Meals and musings from a marvelous Monday…
All together now: chia pudding/overnight oats, big salad with leftover quinoa, apple, apricot, WF ciabatta roll, Sabra hummus.
I found these at Whole Foods and thought they’d be perfect for lunches. I usually bring a pita, tortilla, or a slice of sprouted bread to dip in hummus, but Ciabatta rolls sounded like the perfect change up. I had one for my first breakfast (pre-work eaten in my car) with almond butter.
Second breakfast (eaten after grand rounds in the break room) was the last of the leftover chia pudding which I bulked up as overnight oats (made with oats, soymilk, and frozen blueberries).
There’s a certain level of anxiety that comes with the end of the weekend. Monday is the only day of the week that I am constantly aware of (since I work random days including weekends, I don’t keep track of what day it is and hardly ever know).
However Mondays I am definitely aware of. Why? Because of the (aforementioned) tension that consumes the hospital with the start of the new week.
Over the weekends things kinda go into cruise control mode. Aside from transplants, there are no scheduled surgeries, so patients are generally stable, and unless a procedure is emergent, it probably won’t happen. Then, when Monday rolls around, things go into crazy overdrive. Aggressive ordering keeps nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, X-ray techs, case managers, and any other consulting staff members (nutritionists, speech therapists, etc.) busy all day long.
I suspect this is due to the fact that attending MDs have weekends off and whatever poor intern is on call doesn’t wanna make too many solo decisions without the consult of a more senior doctor.
This weekend was the last call shift for several interns…meaning this Monday was expected to be extra chaotic…but guess what? It was sublime. I had such a marvelous day, it seemed like I was in a dream. My patients were so kind and the new orders came in at a steady pace, allowing me to talk with them for much of the day while still making progress in their healing. 🙂
I love when I have the time to talk with patients. And I love when patients are nice, interesting, and enjoying chatting with me. It’s one of the reasons I was drawn to nursing.
For lunch I dug into my massive salad.
The quinoa and cucumber salad on top was leftover from our dinner at The Misfit (I avoided eating them at the time because the cukes were pickled and Kyle can’t tolerate pickles, even on my breath). I added it to lettuce, sprouts, raisins, and extra veggies.
After lunch I discharged one patient home (so great to send such a nice and motivated person home in good health after aortic valve surgery). The next ICU patient I got was just as much of a dream. A sweet and compliant individual willing to work hard to get well. In other words, the best patient.
I wish all Mondays were this way.
Do you have a favorite or least favorite day of the week?
That salad looks amazing! I still have to get over my fear of messing up quinoa (ridiculous, I know). Sunday mornings are my favorite time of the week by far!
On a completely random note, I took a Piloxing class (a mix of boxing and pilates) in North Hollywood over the weekend from a girl that looked so much like you, I had to go back and double check her name. I’ve found your doppleganger, perhaps?
I don’t like Mondays b/c my email/inbox/blog stuff just is wayyyy heavier than other days of the week. I could, and do, spend the day chained to my computer most weeks 🙁
I love the weekends…even though I am working, it’s still the weekend and I love it!
That’s great Monday wasn’t bad. My nurse mom has just giving up trying to predict bad days because they seem to be all over the map on her floor.
Tuesdays are probably my least favorite day because that’s when things start getting crazy at my job, everyone is still on weekend mode for Mondays. 🙂
like the dork I am, I thought of one person while reading this post…can you guess who? JAJAJAJA!
really!?!? haha. where was it i need to find this twin of mine!
of COURSE. nerd. haha. but im all for it, so my kidding is all in jest. 🙂
Having time to get to know patients better is so awesome! I love it when my patients are friendly! 🙂
Your salad looks AMAZING!!! I love all the add-ins you put in your salads. I have to try quinoa in my salads next week! My least favorite day of the week is monday. It is too unpredictable for my liking. My favorite day is saturday. If i’m not working its great to relax, if I am working it is a laid back atmosphere at the hospital!
It was a Piloxing class at V Pilates in Toluca Lake… I think her name was Sara? It was crazy, I really had to go home and hop on the internet to check… oh, and she kicked my butt and made me die on my couch for 2 hours afterwards from exhaustion 🙂
Glad your Monday was marvelous – I always loved it when I was reminded why I loved my job. Also, I haven’t had chia pudding in a while and yours looked fantastic…thanks for jogging my memory.
I typically like Mondays as long as nothing goes wrong, haha I would say my favorite day of the week is either Thursday or Friday, can I have two? haha
I love that you have had some compliant and pleasant patients lately… That has got to be so rewarding! You are definitely one of the hardest working nurses I know but haven’t really met! 😉 We actually have chia pudding on the menu at my work now, which is a huge positive, but nothing ever beats chia pudding that has been sitting in the fridge for a few days with a little cinnamon and some raisins 😀
I here ya on the chaotic mondays! When I did my cardiac surgery placement the mondays were always horrid. Not sure what Mondays will be like on my new haematology ward. I’ll see, next week! I hate Sundays. Regardless of what I’m doing on the Monday, Sundays always make me nervous and more highly strung than usual. Sunday evenings I just find it impossible to relax. Weird, I know. x
Your packed lunches/breakfast/snacks always blow me away…they are amazing and inspiring, and look delicious! I’m glad you had such a great day – I can’t imagine how rewarding your job must be 🙂 When I went into hospital last year the nurses were absoultely amazing, so I am very grateful for people like you who really care about their patients, it makes the hugest difference 🙂 xyx
wow. sounds like an awesome class. i wish i had taught it!
yum! where are you working?
i get that same sunday anxiety too. blah.
My overnight oats always seem to turn out like soup… grr. But I’m glad you had a great day! I can’t imagine the stress of working in a hospital (my heart rate increases just thinking about it!) I can’t even watch those TV shows about hospitals; they make me sick with anxiety. I know, I’m ridiculous.
Pingback: It may not be summer, but I’m still roasting
I hear ya girl! Monday’s at the hospital can be so craaaaaaaaazy! I think Fridays are our worst days though…add on CT guided biopsies, add on out patients…chaos, chaos, chaos! It’s VERY rare to have a smooth sailing kind of Friday, but whenever it does happen, my co-workers and I bask in the calm!
use more chia seeds. that should help make them more pudding like.