Week One in Richmond

Wow...one week has been and gone. I have done a few shifts here now and am learning new skills everyday even though it is such a quiet hospital. So far I have learnt to use the QLD health "Istat" system, "Ipharmacy system", how to interact with the Royal Flying Doctors- how to do a handover and transfer etc... and also, a new skill for me, triage nursing. In the past i have had direct admissions however there has always been a doctor nearby if everything went haywire. In this location we wait, we wait for the snake bite, the heart attack, the wounds and injuries, the medical emergencies etc. It has been somewhat unnerving to have the sole responsibility of a patient. Do I send them home with a panadol? Do I call for the doctor at 3am? It has been a wonderful learning curve so far even in such a short while.
The people here have been so wonderful, helpful and friendly. They are inclusive and not resentful that an 'agency' nurse is on their territory. I am so looking forward to going out to lunch tomorrow with a couple of the nurses who have kindly invited me on their outing.
The snakes are still my nemesis. They will surely be my ruin. Today i found out that the snakes previously mentioned have actually been found IN my unit, wrapped around the balcony and also on the step...all as the last nurse here walked to night shift. Ohhhhh, how i dread these times. I must look like a stalker as i sit in wait for headlights coming down the driveway so i can leap out and walk in with my partner. Luckily they all think it is good timing and not a strategic plan i have so as yet I don't look like too big a wimpess.
The flood situation has not affected us directly however one thing I have noticed is the short supply of food and the cost of it. I am sure this is going to be Australia wide as so much food comes from the flooded regions or was stored in warehouses in Brisbane which are now submerged. As is the rest of the country we are watching in horror as the floods claim more lives, properties, dreams and businesses. All I can do from here is pray for those who are in the middle of it all and hope there is help available when they need it, financial, emotional and physical. On a positive note the heroism and camaraderie shown makes me proud to be an Aussie OI OI OI!!!
Till the next post...hooroo xox Colleen

Richmond QLD

Pictures of Richmond

In these pictures you can see the old queenslander that is my temporary home, the two QLD health cars which i have for my use while I am here, the ambulance, the hospital and of course inside the living quarters...not too bad I reckon :)

RICHMOND QLD

I'm here In Richmond, it is nothing like i imagined, although very pretty and green- something i really had not expected. The flight from Townsville was an experience, the plane was delayed because of thunder storms and we sat in the airport watching the sky get greyer and nastier- not a very reassuring sight when you can see your plane sitting on the tarmac looking very very small! Anyway, I met the other two nurses who were flying in with me, somehow we all just identified each other-do nurses have a silent beam that alert other nurses? We got on very well and boarded our little plane- first stop Hughenden, about an hr and a half away. It was supposed to be a quick stop but as we sat on board we all looked uneasy as we watched the propeller start- then stop- start- then stop- eventually a cheery little voice says "all off ladies and gents, we are getting a message that not all is right"! Of course we clamber off and wait in the tiny prefab room which is Hughenden airport. Before we know it an old fella heads across the tarmac and says "Nothing a screwdriver cant fix eh". So on we hop and cross our fingers!
We finally arrive in Richmond and are met by one of the gardeners from the hospital.

My excitement was soon squashed and remodelled into fear. Apparently the nurses quarters has been inhabited by a Taipan and a King Brown snake! Now i know snakes are everywhere and i know there is a slim chance of being bitten- but hey- I just watched the movie "Jessica"...and SHE was killed by a king brown! The little matter of snakes has really taken the shine off this place and I am almost terrified to go out adventuring. You need to understand too that I am in long grass (because THAT gardener is away), I am near a nice cool water hole and I am living in a nice big raised Queenslander- and that means they like downstairs because it is so cool--AND there are frogs everywhere, snakes favorite food.

Not to be too much of a party pooper I agreed to head out on New Years Eve and walk- in the pitch black snake dark all the way into town- a good half hour walk with toads and frogs jumping out of the way! It wasn't too bad until we got home and the other nurse said that earlier in the morning, along the same little road we just walked, that two nurses had run over a massive tiger snake and now it was out there- and angry!

On a cheerier note, the living quarters are lovely, they are old, but clean and are very cool. It is actually a massive old Queenslander that has now got 4 units in its centre. The veranda is all fully enclosed and wraps around the whole house. You could hold a ball on the veranda! Each unit has 2 bedrooms, and is fully self contained except for a laundry- which is downstairs and no one will use because of S-----. The water is yukky bore water and stinks likes rotten eggs. I cant get over the idea of showering and smelling worse, or washing dishes that then stink! Oh well, it is clean and the locals reassure me it is all OK. Then there is the bed, it is massive- i think it is a king bed! But it is made uncomfy because here they have what the locals refer to as GIDGY bugs. In fact these are small, brown, horned, stink bugs, and they plague here for about 8 weeks- they should be gone by the time i go! Anyway, these bugs fall on you, climb down into your underwear and crawl over you as you sleep. If you squash it is smells like Poo! Ill try and get a clear photo of one for my next blog. Well for now I'm heading off to see what the others are doing, poor buggers- they had to start their shifts the day we arrived- mine is not until Tuesday and I shall be sure to let you know whats its like. Take care, Colleen.