Friday the 13th

[burn out]

I would have called off if I had realized sooner that today was Friday the 13th but I was already clocked in before I knew what the date was. True to form it started off bad and got worse. To begin with my only patient had a ng feeding tube that I found to be clogged on my 8 an assessment. No big deal, I pulled it and was going to replace it. Slickest ng tube I've ever inserted but it would not flush, it would not flush again, I could not aspirate... what the heck...pull back maybe it is against something, no air would pass, pull back somemore..no way finally when I pulled the second tube completely out I noticed that it did not have any holes in the bottom of the tube, I have never seen anything like it. I'll stop there but the rest of the day was just as bad. How was your Firday the 13th?

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Other than having a little cold, it was great. Sunny, warm day. Had a good work out. Spent some fun time with my 5 year old. Actually feel like making dinner tonight. Sipping sangria . . . . it is all good.

Sorry about your day. I hate NG tubes . .. .

steph

[Cmariehart]

I had to work but all and all not a bad night....... However I think there should be a warning about Thursday the 12th because that was horrible!!!!

I honestly thought that was fri the 13th.

Thursday night rundown:

Scene 1

One lady yelling at operator to call the fire department so she can talk to husband. Got mad threw phone, took cordless phone and nurses desk and called fire department to talk to husband.

This lady's husband has been dead for a good number of years BUT he was the fire chief of this area and she was mad because he went to work.

Scene 2

Lady's Doctor comes in and says I kid you not "you can go home if you have someone with you" She goes off the wall. She comes out of her room with suitcases and says I'm ready. I told her no you can't go home and then I listed all the reasons why to her. She calls her daughter yelling & swearing at her then hangs up on her 2 x's! Her son comes in and she does the same to him instead she slaps him. She tried to leave through the back door. she threw her dinner at another resident. She started to call all of us on our unit "Gestapo's". She wandered down to activities and they lket her stay until she started calling all of them Nazi's. This started at 3:30pm and lasted until after I left for the night!!!!!!

Scene 3

The usual crazyness on my unit

[arpeggiated]

1mg Ativan, 4mg Valium, 1mg Ativan, 4mg Valium, 2 pt restraints, 2mg Haldol, 4 pt restraints, 2 mg Haldol, and a trip to ICU.

I was hopping all night.

[muffie, RN]

emptied out 10 beds

got to go home at 1515

had a very quiet nice sane day

all was good

[CRNI-ICU20]

TEQUILA!! POR FAVOR!!

And while you're at it...put a few ounces in that tube feeding over there!!

(just kidding)...

I am not superstitious but, I do wonder sometimes how in the world people get through these kinds of days...

I have drained the blood bank on GI bleeders, only to have them die right in front of me; crazy family members call me every name in the book; doctors ranting becaus someone's blood sugar didn't come down like they expected and somehow that must be MY fault!

yup....it's a puzzlement...

makes me happy I have a hovel to go home to where I can shut the door on it all.:)

[crackerjack]

Oh, had a great day ROFLMAO!!!

Worked with a tech that makes it her practice to run the circulator to death. Had a MRSA isolation case....all the way down to the end of the hall as far as possible from needed supplies, outside circulator was an orderly who knew little and was pulling double by disappearing to turn rooms over as required. Tech asked for another basin...get it and she denies asking for it but someone else in the room backed me up, although she continued to deny it. She asked for an instrument, sent for it and she laughed at me saying that wasn't what she asked for...thankfully, doc backed me up and told her that was exactly what she'd asked for! Ok, so it was a PITA but it was very nice to have someone backing me up, for once...long story with this particular crew but this wasn't the kicker for the day.

Had an add-on lap appy that went bad. Resident hit the descending aorta with the insertion of the initial trocar, bladeless though it be, and proceeded to 'play around' trying to find the source of ALL THAT BLOOD IN HIS GUT! In no time at all we had 700cc in the suction canister and he was still assling around. Attending comes back in the room and chews his backside and tells him to open STAT! Thankfully, there were a few folks between cases and/or waiting on surgeons/patients to arrive to start their next cases so I was able to open the door and scream down the hall for extra supplies...cv major set, vascular clamp set, headlights, etc etc etc GET ME A CV SURGEON IN HERE STAT!!! while I had anesthesia drawing blood for a type and cross, pulled another RN to help with counts while I opened sets, laps, dressed docs, hooked up headlights and plenty of other goodies. It was quite exciting ROFL and I'm happy to say that the repair was made and we managed to bolus fluids and hespan and avoid transfusions (he started with a hemoglobin of 15.8 TG) and he was doing well last I heard in that ICU bed I secured for him :)

On top of that, my tech who claims to be the best we have yada yada, was floundering significantly, asking for another tech to scrub in with her (nobody available by this point) and the ST student we had saved her backside a few times. Sad when the student is more competent than your experienced tech.

Before all this broke loose, she had been badgering me to fetch a few items she ''forgot'' to get and was already scrubbed in so needed me to get it for her, as usual. We were doing a rapid sequence intubation and she repeatedly was asking for these items with me telling her i heard and would get asap. By the time I was able to safely do any of it, she'd asked me several times and I was livid. I left to get one item and ran into our orderly who immediatly knew i was *there* who begged me to let her help 'fix' whatever she could, what was wrong LOL told her I wanted the super NOW! Gave the tech the one item and went to fetch NS and super was there, went off (appropriately just animated lol) told her i've had it with this tech, i want my techs prepared, in the room and having gathered needed supplies BEFORE scrubbing in for all cases...now, i feel better. :) she busted out laughing ROFL then said she would take care of it. She later told me that she'd just had a counselling conversation with this same tech just before that case started and for me to walk out and tell her the same problem occurred right after being given corrective counselling, she was not happy with her. Apparently I'm not the only one fed up with her lack of preparedness and incompetency.

Ok, if you've read all of that I thank you LOL It was quite a special day though could've been much worse. There is at least one day like this per week though and I am not a superstitious person, so I just figure since hte rest of the week went well this was *my day* for the week.:trout:

[danissa, LPN, LVN]

.......was a horrible day here in Scotland, kinda muggy warm but v v misty! You know the weather that makes people Crabby? Well, I had the pleasure of being off work, planned to take my mam and my boy and explore a local castle---just couldn't see it for the mist, ended up shopping--OMG..my boy, (14) WAS pleased!

Also felt kinda down that day, I'm missing a friend who seems not to want to get back to me :( --AND I dont know why!

[BJLynn]

I had a lady pull out her G-tube three times within 36 hours. Thankfully I wasn't working that day. Too much paperwork lol. 48 hours later she pulls it out a fourth time.