Recovery Room Horror!

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2004

I'm at a fork in the road and don't know where to go. I recently had an emergency D&C to stop the excessive bleeding due to miscarriage in late august. I woke up in the recovery room 20 minutes after I was put under for surgery. Short surgery. I was approached by two nurses and administered O2. I was in pain and one of the nurses looks at me and says with obvious exasperation "What's wrong?" She guessed and came back with Fentanyl. I was surprisingly aware and lucid. Well I started to feel nauseated and not inclined to "bug" them again so I pulled a large metal trash can over towards me (it was only in arms reach away) so as not to make a huge mess for them to clean up. Well holy moly!!!!!!!! This nurses shouts from across the empty recovery room (2:45 AM)....."What do you think you're doing?".... and storms across the room and KICKS the can away from me and it falls with a huge resounding bang to the floor! We were both a little shocked and I just gaped at her. She goes on to say "Just what the heck do you think you're doing, you can't do that!" I'm saying sorry at this point but she stands there with both hands on her hips GLARING at me! Right about then I was wishing I was still in surgery. The shock wore off and I just looked at her shaking my head and whispered "I don't believe you!" I don't understand why I was so awake but I was, and I think she realized it too because she continued to stand there just looking at me. I speculated it was to anticipate just how much I'd remember but who knows. right?
At that point the loss of my baby and the incident just tore through my resolve and I burst into tears. I refused to look at her but I knew she was standing there a while looking at me before she put her hand on mine and said in a gentler tone "It's ok" She stayed there the rest of the time I was there fussing with my sheets and tucking me in(10 min) and as I was wheeled up to my room by a porter who was there the whole time, he said that she never worked nights before. I'm thinking who cares...its quieter in the Recovery room at night. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Now my problem. I decided not to make a formal complaint but I can't get the incident out of my head. I've tried but I feel a little traumatized for lack of a better word. Should I go to the hospital and say something? No doubt in my mind she felt bad but is that enough? I've run into a few bad incidents but chose to say nothing but I can't shake this one.I know the danger of falling in hindsight but I didn't even have to move much the can was THAT BIG! Will a complaint have an effect on my clinical rotation if I go through with it? Thanks for listening guys.

First, I want to say that I'm sorry about your baby. I can't even begin to imagine. Secondly, to answer your question about saying something to the hopsital . . . yes! You can't be the only one she was so miserable to. Also, IMHO, you should have forgone the whole trashcan thing and let it fly all over her. :devil: Sorry! I know she tried to be reassuring after, but the damage was already done. As far as her never working nights before, who cares? She should still be able to do her job regardless and if she was having that bad of a time, she should have walked away for a short time. The porter was there with you as well and I would mention that to the hospital as. That way she can't say your perception was all distorted from the Fentanyl and that it really did not happen like you said. Just my .02.

P.S. :kiss Hugs and kisses you and your baby as well.

z's playa · Sep 24, 2004

Thanks for your .02 :) It's worth a lot more than that to me!

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2004

I'm glad. Please take care.

fergus51 · Sep 24, 2004

I'm so sorry you had this to compound the pain you were already in. Do you know this nurse's name? If so, I would write a letter specifically to her. I don't know what was going through her head? Did she think you were still out of it and might do something to the garbage? I've never worked recovery, so I don't know what was going on there.

sharann, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2004

I am so upset for you! The fact that you were too "intimidated" to be able to tell your nurse that you were in distress(nausea) tells me that she was acting out of place. I think you should complain but also write that she seemed remorseful,LATER. At least they may pick up a pattern and can keep an eye on her. I work recovery and have been in nights on call and when ill and weekends...still not a reason to be impatient and bit*(y.

I had a miscarraige myself(twins) and had to get a D&C and I had a similar experience in pre-op. I was cramping very bad and asked for something. The nurse smirked and then called the anesthesiologist. It was like"This baby wants some pain meds"(she didn't say that in front of me though, but I felt that strongly. I wasn't a nurse at that time and never thought to say anything. Take care.

Scififan · Sep 25, 2004

I am so sorry you went through this. I work in the Recovery room and this is totally unacceptable, you should in fact make a complaint as I doubt this was the first time or will be the last - especially if she gets away with it.

After relatively short procedures patients are often quite lucid in a relatively short time, and pain has a way of making people wake up faster!!! I don't care whether she had worked nights before or not, it is no excuse for giving your patient sub standard care. I have been called out late at night for cases and I often feel tired and grumpy - but that's not actually my patients problem, given the choice they wouldn't be there either.

