Weirdest Clinical Nightmare Ever~ The whole day was so bad. . . (Long but crazy!)

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Oct 7, 2004

Ewwww...what a nightmare!!! And your instructor sounds like an ogre. Sounds like the girl has a coag problem.

Truly_Blessed · Oct 7, 2004

omg, I am stressed out after reading that. sounds like clinical was a rowdy zoo today. I have never seen anything like that bleeder in my life...I have no idea about that. Hope it gets better:)

EmilyCCRN · Oct 7, 2004

ps...what was with the girl's mouth bleeding? have you every seen this? can your gums just rot like that~she's only 20?

I used to work with a gal who was only 27 when she had her entire set of teeth removed and had to have a full set of dentures fitted. I worked with her for three years prior to the "dentures", and her teeth and gums were black and horrible-looking the whole time I knew her. Her gums did not, however, bleed noticeably all over the place. From the little bit that the gal said, it sounds like she did A LOT of drugs in her teen years which could have contributed significantly to her mouth problems.

It sounds like your fellow nursing student DOES NOT belong in the program. We're all stressed and sleep-deprived, but that does not give us an excuse to not properly care for our patient and to not prepare for their care ahead of time. And bleeding all over the place? That's GROSS and it's a gigantic biohazard! :nono: There are probably 100 qualified applicants that could have taken her spot in the program, so it's too bad the spot was wasted on someone who's not serious about becoming a nurse.

Good luck to you! Hopefully your instructors won't take it out on everyone the next time one student screws up. :)

Shed13911 · Oct 7, 2004

I would say that takes the cake as being the worst day by far. It should only get better from there!!

skislalom · Oct 7, 2004

ps...what was with the girl's mouth bleeding? have you every seen this? can your gums just rot like that~she's only 20?

That sounds alot like ANUG (aka: trenchmouth)...here's some info on it...a girl I knew growing up had it. Her gums would bleed if she sucked on a straw, smoked a cigarrette...just about anything set it off...and the SMELL :uhoh3: yikes!!

ANUG (Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis)ANUG is an acronym for Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis, more commonly known as trench mouth, due to the disorder being common among soldiers during World War 1, or Vincent's disease after the French physician Henri Vincent (1862-1950).

ANUG also goes by many other names including acute membranous gingivitis, fusospirillary gingivitis, fusospirillosis, fusospirochetal gingivitis, necrotizing gingivitis, phagedenic gingivitis, ulcerative gingivitis, Vincent's gingivitis, Vincent's infection, and Vincent's stomatitis.

ANUG is often brought on by stress and/or smoking and is a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Other causes of this disease include poor oral hygiene, poor nutrition and throat, tooth or mouth infections. ANUG is a rare condition, which typically affects people between the ages of 15 and 35.

The mouth normally contains a balance of different microorganisms. ANUG occurs when there is an overabundance of normal mouth bacteria resulting in infection of the gums. Viruses can also be involved in allowing the bacteria to overgrow. Poisons released by these bacteria irritate the gums causing further infection. If untreated the infection creates ulcers leading to destruction of tissues, or trenches, that undermine the support of the teeth and eventually cause the loss of teeth.

Good oral hygiene is important to prevent trench mouth, including thorough tooth brushing and flossing and regular professional dental cleaning and examination. Good nutrition and good general health also help to prevent the disorder. Other preventive measures include stopping smoking and learning of ways to deal with stress.

Special appliances or tools may be recommended to supplement tooth brushing and flossing. These include special toothpicks, toothbrushes, water irrigation, or other devices. Fluoride-containing, or anti-plaque (tartar control) toothpastes or mouth rinses may be recommended by the dentist or oral hygienist.

Symptoms of ANUG are very easy to spot and include painful gums, gum bleeding in response to any pressure or irritation, reddened gums, swollen grayish film on the gums, crater-like ulcers, foul taste in the mouth and bad breath. Treating ANUG requires professional help in the form of antibiotics and sometimes dental surgery. Professional cleaning of the gums is also necessary as is Irrigation of the mouth with salt water or peroxide solution, which often helps to relieve symptoms. Rest, a balanced diet, with avoidance of smoking or eating hot and spicy food, is also important.

http://www.dentalfind.com/glossary/anug_acute_necrotizing_ulcerative_gingivitis.html

Man what a day you had...Dare I say...It couldn't get any worse?!?!?!

Thank goodness none of that was aimed at you! Can't imagine an instructor like that (or student for that matter) WOW

~T

KarafromPhilly · Oct 7, 2004

I feel ill. :eek:

Gompers, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2004

I feel ill.

I feel like brushing my teeth and gargling so bad right now, but I'm at work without a toothbrush. That is truly disgusting and that student should NOT be able to take care of patients until her mouth is healed.

I'm glad you had an okay day despite all the negativity. Like other have said, it can only get better now!

talaxandra · Oct 7, 2004

Well on the plus side, practically every clinical day will be a breeze in comparison!

(I know, not very comforting, but what is there to say. Urgh! PS Poor Henri Vincent - what a disease to have named after you! This is why I have a toothbrush and toothpaste in my locker!)

jannecdote · Oct 7, 2004

Eeeewww. That is a clinical nightmare. Bless your heart.

LydiaGreen · Oct 7, 2004

Wow - what a day you had. All I can say is that there was an absence of professionalism by so many people it isn't funny. That student should NOT be doing patient care with all of that bleeding ESPECIALLY if she has ANUG or anything similar to it! A bacterial infection is NOT something you want to be passing on to your patients. And if she has any open wounds (even in her mouth) she is increasing her risk of picking something up from the patients by a million fold. If I have even a paper cut, I use some liquid bandaid to seal it because we all know how long a bandaid lasts when you are washing your hands four times an hour or more!

The student was unprofessional (and yes, professionalism is required before you become a professional) for two reasons - bleeding all over your patient and freaking them out and causing them to worry about what you may have exposed them to is NOT exactly standard nursing practice - and, if you are unprepared, you shouldn't be there PERIOD. Drug studies, research on procedures, and research on your patients' illnesses and the pathophysiology of those illnesses is important and may make a HUGE difference in patient care. I had one patient who was on a med that was contraindicated for use with several of her other meds and an acute illness - I brought it to my instructor's attention and she called the doc - the med was discontinued immediately and the patient had to have immediate bloodwork. Everything was okay but would not have been if she had continued on the medication. So yes, the student should have been prepared. What if the client's BP was 84/52 and she gave the metoprolol without knowing what it would do? Very unprofessional.

The instructor was unprofessional because any verbal reprimands should be conducted PRIVATELY and without screaming and profanity. The instructor had every right and an obligation to patient safety, to send that student home.

The head of the program was unprofessional because, once again, any verbal reprimands should be conducted PRIVATELY and prior to the reprimand, she should have asked the clinical instructor for his/her side of the story! If the blood was obvious, the head of the program should have definitely agreed with the removal from clinicals although perhaps not with the methods.

And, your clinical instructor was once again unprofessional - especially if she used the word "screw-ups" - my goodness! Insults are a PERSONAL attack and have no place in clinicals or nursing school period. And, swearing at your students is ridiculous - come on, grow up, quit throwing a hissy fit.

You poor girl`! What an awful day and everyone is right - things can only get better from this point.

dianacs · Oct 7, 2004

Now that is a bizarre set of happenings! Hopefully some good will come out of all this...what a story!