Worst patient experience

Nurses General Nursing

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What was the worst patient experience that you've ever had? What happened and how did you handle it? :rolleyes:

Specializes in Med-Surg, Wound Care.
That was my first thought too, but after I read it again I think it is two different residents and two different families. It was the second residents own son who changed his mind.

I was hoping that was the case, but this is what she posted:

"Another resident's son agreed to take her with him and his family.

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Specializes in Home Health, Hospice.
I was hoping that was the case, but this is what she posted:

"Another resident's son agreed to take her with him and his family.

"We walked out to the bus together and he climbed aboard while I placed her bags underneath. I was waiting for him when he got off the bus and asked him if he had talked to his mother. "Yes, I told her there was a glitch with Medicare and that's why she had to ride the bus instead of coming with me."

Different resident and her son. She was talking about 2 different residents.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
What was the worst patient experience that you've ever had? What happened and how did you handle it? :rolleyes:

A 97 y/o GI Bleed. He started bleeding so bad that it was pooling in the bed and running off onto the floor. I absolutely could not believe how fast he was losing blood. I called the doctor and he said "well sometimes he does that", I said "no get here now" and he did. We were running IV fluids, FFP, and PRBC's in him as fast as it was coming out. The surgeon came to see him and he refused any treatment said he was ready to go. He was pale as a sheet. He was so calm and content, he smiled and told everyone it was ok. His family was hysterical. In the end everyone was peaceful when he died. I hope to never relive that kind of experience although it had a good ending.

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Not one of my worst full stop, but one that sticks in my memory... it was one of my first days on orientation to the ED and was asked if I'd do a lying and standing blood pressure on the guy in 5 before he went home... no probs I think. So I get to it, lying BP good, stand him up, about to do the BP and he brings up over a litre of blood! I was standing holding him up whilst he was white as a sheet and trying to shout help without freaking out the patient and whilst trying to stand up in all that blood. I couldn't reach the emergency button without letting him fall, so I ended up flinging open the curtain so everyone could see!!! I don't remember what happened to the patient I was so traumatised.

My worst as a patient was post op for an open reduction, internal fixation on my leg after a baaad break, I was still doped up on Morphine and seen a nurse opposite me caring for a patient with the same, looking at the wound and then coming straight to me and my wound without changing her gloves :nono: I knew I should have said something but was so doped up I couldn't. Three weeks later I found out I had MRSA in the wound and spent 6 months bathing the wound in betadine and praying for it to heal and being left with an ugly scar as a result :angryfire

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

My worst patient was in 1996 while I was on orientation in the ER where I still work. We got a call that a pediatric traumatic full arrest was coming in and since orientees need all the peds trauma they can get - I got pulled down to the trauma bay. The paramedics bring in this little four year old girl who had been beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend over a 90 minute period. The thing that bothered me the most was that her front teeth were missing where some adult had hit her in the face with a fist. (I had nightmares for a long time after this one). It is still very hard for me to see pedi child abuse cases.

I was thinking of this girl recently and spoke about her to the nurse who was my preceptor at the time and we both feel there is a little angel in heaven watching us.

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I try to block out all the paed arrest/trauma calls we get, if you dwell on them, you'll burn out so quickly, I still find it hard to forget some.

The little kid is probably still looking down on you, you tried your best to bring them back.

My worst patient was in 1996 while I was on orientation in the ER where I still work. We got a call that a pediatric traumatic full arrest was coming in.
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Specializes in LTC.

sorry for all the confusion. blue text is resident #1. green text is resident #2.

amyb

one of our residents is a cranky old lady who rarely showers and is, at times, difficult to be around. when called by our facility, her family stated, "no, you keep her. we don't want her with us."

another resident's son agreed to take her with him and his family. her most time consuming diagnosis is diabetes - fbs checks and insulin administration. he signed her out with her meds and left the building. he was back at my desk not 15 minutes later saying, "i can't do this. i had no idea how much time and effort it took to care for her. you take her with the others. oh, by the way, would you tell her why she can't come with me?"

i said, "no, you need to talk with her. i'll carry her bags to the bus, but you need to be the one to tell her."

we walked out to the bus together and he climbed aboard while i placed her bags underneath. i was waiting for him when he got off the bus and asked him if he had talked to his mother. "yes, i told her there was a glitch with medicare and that's why she had to ride the bus instead of coming with me."

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Wound Care.

Thanks Amy!! I was SOOOO confused!:wink2:

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I work at a small ER in a rural community. One Saturday afternoon, last June, we heard the medics get toned out to a possible child drowning in a local lake. A Life Flight helicopter was also summoned from a metropolitan area since we don't have a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. We all listened to the radio chatter as the ground medics communicated with the Life Flight crew.....8-yr-old female...CPR in progress....asystole. Then the ground crew called us on the radio and said that they were transporting the patient to us. In the middle of all that, the unit secretary came up to me and told me that I had an urgent phone call. It was my daughter-in-law and she was hysterical. The child that they were bringing in was my granddaughter, Cheyenne.

I wish that I could say everything turned out OK, but it didn't. We lost someone very precious to us that day.

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I work at a small ER in a rural community. One Saturday afternoon, last June, we heard the medics get toned out to a possible child drowning in a local lake. A Life Flight helicopter was also summoned from a metropolitan area since we don't have a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. We all listened to the radio chatter as the ground medics communicated with the Life Flight crew.....8-yr-old female...CPR in progress....asystole. Then the ground crew called us on the radio and said that they were transporting the patient to us. In the middle of all that, the unit secretary came up to me and told me that I had an urgent phone call. It was my daughter-in-law and she was hysterical. The child that they were bringing in was my granddaughter, Cheyenne.

I wish that I could say everything turned out OK, but it didn't. We lost someone very precious to us that day.

I think that is a fear that has crossed all our minds at one time or another. I'm so sorry it actually happened to you. (((HUGS)))

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Wound Care.

A nurses worst nightmare! Peace to Cheyenne.

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

(((((Quailfeather)))))) I'm so sorry for your loss.

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