What is your first hint that it is gonna be a rough shift

Nurses General Nursing

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Have you ever walked onto the floor and just had that strange uncomfortable feeling right off the bat

that is is gonna be "one of those nights (or days)". Seriously, , this happened to me just last night, and

true to the theory, all bedlam broke out right off the bat. My first patients room that I walked into, a

woman asked me where her bell for room service was. She wanted me to help her rearrange her winter

wardrobe and replace it with all the clothes that her and her daughter had went on a shopping spree

to Kohl's and had 8 bags of clothing that all needed untagged, labeled, hung up. Explained her that

this is what volunteers and family members were for. She told me that her daughter had a very

important job at the post office and had to work all weekend, so I would have to do it. Excuse me???

When I told her that I had med passes, vitals, treatments, and charting to do for 24 others, she pulled

her wig off her head, threw it at me and told me to get the hell outta her room if I was just going to

treat her like that:flamesonb

When I walk in the door and the receptionist tells me that we are the only vet hospital in the basin that has a vet. This is a 300 square mile area.

Someone comes to the back in the middle of an ortho surgery and says, "We have a blocked cat or a hit by car coming in". I realize that I'm the only tech in the building as well as the current sterile surgical assistant.

I get a phone call at 0100 rapidly saying, "Fuzzy, I owe you big time but can you come in and help me? I have one emergency here and two more on the way. Thanks"

The kennel help has quit or they're all on vacation, so the techs get to do kennels as well as their duties too.

I see a car with government plates in the parking lot.

Fuzzy

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When you walk in and the night nurse before you says " God bless you because nobody else will!" Then you see one of the other nurses being carried off on a stretcher.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

First hint?

When you get to the station to pick up report, and: you have 1 CNA, because the other one called out, 3 nurses because the other 2 called out, and only one US, because the other one called out, which means you can either have someone watch telemetry OR answer the callbell/phones.

You're the only one on the shift who's been in a code on a shift -- this automatically summons the code gods.

The day shift charge nurse has assigned you all the patients circling the drain, looks at you and says, "you're going to be the most experienced nurse on the floor tonight, don't let the babies kill anyone."

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Specializes in cardiothoracic surgery.

When you look at the assignment sheet and see half of the staff requested to not be assigned to the patient in room 3312. You then look at your assignment and realize you are assigned to room 3312.

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Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.

When I am happy on my way to work and think "it's going to be a great night!"

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

when i look at the names on the report and realize that at least 4 of the patients have required emergency medication/seclusion/restraints in the past... and i am way understaffed. i start to wonder if anyone would notice if i just wandered back to my car .... :innerconf

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Specializes in LTC, Acute Care.
when i walk onto the floor and 4 metro police officers are spraying pepper spray at a pt .

Ok I'm sorry for laughing but that's funny.

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Specializes in ICU.

When you sit down for group report, and half the patients on the sheet have "confused" written in the comment section.

When there's no offgoing nurses sitting in the station ready to give report - that means they're all in a room somewhere, still too busy to come out & give report.

When you walk by your pt's room, and there are three pumps running, with all four channels on each pump in use.

When you look up the history for your new admission, and see multiple psych diagnoses, along with chronic back pain and fibromyalgia.

When you don't have to look up the history for your new admission, because they are a frequent flyer and everyone on the unit knows their history by heart.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

When you have an admission who's in for "pain/nausea after D&C at another facility" d/t miscarriage.....despite the fact that you were her nurse when she had a hysterectomy 1 year ago. Let me just roll a drum of demerol into your room and give you a straw....

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Specializes in Critical Care.

You walk into work and have a critical patient crashing/ desaturating, and at the time you are about to start report on that patient, you receive a new ICU admit that is vented, thrashing, blood pressure in the 70's, and it's a fellow RN . . .

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

All SEVEN of your assigned patients are incontinent.

And the day shift nurse says to you on her way out "have fun with that...."

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Specializes in geriatrics,med/surg,vents.
When you have an admission who's in for "pain/nausea after D&C at another facility" d/t miscarriage.....despite the fact that you were her nurse when she had a hysterectomy 1 year ago. Let me just roll a drum of demerol into your room and give you a straw....

OK I feel your pain,but that really made me laugh

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