Worst start ever

Specialties Emergency

Published

So I woke up and went downstairs to walk out in the beautiful morning sun. As my toes fanned out and my feet relaxed on the freshly mowed grass, birds sang and a slight breeze moved my hair. As I looked around, something looked amiss. As I proceeded to investigate, I FOUND THIS

Apparently, my father-in-law swiped my bumper pulling out of the driveway, and now I am late to work!

Hopefully I won't walk into a crapshoot again today at work. Last shift I got a GCS of 3, intubated and unresponsive, occasionally seizing patient, after 4 hours of working on her we found a 30-40% massive infarct on right hemisphere with a thoracic aortic dissection. It was intense, she was the most unstable patient I have had in a long time.

What is your worst start to a shift?

Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.

Last Friday night was probably the worst start I've ever had. I woke up @ 9 pm & got ready to go. I felt absolutely fine. Left home @ 9:30 (shift starts @ 10). Halfway to my patient's house, my stomach starts lurching and, you guessed it, I lost my cookies all over myself & the inside of the car. Needless to say, I called the agency & told them I would not be at work. Went back home & ended up being in bed with this wonderful stomach bug that's going around all weekend. Not fun!

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I might win this one...my loving boyfriend was kind enough to offer me his expensive car to take to work the other night during the huge blizzard because he has all wheel drive and my car is a sloppy jalopy. All went well during my 45 minutes commute until a few miles from the hospital and I get stuck on a snowy road in an inner city area. For the story's sake I am a petite 22 year old girl from the suburbs and I know nothing about cars. So I'm trying to reverse and nothing's happening. All of the sudden the car starts smoking and a bunch of men are telling me to get out of the car. I call AAA and they can't come get me because the storm is so bad. A few of the men are trying to dig out my car and back it from the middle of the road (bless them), while I'm on the phone with work promising them I'll be there as soon as I can and hoping that I don't get mugged. Finally my boyfriend comes in a different car, picks me up and brings me to work. I can't even look at him because I feel so guilty. Once at work I am 1 hr late, frozen from the knees down, and I realize that I forgot my clogs in the car and I am wearing boots. By the end of the 12 hour shift my whole body hurts and my feet are covered in blisters (I never realized how well Danskos work until I didn't have them!) The story isn't over! Because of the storm I am mandated to stay, so I sleep over and then work another 12 hour shift in the same scrubs and the same damn snow boots. OUCH! My boyfriend's car is probably totaled, bent axel, I didn't even know how I managed that. I NEVER WANT TO GO TO WORK AGAIN.

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Nothing other than wearing coffee thankfully (although I'm always wearing something) and being late is so far the worst.

Being late always ruins things. Especially when you get stuck behind an accident on the freeway ;)

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Poor Sara!

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Specializes in ICU, Med-Surg.

My worst start was about 2 weeks ago...

The aide came to tell us a patient (who I hadn't received report on yet) had passed. The rest of the night was a phone tag battle with security and the funeral home. We couldn't move the patient because he was too large for our morgue! The nursing super was having a fit because she wanted to admit someone to that room. It eventually took 5 guys from the ER to transfer the patient about 6 hours after he passed!

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

My worst start to the day - time to leave and I am doing a last minute sweep of the kitchen because I hate coming home to a mess. There is a can of grease on the counter - we use old coffee cans to empty cooking grease into and we had cleaned out the deep fat fryer the night before. I pick it up with the intent of putting it where we put things for recycling. Half a breath later it squirts out of my hand, hits the floor and proceeds to splatter on floors, counters and cabinetry.....and all over me. Hair, face and my only pair of clean scrubs. Dirty, nasty grease EVERYWERE. And it is literally the last minute in which I can leave and still make it to work on time. That was a nasty clean up job in every sense of the word.

Needless to say I was a tad bit late that morning.

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Specializes in ED.
Canada is great, but the snow is killing me.

I'm from Canada, and I miss the seasons so much! Florida has beautiful weather, but no change in season and nothing but old people......

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Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
Mine was the time I walked into the room of two female patients, tripped over one's catheter tubing, and then proceeded to drop a custard down the side of the other's bed. I opened the door to the nurse's cabinet to get a towel to clean up the mess I'd made, and about 50 little paper cups fell on my head. Then when I stood up, I forgot the door was still open and SMACK! went my head, and I sprawled on the floor! About that time I had two VERY concerned-looking ladies peering over the counter at me and asking me if I needed help......and I was supposed to be taking care of them??!

Doesn't it scare you the damage we could do tripping over a catheter tubing?

yipe, a lot of days I am the one needing taking care of lol

My worst start was about 2 weeks ago...

The aide came to tell us a patient (who I hadn't received report on yet) had passed. The rest of the night was a phone tag battle with security and the funeral home. We couldn't move the patient because he was too large for our morgue! The nursing super was having a fit because she wanted to admit someone to that room. It eventually took 5 guys from the ER to transfer the patient about 6 hours after he passed!

I wish I had thought of that one, "sorry, I can't move the expired patient, guess I can't take the admit." lol...

(I'm kidding, I know it was legit. But it is tempting to try lol)

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

its really hard to decide which one is the worst....:eek:

lol... :laugh:

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Oh WOW. Thats HORRIBLE ! Lol

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatrics, Wound Care.

Just had a mediocre start. I was worried for a while. 3rd night in a row, my legs have been killing me for a week or two (causing me to toss and turn all night). So, I overslept (first time in a while I've had to wake to my 2nd alarm clock). Didn't have time to make fresh coffee, so had to fill my thermos from what was left in our insulated carafe from the morning (~8-10 hours old). Didn't taste so great. Luckily, I had my lunch all packed and my hubby was home to drive me to the train station. Got in the car, realized I forgot my *glasses* (and my nook!). Really didn't have time, so headed to the train station (hubby made a wrong turn), and rushed down the escalator (did I mention my legs hurt? the escalator takes like 3 minutes if you just stand on it). Just caught a train, the bus couldn't turn down the proper hospital site, so I got left off a block away in the sleetyrain (really can't complain much about that).

Happily, my day went fine after that, but I was worried.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

This did not happen to me but to one of my friends. She woke and felt a little ooky but not bad enough to stay home. Had some coffee and did her usual stuff. Got in her car, got on the highway (middle lane of 3 lanes during rush hour) and the "ooky" turned to barfy. Because of where she was she couldn't get to the side of the road or root for a towel or anything and proceeded to toss her cookies all over herself and her car. Then she had to drive all the way home in that condition. That pretty much tops my list of a bad way to start the day!!!

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