Experiences like this for patients make it much more difficult for them if they have to have surgery again, usually making them anxious and therefore more tense, increasing pain etc etc. Please don't let this drop, there are alot of extremely good Recovery nurses who would be better off having her job, if this is her normal standard of care. If this is out of character for her, then having a discussion with her manager isn't going to hurt her career but may make her think a little more.

I wish you well in your continued recovery.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Sep 26, 2004

I am very sorry for your loss.

I am also very sorry for your experience in the recovery room. How it is to wake up from surgery, that kind of attitude and loud noise is awful in itself, but considering the physical and emotional things you were going through, the word awful doesn't cover it.

Granted it's also your decision, but i really strongly encourage you to file a complaint. The nurse's name should be signed somewhere on the paperwork, since there's a pretty good chance you don't remember names from that room.

The reason why i'm encouraging the complaint? So someone else will be spared the treatment that you got. Whether she changed her tune afterwards or not, what she did is wrong, no matter what.

carcha · Sep 26, 2004

Z's Playa. Some years ago I myself was a patient in a hospital, vunerable like you were and came accross the night nurse from hell. I was left with a tiny chip in my tooth and a bruised hand. Like you, I was too, and I dont think the work was afraid but too aware of my position as a colleague to report her or make a complaint. Like you there was a second nurse there who pulled her away, I was only about 4 hours post op and was too weak to ring my husband or family. Today I can still remember that incident like it happened an hour ago and am so sorry I dident complain this horrible person, I will not call her a "nurse" as she did not behave like one. I am sorry as I can not put this to bed in my mind, I am sorry as since then I have had to have surgery and insisted a family member stayed with me, I am sorry as I think of all the other patients who may have suffered due to my misguided "loyalty" and I am sorry that the second person who pulled her away was also not disciplined. My crime, I was still very sleepy and I had folded my arm accross my chest and the IV had stopped. My arm was yanked with such force that it smashed into the cot side and rebounded back into my mouth chipping my tooth. I am still as angry today as I was all those years ago and feel if I had complained at the time even if she got away with it the complaint would have curtailed her anger. I am the one feeling ashamed of my actions. I cant tell you what to do but I so wish now I had done something.

jennyanydot · Oct 12, 2004

started to read this thread. My sympathy to all of you who have been in a position where you needed understanding and comforting and found only annoyance and in some cases down right meanness.

What I was going to ask your opinions on was having surgery but now I think

I will tell you what happened starting in April.

(I've had several surgeries and one being a TAH w/removal of ovaries due to pre cancerous cells. Surgery and recovery (4 days in hospital) went great.

Okay, now April 2004 I fall OFF (not down) my second floor staircase and crush my radius and wrist. I am admitted and an external fixator is put on in the OR. PACU nurse was super kind and I was given 16 mg of Morphine until

I felt better. Next, followup showed (doctor was pot luck emergency guy) my

wrist bones going out the ulnar side of my wrist and I was told by this Ortho doc I would need to go to the hospital for him to fix it because he could do it

in the office it would hurt too much. So, never having had a problem with surgery I say, "Okay, as long as you can control the pain." Oh, we'll take good care of you, don't you worry. Next day, I walk into ambulatory care

no more anxious than going to the dentist. No one says anything to me while

I am in holding tank for the OR except a goofy looking guy comes over and says, "any allergies?" I say no and off to the OR. The OR nurse was so nice

and she spoke to me and we had a quick but fun conversation. Neither surgeon or anesthiologist say 'boo' to me. Not even the usual, okay, now

your going to go out. Just put me out. 11:36 I am brought into the PACU

and I am sedated but very reactive with excrusciating pain. At 11:37 bozo

(anesthesiologist) starts to write orders. He orders Versed before I even get

an analgesic. It's on the orders along with 0.5 Dilaudid 4 x PRN. He knew

he already lost the battle of controlling the pain and probably ordered the Versed so I wouldn't remember the pain (ha!). At 11:40 I get 0.5 Dilaudid

(my PACU nurse charts severe operative pain 10) art 11:45 I get another 0.5 of Dilauded - whoopie do a loading dose is 1-2 mg. !!!! He could have ordered Fentynal which is quicker acting since the pain was already OUT!!!! But no,

Dilaudid which takes 20-30 minutes. I feel sick to my stomach from the pain

still raging at a 10/10 and am given 12.5 Phenergan.at 12:50 Now, I am nuts

with pain (logged as 'agitated' - actually murderous!). The nurse at this point

is probably saying to hell with the other mg. of Dilauded I have the Versed I

can give her and shut her up. I kept saying why arn't you giving me any Morphine. What is wrong with you people? Why arn't you helping me? etc.

