Anyone ever pass out at work....I just did :'(

Jay-Jay, RN · Jan 12, 2006

I do community nursing. I didnt pass out but I DID get carried out of a patient's home on a stretcher!!

I'd just finished helping the patient onto the bed so I could do a full exam, and I started to get a few niggling cramps, like menstrual cramps. Shortly thereafter, I broke out into a cold sweat, and the pain began to escalate. Within 15 minutes, I was curled up on the living room sofa, moaning and upchucking (nice, smelly tuna, too! ) When the patient's daughter asked if she should call 911, I nodded weakly.

Turned out I had a HUGE ovarian cyst, which had either twisted, or started to bleed or leak! I stayed off work until I was able to have surgery on it.

Bipley · Jan 12, 2006

I do community nursing. I didnt pass out but I DID get carried out of a patient's home on a stretcher!!
I'd just finished helping the patient onto the bed so I could do a full exam, and I started to get a few niggling cramps, like menstrual cramps. Shortly thereafter, I broke out into a cold sweat, and the pain began to escalate. Within 15 minutes, I was curled up on the living room sofa, moaning and upchucking (nice, smelly tuna, too! ) When the patient's daughter asked if she should call 911, I nodded weakly.
Turned out I had a HUGE ovarian cyst, which had either twisted, or started to bleed or leak! I stayed off work until I was able to have surgery on it.

I'll bet cyberbucks you and the family never forget that day.

"Remember that nurse we had to call 911 for???"

:)

I totally understand. Not trying to make light of your situation, sounds just awful. But still, something to remember.

Jay-Jay, RN · Jan 12, 2006

Yeah, after the fact, I can see the humour in the situation! :chuckle

To make matters worse, I had called my husband for help before they called the ambulance, and HE brought the dog with him, then had to leave her with the patient's family while he rode in the ambulance to the hospital!! :ROTFL:

They reported that she was a model canine citizen... :rolleyes:

Bipley · Jan 12, 2006

Yeah, after the fact, I can see the humour in the situation! :chuckle
To make matters worse, I had called my husband for help before they called the ambulance, and HE brought the dog with him, then had to leave her with the patient's family while he rode in the ambulance to the hospital!! :ROTFL:
They reported that she was a model canine citizen...

Some family members are the best ever, eh? Sometimes it is hard to remember them through all the buttheads, but some family members are nothing less than true gems.

Jay-Jay, RN · Jan 12, 2006

Yeah, after the fact, I can see the humour in the situation! :chuckle
To make matters worse, I had called my husband for help before they called the ambulance, and HE brought the dog with him, then had to leave her with the patient's family while he rode in the ambulance to the hospital!! :ROTFL:
They reported that she was a model canine citizen...

What wasn't so funny was my treatment by the E.R. Almost all the local ER's were on redirect, and the ER I was sent to was scheduled to close about a month down the road. I can't say that excuses my treatment, though!

The pain was so bad that I screamed every time the ambulance hit a bump in the road. It certainly rated an 8/10 at that point. It started to slack off a bit by the time I got to the ER, but then I started to shiver and shake. Within a short time I was running a temp of 39.5. I still had not been given any medication, or even had an IV started on me. Up until then, I'd been able to handle the pain, but once the fever hit, I just was feeling so horrible, I was begging for relief.

Three times, I begged the nurse for at least some Tylenol. (Wasn't thinking right..of course, I was NPO!) Three times, my husband saw the nurses go to the MD, and ask for orders. Twice he blew them off: "Yeah, yeah, I'm really busy, I'll get to it soon..."

The third time, he blew his stack. He slammed a pile of chart binders down on the desk, used the 'F' word at least three times, ranting about something not being done, or no time to do something, then snarled at the nurse: "Take a verbal!"

Another nurse witnessed it, and she gave me (what I assume) was Demerol IV push! They had started an IV at that point, and with the fluid moving through my kidneys I'd been thinking of getting up to go to the bathroom. Well, after the Demerol, I had no thought of going to the bathroom for at least the next three hours!

Spent the night in the ER. They did put me in a treatment room by myself, and close the door, and turn out the lights to give me some peace and quiet. Wake up in the wee hours...need to pee! Of course, bed rails are up, but there is no call bell on a gurney, nor did I have a button to push! Uh-oh. I think I finally was able to unlatch the bed rail and escape from my prison....

What an experience!! :uhoh21:

Bipley · Jan 12, 2006

Of course, bed rails are up, but there is no call bell on a gurney, nor did I have a button to push! Uh-oh. I think I finally was able to unlatch the bed rail and escape from my prison....
What an experience!! :uhoh21:

Ohhhh, thank you thank you!!!

I was in ICU once for smoke inhalation after a fire. When my nurse put up the side rails of the bed I started to feel a panic begin.... I felt like I was in a coffin.

