Does A Bad Shift Ever Make You Question Your Abilities?

I've been a nurse for almost 2 years now so I've had enough of those bad shifts to answer your question.

No it doesn't. If I start to get that thought in my head I think .. it takes some skill to be able to juggle 25 patients and whatever is thrown at us that night. I always get told that I'm so calm and cool by my co-workers but to be honest in the inside I'm kinda freaking out lol.

You know, having to question your own skills once in a while is not always a bad thing; it prevents overconfidence and shows you areas in skills that need work.

Yes, I have had those shifts, and sometimes I am humbled.

The next day is often better.

I had a truly horrible shift one night...started out with 4 patients, 2 nurses in the ICU. They were sick, but it was okay. Then it was like everyone who was going to go into respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest or throw a CVA in the entire county all got together and said, "tonight's the night." I was on call, and got a rather panicky "how fast can you get here?" from a nurse that's usually not very excitable. I threw down my fork, left my just-outta-the-oven dinner and took off. I get on the same elevator with my patient -- zoll pads on, in trendelenburg in the freakin' elevator, took a look at the monitor and went, aw, s**** because they were in 3rd degree block. The nurse from the ER says, "We're trying to fly them out but nobody has a bed, you're first open CCU bed at 2 different places." Guy is grey, looks dead, sick as all get out. We just get him settled and I'm hanging levophed, dobutamine, dopamine, the whole constellation when another bed decided to code. I vaguely remember yelling at the house supervisor (who'd come up to tell us we had a NSTEMI and a GI bleed with a hgb of...get this, 3.9!...that needed to come up) that we needed a 4th nurse, NOW.

By the end of the night, the first code had died, my patient had died, the GI bleed got flown out because we ran out of their blood type (no O neg in the house, isn't that scary? We gave everything we had, 2 FFPs, 6 units of PRBCs, and flew them out with our last bag hanging!), 2 more GI bleeds that were gushers, an evolving CVA, and a second MI, and at least 1 more vent. When I dragged myself home, I felt like a complete failure as a nurse, couldn't remember if I'd charted my restraints on the vent patients, was scared silly I'd screwed something up, wanted to just throw up my hands and run screaming. We took 8 admission in 7 hours, had 2 codes, and one emergency fly out.

Somedays you're the windshield, and that night, I was definitely the bug. You always feel like you should have been faster, quicker, got more done, but the truth is, this is a 24 hour business, and sometimes you just can't. Give yourself a chance to realize how good you are.

Nerd to nurse that's exactly how I feel. I mean from about 11p to 7am (not to mention the usual madness coming on shift at 7p that runs through midnight) I was running around, got no break (and you know how your brain functions when that happens)

All my patient last night were respiratory, with the exception of one that was a neuro patient. So I had a vent with seizures, another vent with possible head bleed and seizures in SVT tachy up to 160, calling this resident, that resident for orders. Then in comes a pneumonia who CANNOT breathe, then another, then another. It's like the waves just keep taking you under before you can come up for a breath.

My manager then says (jokingly) he'll NEVER put me and another nurse to run the resusciation room together because we're omens/bad luck in there and even he had a rough night, which made me feel even worse (although I know he was joking, still it stung hearing that. Mind you we're both fairly newer nurses, still getting this trauma stuff under our belts. I can't remember a thing I did, my head and my feet hurt so bad.

Yup! and times made me wonder why I became a nurse at all....that's a busy ED for you.....I'm sorry you had a bad night :hug: Every Time I'd be ready to throw in the towel the powers above reminded me

1) I didn't have it so bad

2) others have it a lot worse than I do

3) just when I think I've seen it all I'm reminded the are no boundaries to human stupidity and human compassion.

4) in a hundrend years is any of this going to matter????

My favourite poem that reminds me of being a nurse is all about...

Being a NURSE means...

You will never be bored.

You will always be frustrated.

You will be surrounded by challenges.

So much to do and so little time.

You will carry immense responsibility and very little authority.

You will step into people's lives and you will make a difference.

Some will bless you. Some will curse you.

You will see people at their worst... and at their best.

You will never cease to be amazed at people's capacity for love, courage, and endurance.

You will see life begin...and end.

You will experience resounding triumphs And devastating failures.

You will cry a lot. You will laugh a lot.

You will know what it is to be human and to be humane.

-Melodie Chenevert, RN

*hugs* this was encouraging.

UGH, I had one of those night last night,. I ate at 6p and didn't eat again til 8:45 this morning.. Got a new admit, had to transfer the pt that was there to a different unit just to get the "new" one and had a pt with q1h neuro checks climbing out the bed all night long.. Then at 5am, SBP tanked with little urine output.. Only PIVs for several gtts.. I have to go back tonight.. time for bed... Give yourself some slack.. Sometimes it just happens not matter how much we know..

Yes, I had one of those last week. If it were too easy I guess I would get bored. As long as it doesn't happen too often it keeps you humble.