Versed at noon. Doctor walks in at 12:07 and sees me dozing and orders my

arm put up on the IV pole. He leaves and my arm is hoisted up at 12:15 as I

involuntarily let out screams. So embarrassed! Well folks this went on for 4 hours and I was told I was not going home because they could not control my pain. Family was a little worried after waiting from 7:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m.

Oh, yeah, the operation which he made sound so easy was 3 hours from incision till closing. Ext Fixator off incision on both dorsal and volar side of wrist with arm in tourniquet for 2 hours. Internal plates and locking screws put in and bone graf added. And neither the surgeon or the anesthesiologist gave one hoot about how much pain I was going to be in. Never had a plan for managing it properly. Too much dependence on amnesia and versed, I think.

Okay, now here is where I need your thoughts and opinions. I have to go back to have a constricted median nerve relieved (CT) due to the operation.

This is fine but at the same time I want the hardware out as it is bulky and popping out of my skin on my wrist. Doctors agree it can come out with no

problem. My dilema ... the doctor wants me to have GA and I am afraid of waking up like that again. He said I won't the pain will only be around a 3 or 4

unless I am a wimp. And he said he would give me percocet - WOW!:rotfl:

I spoke to an anesthesiologist on the Internet and showed him my records from the May operation fiasco and he said I was under medicated and should have at least had something that was faster acting. He said for taking the hardware out he would suggest an axillary block (docs don't want you awake)

So my surgeon says, nah you don't want that the tourniquet is too painful.

Yeah, yeah... Well, now I haver wrestled with this a 100 ways and I am thinking GA for the surgeon and block for me so I don't wake up in severe pain. I was never afraid before but I definitely was traumatized in May and

I too cannot shake it. As soon as something like another surgery comes up I keep reliving May and the awful feeling of pain, betrayal (doc) and abandonment (no relief). I just don't want to wake up like that again. And reading your threads made me realize although my surgeon in exasperation said okay you had a very traumatic experience (someone told him I was in a lot of pain - probably the nurse in the PACU), but you have to come to terms with it. I can if I don't have to have anymore surgery or if I can be awake and not go to sleep. I can deal with pain better when I have my wits about me.

Sedated I am confused and do not deal with the pain as well. Surgeons do not want you to have blocks. God forbid your awake when they work! Anyway, you guys see it all. How do the people do on blocks??? Is tourniquet pain all that bad. If it's only a Level 3 than that is better than what I would

be waking up to. Isn't it just pressure discomfort? Remember, I was traumatized not only by the pain but the lack of care, the dishonest surgeon never warning me and about the Versed for amnesia. It's a sneaky way of trying to cover up a mistake. I have versed all the time for over a dozen procedures but after surgery with 10/10 pain in place of decent pain medication??!!! I never want amnesic drugs AFTER surgery again.

Remember just having a ext fix put on (April) I received 16 mg. Morphine in 30 minutes (in patient!) but with the 3 hours of trauma surgery (May) I received less than half of its equivelent with Dilaudid 1 mg. in 30 minutes.

You haved seen it all so please I welcome your suggestions for this surgery

and what I should do and ask for. Promise, I'm not a wimp. But I am still angry over May and how it has taken away my confidence in 'the system'.

Z's Playa. Some years ago I myself was a patient in a hospital, vunerable like you were and came accross the night nurse from hell. I was left with a tiny chip in my tooth and a bruised hand. Like you, I was too, and I dont think the work was afraid but too aware of my position as a colleague to report her or make a complaint. Like you there was a second nurse there who pulled her away, I was only about 4 hours post op and was too weak to ring my husband or family. Today I can still remember that incident like it happened an hour ago and am so sorry I dident complain this horrible person, I will not call her a "nurse" as she did not behave like one. I am sorry as I can not put this to bed in my mind, I am sorry as since then I have had to have surgery and insisted a family member stayed with me, I am sorry as I think of all the other patients who may have suffered due to my misguided "loyalty" and I am sorry that the second person who pulled her away was also not disciplined. My crime, I was still very sleepy and I had folded my arm accross my chest and the IV had stopped. My arm was yanked with such force that it smashed into the cot side and rebounded back into my mouth chipping my tooth. I am still as angry today as I was all those years ago and feel if I had complained at the time even if she got away with it the complaint would have curtailed her anger. I am the one feeling ashamed of my actions. I cant tell you what to do but I so wish now I had done something.

jennyanydot · Oct 12, 2004