I know, sounds weird. But when you can't breathe well you can't move well, you darn sure can't think well. I couldn't said a word but I must have had the right expression on my face. He lowered the end side rails so only the ones next to my upper body were up. It was a horrible feeling!!! I thought I couldn't get out of the coffin! LOL

Sometimes we just have to be patients before we get a true taste of BEING a patient.

Ever see those TV shows where they make the medical students play the role of patients? They tape their fingers together, put casts on their legs, put thick glasses on them? THAT is what it is like being a patient. But the difference is that THEY can remove the tape, casts, and glasses. A patient cannot do that.

Every nurse should be required to be an ICU patient. You make NO decisions on your own, you decide nothing for yourself. THEN... restraints. It is something every nurse should experience but only under the conditions that something is being done she is fully opposed to. Then and only then does one honestly and truly understand what their patient's experience.

I was restrained (vent), every nurse needs to experience this. It just isn't the same assuming you know the feeling. It isn't.

I fully 100% without a doubt and freely admit, my thinking has changed when it come to a vented pt in restraints. I see them completely and totally different vs. before I was restrained and on a vent.

flashpoint · Jan 12, 2006

Two years ago on New Year's Eve, one of the nurses brought a really yummy shrimp dip for all of us to share. It was sooo good and I honestly pigged out on more than my fair share. About 30 minutes later I was helping one of the doctors to suture a patient...the doctor looked up at me and asked me it I was OK. I said that I was and he went on suturing...a few minutes later I heard a bunch of yelling as the doctor picked me up off the floor and put me in the next bed...a little epinepherine and benadryl later, I was on my way put the door with a medrol dose pack and an epi-pen...and I wil never eat shrimp again.

:-)

allnurses Guide · Jan 12, 2006

Two seizures, both here at work fortunately. One while working the ER and one while working OB.

I had no warning.

None since thank goodness. It has been two years.

steph

Harleygirl · Jan 12, 2006

Hey, at least if you pass out at work there are people available to take care of you! Imagine if you were at home and this same thing happened!

I have not yet passed out at work. I remember one time in grade school, I collapsed in front of a teacher because I had skipped breakfast. Never anything like it since!

compassion1 · Jan 12, 2006

I've felt dizzy, fuzzy headed and diaphoretic when I've had low blood sugar and almost passed out at work once. My charge nurse put me in an empty room to rest till it passed. Dumb supervisior wouldn't let me go home as we were short handed! Anyway, come to find out this was the first indication that I was pregnant! And we had just adopted a baby 3 months prior as we had been told that, after 8 years of trying, we couldn't get pregnant! Did have a seizure at Universal Orlando about a month ago and only started to be "aware" after I got to the hospital's ED. Was not a high point in my life, for sure! As a previous post mentioned, I can't drive now- FL says for 6 months post seizure. I'm going a bit stir-crazy. Five months to go. Hope you continue to remain alert and upright!

gr8rnpjt, RN · Jan 12, 2006

I do community nursing. I didnt pass out but I DID get carried out of a patient's home on a stretcher!!
I'd just finished helping the patient onto the bed so I could do a full exam, and I started to get a few niggling cramps, like menstrual cramps. Shortly thereafter, I broke out into a cold sweat, and the pain began to escalate. Within 15 minutes, I was curled up on the living room sofa, moaning and upchucking (nice, smelly tuna, too! ) When the patient's daughter asked if she should call 911, I nodded weakly.
Turned out I had a HUGE ovarian cyst, which had either twisted, or started to bleed or leak! I stayed off work until I was able to have surgery on it.

Ovarian cysts can be very nasty!! The same thing happened to me with my first ruptured ovarian cyst. I was working in an office, and I had to be loaded into a gurney and wheeled past all the other nurses cubicles (talk about embarrassing). to make matters worse, I was talking to my director and she was holding my hand while we were waiting for the ambulance, and I asked her if I was going to die! when you are going through it, though, you think that it is not a strange question and you feel like you are going to die. But it was embarrassing later when I thought about it.

My second ruptured ovarian cyst was not as dramatic,but I bled for a solid month and a half, heavy every day, no letting up. :imbar

Bolts · Jan 12, 2006

I have passed out at work, whilst not quite as trumatic as some of the posts, I found it slightly amusing.

I was on a course teaching basic nursing techniques/principles, and I ended up in the OT assisting a Dr in a lumbar puncture, a thearter nurse was watching/evaluating me.The Dr was about half way throught the proceedure when, wham, I went down like a sack of spuds. I came to with the thearter nurse over me seeing if I was ok, and apart from abruised ego and a massive lump on my head I was fine. There was no warning, but I think its cause I was a bit squemish, watching that needle go in and the Dr manipulating it didn't make for good viewing.

But when the rest of the course found out, as they do, I found it hard to live down. I failed the evaluation and had to do it again, passed the 2nd time around, and I am proud to say that with a bit more exposure I rarely get sqemish now.

But definatly not a high point in my career. :confused: