You know its going to be a bad shift when...

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Just as you're walking into the hospital for your shift, you hear "Code Blue" followed by your unit.

Eight of your patients have had 13 BM's, and it is not even the first hour. (Happened to me 3 weeks ago, wound up dealing with 27 bms that day)

All of your patients are restrainted and just happen to be related to Harry Hodieni.

Your coming on shift, and you see a patient from your unit making a break for the main entrance in their Birthday Suit followed by six nurses and two techs from your unit.

When the night shift (Or day shift) who doesn't smoke hands you a pack of cigarettes and says "Here, You'll need this."

During report on 605, night nurse laughs and refuses to tell you why.

When the night shift tells you good luck.

The night shift says it was quiet and hopes your day goes the same.

When the A/C breaks down and its 102 outside or the Heater goes and its -32 outside.

You only have one patient at report.

When you come into work, and everyone is bagging the vent patients, because of no power.

When you hear a doctor go "Oops."

The the Alheimers guy in 405 tries to climb into bed with Alheimers lady in 406, insisting they are married, let alone they live in two different states.

Five nurses call O/S for the 7 a to 7 p shift, and there are 30 total care patients with no techs.

When your patient has 72 different meds to be given during the day. (I have seen this one also.)

Feel free to add

Adam, RN

Passed my Boards 7/18/2005

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC.

You know its going to be a bad shift when...

its a full moon

you arrive for report to be greeted by a CNA who has just sustained a concussion from an aggressive resident, and the phone rings from the agency to tell you the other RN will not be coming because she has just had an accident on the highway and is being sent to hospital. (this happened to me)

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...day shift waits until 1800 to give a 98-year-old woman Go Lytely, and yes, she will be your patient!

...The code cart hasn't had time to be restocked before you hear "code blue"...again...

...4th of July, in ED, need I say more?!

...You walk by room 351 to discover the walls and floor have a nice "brown" tint and the room is supposed to be blue.

...As you're noticing the new decor of choice in 351, you notice the patient is now sporting war paint.

...The day shift nurses look slightly frazzled and the first words out their mouths is "I haven't even begun to chart yet..."

...You have to use a bulldozer to clear a path through the family at the ICU doors.

...You walk in to work to see 3 squads sorting through rhythm strips (should I say code strips?) and as you walk through the doors in ED the nursing supervisor's face lights up when she spots you (and you proceed to walk quickly to your other destination!)

...The weekend you are scheduled to work is also the same weekend as the crap magnet trio is (certain ED doc, nursing supervisor, and on-call primary doc).

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...you're an hour into the shift and your ER has run out of defibrillator pads. (two weeks ago)

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

It's a day that ends in Y.

The coordinator has started on page 3 of the add-on surgeries list, the first three cases on that page including words like "abdominal aneurysm, "carotid", "exploratory lap", "ORIF". (this was today).

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

You know your day has already gone to hell when you arrive to work at 0645, and the only nurses waiting for report are the ones coming on duty. :eek: The nightshift nurses are tied up with their patients...STILL! :uhoh3:

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

It's a full moon weekend in summer, it's 100 degrees out, and there's a carnival in town. :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.

Well, there's the 4th of July in ED and there's Halloween in ED. I've never worked in an ED for 4th of July, but I've been in one on Halloween and boy howdy, if it gets more "interesting" than that, I don't want to see it!

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Specializes in Critical Care.
...The weekend you are scheduled to work is also the same weekend as the crap magnet trio is (certain ED doc, nursing supervisor, and on-call primary doc).

Oh, I know all about them!

You know it's gonna be a bad shift the first day the hospital tries a 'rapid response team' to prevent codes: result - 2 'codes' in 1 shift show up in your unit unannounced (after all, the PURPOSE was to avoid codes, so we didn't have to notify the code team/ICU, right!) or better, "Aren't you glad we got them to you before they coded. Oh and where do you keep your ambu bags and the doc wants V and V now (vecuronium and versed)."

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when all the NPB840 vents, and the PB7200 vents are in use and they're breaking out the old Bear IIIs and Servos. . .

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the docs last words on the phone were 'I've never seen anybody code over this before, it'll be fine . . .'

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the comment about the 'closed down room' is "do you really need a functioning monitor to admit a patient; don't you have portables somewhere?"

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when THAT GI doc is coming into do an afterhours EGD - you know the one that can't aim when he's aiming the blood at a non-bio trashcan . . .

You know its gonna be a bad shift 10 minutes after your idiot co-worker comments how quiet it is. . .

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when you have 1 patient, the rooms on either side of you are empty, and the charge nurse says "After your admit, we're gonna have to triple"

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the ABP and SPO2 alarms are turned off because "they wouldn't shut up". . .

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when there are 7 IV pumps in your room, and the off-going shift is looking for more . . .

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the OR is bringing their equipment up with the patient 'just in case' - had the OR leave a continuous TEE in a patient the other night. . .just in case.

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when THAT doc that likes to write 4 pages of orders is both your patient's primary and he's writing orders when you show up for report.

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the off-going nurses first remark to you is "Do you know where the tube exchangers are?"

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the doc asks you to set up a balloon pump, just in case . . . and then slinks out.

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the off-going report is something like "After CT scan, he's going for a VQ scan and a bleeding scan. Oh, and the first of 3 units of blood is hanging and the 2 units of FFP are thawing"

You know it's gonna be a bad shift when the wife says "I gave the nurses station's phone numbers to his 11 siblings, 23 nephews/neices, 8 children, and 2 ex-wives . . .but I'd prefer if you don't tell them anything."

Should I continue?

~faith,

Timothy.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

When the local party college is in session again.

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Well, there's the 4th of July in ED and there's Halloween in ED. I've never worked in an ED for 4th of July, but I've been in one on Halloween and boy howdy, if it gets more "interesting" than that, I don't want to see it!

I work in Memphis TN ER. Every August during "Elvis death week", we get bombarded with Elvis "look-a-likes" - mostly intoxicated, few Diabetics out of control, etc...One in particular, is a regular. Once his blood sugar gets closer to normal, he'll sing for us and other pts (whether we want him to or not).

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

- When you walk up to the employee entrance and 2 nurses from the previous shift are out there smoking and they say "turn around and RUN, you don't want to be here!"

- You get report that OB is taking our overflow cause we are full and so is ICU, (We are a med surg unit) Then ER calls for beds so they can keep patients till anyone has empty rooms. We had to get maintenance to get a couple of beds out of storage. This was last night! I don't want to go back tonight!

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