There's a thread about the first nursing judgement that made you feel like you know what you were doing. The OldDude tells a great story where his actions saved an adolescent's life. The OldDude's life saving interventions resulted from a combination of good assessment skills, hard knowledge and facts and finally, good ol' gut intuition.
How do you follow and act like that?
You don't. You come up with a new thread titled Dubious Victories.
I wanted to go back and work in OR sometime after I got my RN in 1990. I had enjoyed working as an LPN scrub nurse in 1986 and '87 at Weed Rover Township Hospital and got a position at St. Anomaly's Health Center. It wasn't an easy transition, starting new and getting to know the people, place and procedures. I didn't care for my "mentor" and the other nurses just didn't seem to like me but I wanted to give the job a chance. I worked at it for awhile, dealing with some pitfalls and stumbling blocks here and there.
I was to first scrub on a total abdominal hysterectomy with a doctor known as "The Nazi Surgeon", Dr. S. I was warned that Dr. S was very difficult with which to get along. Dr. S had his own personal instruments. Dr. S could be brutal.
I wanted to prove myself and I studied Dr. S's procedure card and got everything down to a "T". The surgery went well and at the end Dr.S said, "Good job!"
Dubious Victory. I tried working at St. Anomaly's for a couple of months but got tired of the constant negative feedback and left for another position.
Ever have any Dubious Victories? Thought you really did something only to have it not appreciated or ignored?
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
In all fairness, I was taught many years ago that if you suspected someone of having low blood sugar, you could stick a candy between their cheek and gums. They would absorb some of the sugar through the buccal mucosa and be at low risk to choke. I've never seen this done and don't know if this is still recommended.
A lot of the marvelous interventions I was taught have been discredited years ago.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
8 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:
This gentlemen who i thought was family turned out to be just another passenger. First, he wanted to lift her back into the seat (while still unconscious), then he wanted to stick a piece if candy in her mouth (still unconscious). She was breathing on her own, had a pulse so no CPR was needed and since no equipment available (not for lack of trying) there was not much that could be done. I stayed with her on the floor, comforted Mom, and kept so called do gooders away.
Wow, Daisy! It sounds like you handled the situation well!
Perhaps you could get certified and become an instructor!
I had a similar experience when a fella, riding with his friends, ran his three wheeler into a concrete guardrail out here in a rural area about 25 years ago.
A neighbor, who had passed the scene of the accident, came by to fetch me and I took along stuff from when I was an EMT. I did an assessment, the fella was unconscious and breathing, so there wasn't much for me to do but to monitor, reassure the friends, and report when EMS arrived.
My neighbor told me that when he came upon the scene, one of the friends was beating the fella on his chest, trying to get him to wake up.
In all fairness, I was taught many years ago that if you suspected someone of having low blood sugar, you could stick a candy between their cheek and gums. They would absorb some of the sugar through the buccal mucosa and be at low risk to choke. I've never seen this done and don't know if this is still recommended.
A lot of the marvelous interventions I was taught have been discredited years ago.
I heard that a long long time ago too but that has since changed, not recommended bc of the choking risk. In this case i also didnt know what the problem was. If i knew it was low BS and nothing else available then yea maybe try (very carefully!). They literally had nothing on the plane, we also asked other passengers if anyone had glucometer etc but nothing. Plus Mom said she had no Med Hx and had previously eaten. It was frustrating to not be able to help (beside just keeping the do gooders away).
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
2 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:
I heard that a long long time ago too but that has since changed, not recommended bc of the choking risk. In this case i also didnt know what the problem was. If i knew it was low BS and nothing else available then yea maybe try (very carefully!). They literally had nothing on the plane, we also asked other passengers if anyone had glucometer etc but nothing. Plus Mom said she had no Med Hx and had previously eaten. It was frustrating to not be able to help (beside just keeping the do gooders away).
You may have actually saved her life just by keeping the do-gooders away.
Not a dubious victory for me but a this reminds me of a unit manager I worked with. Despite the fact that she rarely if ever laid hands on a resident to hear her talk you'd think she was the single reason half her unit was alive.
I've heard lots of crazy things from patients in the Alzheimer's unit:
"You devil, you! I never did like you!" "You're a hell cat on wheels!" "This place is a **** box!" This was all from the same patient, he was a character.
A female patient who I had spent several minutes chasing and trying to get a blood pressure on approached a male nurse and said "You better watch out, she'll take your clothes off and spread butter on you next!"
I've also been accused of using vaseline to help slip my pants on over my fat butt.
More recently I've been told by an inmate that I look like someone from The Hills Have Eyes and I creep him out....
As a fairly new grad being put in charge of a floor with 40-45 census,I tried to do a good job as always getting praise from the anm on days and co workers that all my i s were dotted and t s were crossed.(it was my last night before my vacation),All my equipment signed,accounted for,etc,in walks the evil dirt bag Manager, the Anm tells her that I did a good job as charge nurse, the twit manager answers sarcastically , "AHH know thaaat!""you dont have to tell ME that"
Well ,I spent a big part of my vacation pondering how there was no way in hell to please that Manager,it was the icing on the cake and eventually I left with the old bag begging me to stay.
I was at a McDonald's after working out (yup, I know, defeating my own purpose there). A man collapsed over in his booth and his "buddies" promptly abandoned him. An employee and I managed to get him out of the booth and lying on the floor.
As the anxious employees/rubberneckers looked on, I did a quick assessment. He was laying very still, clammy skin, his respirations were very slow...
And then he snored.
I had to suppress a smile for the benefit of the onlookers, as I suspected this was just an opiate overdose and a little oxygen and Narcan and he'd be right as rain. Sure enough, not five minutes later he was up and chatting with the EMTs. I was across the room at that point after giving a quick report. The manager insisted I not pay for anything, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. I literally did nothing.
TriciaJ, RN
4,328 Posts
In all fairness, I was taught many years ago that if you suspected someone of having low blood sugar, you could stick a candy between their cheek and gums. They would absorb some of the sugar through the buccal mucosa and be at low risk to choke. I've never seen this done and don't know if this is still recommended.
A lot of the marvelous interventions I was taught have been discredited years ago.