I am so sick of being a nurse at this point I am ready to quit. It seems like every single day for the past month, someone somewhere out there has gone to complain about me. Actually it has only been twice but of course due to management's anality -is that a word? - it drags on until it makes me turn blue.
First a dr. says I didn't call him about a K+ level of 6.1 on a pt. I called, no return, next shift didn't follow up, the NEXT shift didn't follow up, dr. finds where I charted it but says he didn't get the call. If he doens't answer his pages, it isn't my fault, is it? It was probably after 2100, 2200 at night when this all started, and I went home at 2300. And yes , he WAS on call.
Secondly, finally that is all done, and two nights ago I came in on 3 to 11 again, get report that abd films ordered on a pt in am, to be done today. Day nurse called xray at 1430 to remind them,, said they were swamped. Doing rounds, meds, etc. Family asks about xrays after supper. Call to xray, takes them literally six or seven minutes to get a real person on the line, they have the automated answering thing, and after so long and so many rings it hangs up or you leave a message. SEnt messages, finally got someone to answer. In the end xray came up to the floor around 2030. Family very sweet and pleasant to my face, as they leave, they find house supv and give a "very nasty complaint" per supv words. Supv comes and chews me out, says I should have called her and SHE would have gotten them up there ASAP.
Maybe there is more I could have/should have done, but I felt like I was doing the best I could do. The first night with the K+ level, it was hectic, very hectic, major winter storm, people coming and going and trying to go home early, overhead announcements SEVERAL SEVERAL times during the shift that we could not go home until supv released d/t weather conditions and people calling in, etc, trying to get things done in case no one came, or we had to stay or we did get to go home, wanted to get all things done, etc. Very nerve wracking/brain frying.
I am so sick of it. I am sick of pt families being so sweet, very nice and then complaining behind my back. If they were THAT upset, why didn't they say so???????? The reason for the xray was because no one was sure, for whatever reason, that the pt had a bm in the last week, although she had been quite ill and on cl. liq for past several days, had bowel sounds although a bit hypo.
Also on first situation, unit mgr highly p.o'd, she wants the people on the floor to suck up to the md's, posted a note in break room about what md's wanted from nurses and one of the items we were to seriously remember was "the importance of the physician". Anyway, she has banned me from the unit while she decides what to do with/to me. Both these pts were new to me, and I don't know if I am losing it or if I have suddenly become greatly inept or if I am burnt out or if I need to just go hide and forget about nursing a while or what.