Floor Emergencies

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

When your patient is going down and you need my assistance, please tell me quickly and briefly what is going on so I can bring the proper materials to the room and get my mind prepared for whatever intervention is necessary....don't just say "I need you in here now."

Are they having chest pain? Bleeding profusely? Not breathing well? BP too low? Do I need to go ahead call a rapid response? Page the doctor?

End Vent

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Specializes in ED.

Hear, hear!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Well, with HIPAA and all, it's not like staff can shout down the hall, "Mrs. Smith's on the floor and her head is bleeding!!" :eek:

That said, those words always strike fear in my heart, and the old adrenaline's pumping madly by the time I get there and find.......a skin tear. Or an expected "celestial transfer". It's like when your five-year-old grandson lets out a blood-curdling scream and you dash outside expecting blood and mayhem, only to learn he just got poked by a thorn from the rosebush you told him to stay away from. LOL

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

^^Oh I wouldn't want someone yelling in the hallways. I'm referring to a phone call on our personal work phones or if you use the in-room calling system..it's not blarred out to everyone around.

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Specializes in Burn, CCU, CTICU, Trauma, SICU, MICU.

In the ICU, we yell. LOUDLY. "I NEED SOME HELP IN HERE, BRING THE CRASH CART" :) Yelling means you are serious! lol

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Specializes in ER.

Ha! Our ER responds to floor emergencies. Most recent patient report we received? "I Don't know,we found her like this."

wish they would have stated: the patient's admitting diagnosis, length of stay, when change of condition occurred, last vital signs and bring the cart.

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Specializes in LTC.

I can understand where you are coming from. Better to have the needed materials than going back and forth. At my job, we have radios in our ears that we can talk to eachother on. They are soooo nice :)

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Specializes in Med-surg, Ed, Trauma, ICA, LTC.

I prefer a tactful, "Can I get some help in here!"

Yelling makes the neck hair rise. lol. We just get a code call for the floors!

Nothing like spontaneity!

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Specializes in pcu/stepdown/telemetry.

We yell down the hall or whatever way we can be heard. An emergency shouldn't make you think of HIPPA. Pt's are more important than that

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