ANother one bites the dust

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of my 6 cancer pts, the third one has just expired. that's three in six weeks. a fourth is expectant. the fifth has less than 6 months. the sixth is the only one with a good prognosis.

nurse kevorkian strikes again?

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
of my 6 cancer pts, the third one has just expired. that's three in six weeks. a fourth is expectant. the fifth has less than 6 months. the sixth is the only one with a good prognosis.

nurse kevorkian strikes again?

wow, so how are you adjusting to this? isn't this a new specialty of nursing for you?

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Specializes in Cardiothoracic Transplant Telemetry.

Im so sorry Tazzi :icon_hug:

Don't change your screen name just yet

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at first it was rough. i knew i would have to give pts over to hospice, but it didn't occur to me that i had to do anything grief-related while i was getting them there. after the second death it took a lot out of me, dealing with the pts and their families. i thought maybe i wasn't cut out for this. then i talked to our social worker and she was stunned when she found out how many cancer pts i had all at once. at the time i had 4. she said most nurses have one at a time, maybe two, and rarely are all of them terminal.

that really helped. since then i've been able to step back and see that i do make a difference.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

You are probably a nurse to the whole family as they come to grips with impending death of their loved one. It sounds very draining, but a real chance to make a difference!

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When I worked in inpt hospice, I once had three pts die in one shift. It does feel awful.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
When I worked in inpt hospice, I once had three pts die in one shift. It does feel awful.

Wow, that a lot. :uhoh3:

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Specializes in ER, tele, vascular.

Losing pts. is tough that is for sure. Sorry, I don't have any words of wisdom for you. All I can offer is words of encouragement. Try and continue on, maybe you got on this ride at the dip in the roller coaster. Who knows, maybe the peak is just around the corner and the next dip won't be so drastic.

Keep your chin up, do your best and see how the future plays out, and I will keep you in my prayers. You are working with a group of pts that I don't think I could.

Craig

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Specializes in Tele, Infectious Disease, OHN.

Wow. Talk about overwhelming. I know hospice nurses that do not lose that many patients that quick. I am sure you bring comfort to the patients as well as the families. Be sure and take care of yourself. Maybe you can talk to whoever makes the assignments and ask for a more balanced load. Sometimes you just have to speak up for yourself. I always enjoy your posts and have no doubt you are an excellent, compassionate nurse. Hang in there!

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Wow. Talk about overwhelming. I know hospice nurses that do not lose that many patients that quick. I am sure you bring comfort to the patients as well as the families. Be sure and take care of yourself. Maybe you can talk to whoever makes the assignments and ask for a more balanced load. Sometimes you just have to speak up for yourself. I always enjoy your posts and have no doubt you are an excellent, compassionate nurse. Hang in there!

I enjoy reading her posts, too.

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