Some nurses make you sick!!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Licensed Practical Nurse.

hello everyone!! so here is my vent!!!:angryfire, i work at this lovely ltc , anyway i just got off working 11-7 shift, the supervisor calls me as i am goin home and tells me that the day nurse called her and complained about a resident whos feeding is beeping and the bottle is empty, this resident gets 600 ml every 12 hours and the feeding is supposed to start at 2am, so at 2 a.m i go to start the feeding but there is 400ml in the bottle from the previous feeding,which finished at 12mn the feed is diabetic resource which comes in a 1000ml bottlet! this unit has 40 residents about 8 feedings, so while i'm doing other tasks i wait for the feedings to beep so i knowmy next moves, the day nurse comes in and starts complaining about how heavy the floor is and the feedings. i give report and leave i am expecting that the feed is still running!seeing that i started it at 2am and my shift ends at 7am, anyway she calls the supervisor on me and the supervisor calls me on my cell phone, couldnt the day nurse have spoken to me first?? if the feed ends 15 min after my shift ends am i still liable?? why did she have to call the supervisor to report me vs. starting a new feed and giving the 200ml balance that would complete the 600!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

If the feeding is still running at the end of your shift do you let her know before you leave? Sometimes it can be frustrating in the morning rush to find these things still hooked up. Meds to pass, phones ringing, CNA yammering to unhook the person so they can wash them up. I think she should have talked to you first,before going to the supervisor. Just common curtesy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well, I'm not sure what happened. But I can't get past the part where you found 400 cc of feeding hanging and proceeded to infuse it.

BTW, how fast is it supposed to infuse?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Well, I'm not sure what happened. But I can't get past the part where you found 400 cc of feeding hanging and proceeded to infuse it.

BTW, how fast is it supposed to infuse?

I agree.

Did you check to see if the feeding tube was clogged? The pumps don't always beep when this happens.

Did you check for proper tube placement? These things can dislodge and migrate.

Did you aspirate gastric contents to see how much residual was left?

If too much is left, you may need to call the doc. The next bolus may need to be held. The rate may need to be reduced, or pt may need a new med order to promote gastric motility, or whatever else the doc wants.

Also, feeding hanging around that long can quickly grow bacteria. I would not have infused it.

I understand you are upset about being reported, but please evaluate your own actions or lack thereof.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.
I agree.

Did you check to see if the feeding tube was clogged? The pumps don't always beep when this happens.

Did you check for proper tube placement? These things can dislodge and migrate.

Did you aspirate gastric contents to see how much residual was left?

If too much is left, you may need to call the doc. The next bolus may need to be held. The rate may need to be reduced, or pt may need a new med order to promote gastric motility, or whatever else the doc wants.

Also, feeding hanging around that long can quickly grow bacteria. I would not have infused it.

I understand you are upset about being reported, but please evaluate your own actions or lack thereof.

:yeahthat:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think the other posters here have failed to recognize that this individual is less than 6 months out of school. I was more than 1 year post grad before I was ever involved with feeding tubes. Every day is a learning experience in Nursing. New Grads have it rough. Poor preceptors, I had one new grad who went through 3 preceptors in her first 4 months because they felt she should have "more" instinct. This person is in her late 40s and second career. Information associates who keep calling on them over and over again. I've seen new grads get paged 5 times in less than 10 minutes. People need to STEP UP and help those new people out. Otherwise, you'll be losing them. Or is that the reason, you don't like new people because you feel threatened that they might out perform you later on in their career?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I love working with and precepting new grads.

This one, however, did not do even the most basic and cursory assessment on her pt. Any new grad should know enough to do that.

From her post, it seems she feels that the only person who did anything wrong was the nurse who reported her.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I think the other posters here have failed to recognize that this individual is less than 6 months out of school. I was more than 1 year post grad before I was ever involved with feeding tubes. Every day is a learning experience in Nursing. New Grads have it rough. Poor preceptors, I had one new grad who went through 3 preceptors in her first 4 months because they felt she should have "more" instinct. This person is in her late 40s and second career. Information associates who keep calling on them over and over again. I've seen new grads get paged 5 times in less than 10 minutes. People need to STEP UP and help those new people out. Otherwise, you'll be losing them. Or is that the reason, you don't like new people because you feel threatened that they might out perform you later on in their career?
I sincerely want them to succeed, so they can care for me when I'm a demanding, crotchety old lady.
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.
I think the other posters here have failed to recognize that this individual is less than 6 months out of school. I was more than 1 year post grad before I was ever involved with feeding tubes. Every day is a learning experience in Nursing. New Grads have it rough. Poor preceptors, I had one new grad who went through 3 preceptors in her first 4 months because they felt she should have "more" instinct. This person is in her late 40s and second career. Information associates who keep calling on them over and over again. I've seen new grads get paged 5 times in less than 10 minutes. People need to STEP UP and help those new people out. Otherwise, you'll be losing them. Or is that the reason, you don't like new people because you feel threatened that they might out perform you later on in their career?

Indeed, every day is a learning experience. I think the OPs first mistake was focusing on how this situation would effect their standing at work, rather than focusing on what could have been learned from the situation. The knee-jerk response was "Oh, SOME NURSES!!!" and not "Perhaps I am missing some knowledge here". Certainly a new grad should not be written-up for every mistake they make, but the actions described by the OP indicate an unsafe knowledge deficit which warrants some counseling and further education.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I love working with and precepting new grads.

This one, however, did not do even the most basic and cursory assessment on her pt. Any new grad should know enough to do that.

From her post, it seems she feels that the only person who did anything wrong was the nurse who reported her.

Where does it say in the posting that they DIDN'T do an assessment?

at 19, learning life and career at the same time can be very overwhelming. Where are the other nurses who are working with her? How come they didn't make sure things were done correctly?

Also, Nursing is Continutity of Care, Not SHIFT CARE!

Team work is a big part of nursing. I see alot of people with the attitude that "thats not my patient" or "I'm a nurse, not a housekeeper"

What ever happened to common curtesy to help one another?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I think the other posters here have failed to recognize that this individual is less than 6 months out of school. I was more than 1 year post grad before I was ever involved with feeding tubes. Every day is a learning experience in Nursing. New Grads have it rough. Poor preceptors, I had one new grad who went through 3 preceptors in her first 4 months because they felt she should have "more" instinct. This person is in her late 40s and second career. Information associates who keep calling on them over and over again. I've seen new grads get paged 5 times in less than 10 minutes. People need to STEP UP and help those new people out. Otherwise, you'll be losing them. Or is that the reason, you don't like new people because you feel threatened that they might out perform you later on in their career?

I agree with you. I think that sometimes, due to stress, we can become frustrated and forget that new grads need mentoring on things like these. Since this nurse is less than 6mo. out of school, one would expect mistakes to be made. Now, I wouldn't have infused the feeding. But, new grads don't think as a nurse with even just 1 year of experince thinks. I think that since this was the first time a mistake was made, the other nurse should have confronted this nurse instead of going to the supervisor on her. And the supervisor should have stepped up and explained to the other nurse that this is a new nurse and that she needed to be counseled.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

....What ever happened to common curtesy to help one another?

I think that's what the posters who've responded to the OP are doing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment