is this wrong?

[thisnurse]

i was in the er the other day. unfortunately as a patient.

i try hard not to tell the staff im a nurse but when they start going into prolonged explanations about simple things like how an iv works or what a WBC means i cant stop myself.

i dunno...i was just sick of being in the hospital and sick of being a patient. cant say i had a bad or negative attitude ...i just wanted to take care of myself.

i disconnected myself from the iv so i could go to the bathroom. i showed the nurses where to put the iv. (im a very hard stick)

i told the doc what was wrong with my iv pump...it was beeping wildly and frankly most docs dont understand those pumps.

i was in the process of removing my own iv when the nurse came in and i let her do it.

is it wrong or rude to care for yourself like that?

i dont think id care if my pt did those things. i wouldnt want them changing the rates on the pumps or anything where i am responsible for their actions but i wouldnt care if they did some things.

wanna hear something funny? well i think its funny.

i had 3 iv pumps on one pole. one was for nss, one was heparin, and one was a morphine pca.

now i know better than to change the rates or stop them. i know about keeping them plugged in.

they could not be all hooked into each other. there were three very long tubes that constantly got tangled. BIG TIME.

when i had to go to the bathroom it took forever...well TOO long to untangle them. they were always tangled and by the time i got them undone i no longer needed to go to the bathroom.

the heparin...for some reason was shutting itself off. i know better than to shut that off....clots were one of my problems. i wouldnt shut that off. but the nurses would come in and bytch at me about that. i kept telling them i didnt do it and they didnt believe me. one nurse told me not to touch them again and if i needed to go to the bathroom to call someone to undo them. that was fine with me. so i did....and they send in AN ASSISTANT...this person had NO RIGHT to touch those pumps by law. but i had to go so bad i didnt care who or what they sent in.

so i go to the bathroom, go back to bed and call them to tell them i need plugged back in. I NEVER TOUCHED ANYTHING other than the pole.

well guess what...the heparin was off again. i got yelled at for that...lol...i told the nurse i didnt do it and she told me it HAD to be me...the assistant KNOWS better...lol

the solution was to lock me out. there is a button on the back of the pumps that locks the main controls. i was at my sister hospital. they are the same pumps i use.

well gosh i had NO IDEA how to unlock them...i was so confused...lol

my last night there i got so much grief over these pumps and then again the next morning. obviously the night nurse included...pt plays with pumps in report...lol

its damn hard being a patient

[live4today, RN]

Oh, you poor thing. I could only imagine how frustrated you were...being a nurse AND the patient. ((((hugs))))

Yes...you KNOW you were wrong in trying to be your own nurse...so hide your head under this chair for being naughty. :chair: :rotfl:

Are you feeling better now? I hope so, and will say a prayer for you today. You at least show a sense of humor in your post, so that's good...means you haven't TOTALLY gone bazonkers! :chuckle Get your rest, and stop fretting over what is past tense today. I'm sure those nurses will remember you next time you check in, and they'll either RUN the opposite direction, or bring out the manual they have obviously made up to deal with patients like yourself. :rotfl: They...being the great nurses that they are...KNOW how nurses can be when they become THE PATIENT. Feel better! :kiss

[Sleepyeyes]

Boy you got a real winner that time too......stop blaming yourself; you're a great patient; I'd love to have taken care of you.

It blows my mind that they didn't believe you about the stupidest things: that heparin runs at a slow rate and I've seen it stop completely; not the Pt's fault, but a symptom the nurse needs to check out. Coulda been a kink in the line when you moved, but it sounds more like a defective pump.

And with all that junk, I woulda probably gotten you a BSC. Next time, ask for one? Then you don't hafta disconnect or wait for help.

(Sorry, but your "caregivers" are puttin' me on my last nerve here, this is such basic stuff.... )

(((((((HUGS))))))) :kiss: do tell mgmt about it.

[Furball]

Why didn't they just put the pumps on a pole that rolls?

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

The heparin pump probably had a DEAD Battery and that's why it shut off. Glad you are better now.

[kids]

Originally posted by P_RN

The heparin pump probably had a DEAD Battery and that's why it shut off. Glad you are better now.

My thought exactly (including glad you are feeling better)

[BadBird, BSN, RN]

How frustrating it is not to be believed. I agree that the battery was probably dead so the pump kept shutting off. Why didn't the nurse get a new pump if you reported problems with that one? I hope you are feeling better. By the way you were wrong, it is so hard for us as nurses to let others take care of us when we need it but it is something we must learn to do. Keep up the good humor.