Crazy Night Last Night!

[NurseQT]

So last night at midnight, the CNA yells from down the hall that she needs a nurse, rush down to the very last room on the hall to find our lil 78 lb resident on the floor, part way UNDER her bed, with blood all over the floor! She was just admitted less than a week ago and is a fresh Rt AKA, she woke, forgot she no longer had her right leg, and tried to get up on her own. Both CNAs and both the other nurse and me were in the room assessing her and getting her up off the floor. As we're getting her up the other nurse says she's going to go so a quick room check since the halls were unattended.. Not even a min later she yells for help from the top of the hall!!! Another resident was on the floor!!! Holy craziness for only 4 staff to handle! And to think, the night before there had only been me and the two CNAs!

[Lioness333]

Every time I have a shift like that, I get online and start looking for another job. You know darn well that the next time you work, some clueless, out of touch, unhelpful manager is going to say "Couldn't you get there fast enough? Why didn't you call the family right away? You forgot to sign out this med. When is the last time your aide took her to the bathroom? Aren't you watching these aides? You're the nurse." It's all about what you did wrong and never what you do right. Big, giant, eff-off to these managers. When I finally leave, and I will, I'm citing names to the higher-ups.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Sounds like a few residents need to be assessed for fall prevention. There are a few things that can happen to reduce the risk of falls but at night I prefer mattress on the floor or bed alarms. Other than that look at meds, cognitive status, etc...you know the drill.

Remember; document, document, document! :)

[NurseQT]

Lioness-- you nailed it!!! One of the nurse managers just left me a message, I have feeling it has to do with Sat night. My saving grace is the other nurse on happens to be the other NM who picked up the shift to help out.

One of the two fallers was already in a low bed with floor mat, the other one was changed to a low bed with mats as soon as we got her back in bed! The facility is alarm free.

[Lioness333]

Alarm-free...BTDT...nothing like trying to chart and Ethel Jizzanthapus comes staggering down the hall, naked and hunched, holding a Code Brown diaper, yelling "Bill...is that you...." and crashes to the floor right as you reach her...at 4:50 am.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Hopefully shifts like this are not an everyday thing for you. We all have days like this. It just seems that when it rains it pours.. I hope everything turns out ok for your residents.

[charnsuka, ADN]

Was tonight a full moon?

A crazy night I can imagine. I had a day like this today and it happened almost around shift change. I wanted to cry lol.

[NurseQT]

Yeah, I don't think the whole "alarm free" is all that's cracked up to be!

And no, this was not a typical night for me and I'm just thankful there were two nurses on, we're short staffed so there's been plenty of nights that I've been the only nurse on!

[BoyNamedSue]

Once we had a patient with dementia somehow get her bed controls, decided to put the bed in the highest position, and then pretend that it was a BASE jump platform.... It was crazy at the time, but, after the fact I couldn't stop laughing. She was fine, but I couldn't stop thinking why the hell would you make it go all the way up, and then decide to fall?

[NurseQT]

Once we had a patient with dementia somehow get her bed controls, decided to put the bed in the highest position, and then pretend that it was a BASE jump platform.... It was crazy at the time, but, after the fact I couldn't stop laughing. She was fine, but I couldn't stop thinking why the hell would you make it go all the way up, and then decide to fall?

I had something like that happen too! The CNA found the resident on the floor, on his hands and knees, his bed was up in the highest position! He had gotten a hold of the bed control and up he went... And than down he went!