltimore literally has a north and south route. Easy Peasy!

On my way home from the Light Rail station I saw a very interesting animal crossing the road. It was a red fox. I believe I saw one of these when I was a child in the country where I grew up. I am kind of in suburbia here though. I did a bit of research and they are kind of taking over Baltimore City which is where I am residing. Apparently, they are making the rabbits disappear. Very cool to see, but I do enjoy seeing rabbits.

Have a great weekend. I am going to work on getting some pictures on here from Maine and of my new place, per request of some readers.