Venting, frustrating.....

[azreddun]

:uhoh21::uhoh21:I'm in triage at our community hospital. It's me and the clerk. The little old lady brings her husband, they are both 83. They have friends who helped to bring them who look in their 70's. The patient fell and hurt his hip, had it xrayed, and no hip fracture as of Friday. Pt has not had BM since then. Pt has dementia, and pain.

Anyway, I triage him in 5 minutes and it's not too busy. I get him a wheelchair and I'm pushing him out of triage. First thing is, he wants to go to the toilet. There's only me, if I go to put this guy on the toilet, I get backed up on the patients, he's already constipated, he already has fallen... I ask nicely, please wait for 20 mins to go to back with more staff to help, but no... has to be done now. Bottom line, told them I couldn't do it (dirty looks at me all around, I think) and 70 year old helped the 80 year old onto the toilet. Meantime, I feel guilty and angry.

I have developed back problems since coming to the ED from trying to do things by myself, pushing beds upstairs, pushing overweight patients in broken wheelchairs, etc, etc, I'm not trying to be cruel, but whos going to take care of me when I can't work because of pain??? :uhoh21:

[cheshirecat]

Do not feel guilty. Over here (UK) we have a no lifting policy. Only trouble is no one has told the patients about it.

Often you get a little (or more often big) old lady who sits on the bed with her arms outstretched and says "lift me up the bed". When we reply we can't, and get her to help herself you should see the filthy looks we get from the patient and family.

At the end of the day, you have to protect your back. No one else wil do it for you.

[Marie-123]

Solution, get a mechanical lift " sit to stand lift" and have a volunteer with CNA background or retired nurse background that needs to be useful trained to use it on demanding patients that have to go now. The volunteer can do so much more as to sit and stay with the person to prevent getting up on own and falling. Of course you will be reponsible for the volunteer actions so good to be the volunteer a few times to make sure the volunteer is confident.

Marie

[JBudd, MSN]

:uhoh21::uhoh21:First thing is, he wants to go to the toilet. There's only me, if I go to put this guy on the toilet, I get backed up on the patients, he's already constipated, he already has fallen... I ask nicely, please wait for 20 mins to go to back with more staff to help, but no... has to be done now. Bottom line, told them I couldn't do it (dirty looks at me all around, I think) and 70 year old helped the 80 year old onto the toilet. Meantime, I feel guilty and angry.

Guilty because we really do want to help little old people, angry because it really could wait and they're making you feel guilty about something that you would if you could but shouldn't! Yep, been there and through that. All I can do is send commiserating thoughts and zen hugs :icon_hug::icon_hug::icon_hug:

[Knoodsen]

JBudd: Thanks for the TJ quote. Ever read Ayn Rand? (Atlas Shrugged; check it out.) Marie-123: Perhaps one's employer is unwilling to purchase a mechanical lift. (Actually, we could use a forklift.) Also, the volunteer is often a 70 year-old with no CNA training. And, never around after dark (macular degeneration). Yell for help, if you need it. I can have that old duffer on the pot in one minute. Tops. Somehow they always manage to get themselves out of there without my help. I know that it can get tremendously frustrating at times, azreddun. Just the other night, I was at triage and had 6 patients sign in simultaneously. I had a crazy woman/OD stumbling around the waiting room, falling down, smiling at me. "She needs to be triaged.........right away", I thought. Also had 2 old timers with CP and cardiac histories. (OH MY GOD! What's happening to me?) "These two cannot sit out here", I thought. Another one minute project: CP #1 to the treatment area for bedside assesment/treatment. CP #2 out the back door of the triage booth onto the "triage stretcher" for a cardiac workup. The toothless princess gets her wheelchair parked by the security office. Somebody needs to birddog this gal for the time being while we find a room with a door. Then, everything is okay again. For a while. Thing of the good that comes out of these situations. You are busy. But, you take a moment to help this guys pants down. You then continue with more important business. He has a positive outcome, thanks you for helping him to feel so much better, and goes home.

[Larry77, RN]

Bottom line is people usually only see one thing and that is their need not being met. They do not see the big picture (if you help them than you are not available to the AMI that walks in).

As I'm sure all of you do I constantly have people glaring at me because, "They got here after me, why are they going back and I'm not?" (Um maybe because they are SOB and diaphoretic and you have had this runny nose for 10 days...grrr). Again they are only seeing their needs not getting met--not the whole picture.

I see nothing wrong with what you did however if you asked management they might feel different because they are so focused on patient satisfaction.

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Remember the great secret to life

One Step At A Time

It all begins with a single step

[JBudd, MSN]

JBudd: Thanks for the TJ quote. Ever read Ayn Rand? (Atlas Shrugged; check it out.).

Read those waaaayyy back, late 70's:lol2:

Azreddun:

It's funny, some of our nurses only want to do triage. Day shift negotiates who GETS to go out there in the morning, when we come in at 1900 we negotiate who HAS to go out.

[Kidrn911]

Read those waaaayyy back, late 70's:lol2:

Azreddun:

It's funny, some of our nurses only want to do triage. Day shift negotiates who GETS to go out there in the morning, when we come in at 1900 we negotiate who HAS to go out.

LOL sounds like our triage:lol2:

[DiannaK]

LOL sounds like our triage:lol2:

ewww ...

Our ER too ....

we (on evenings/nights) call it "Triage- atory":devil: