grrrrrrrrrr.........

[luvkitties]

:madface: My dad is in the hospital and is getting IV antibiotics...the cannula became dislodged, so he needed a new IV. This "nurse" (and I use that title loosely with this person) came in and made several errors...first, she chose to restick my dad BELOW the original site...then, she put the tourniquet on and THEN decided that it was time to set up (open her needle packaging, get the tape/tegaderm ready, etc). At this point, I was seething, but I held my tongue...then, she sticks my dad (abbocath was a needleless system) and pulls out the needle with HALF OF THE ABBOCATH STICKING OUT, AND SHE'S TRYING TO FLUSH IT!!!!!!! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

So, after trying that for a minute, she finally decides (hello!?!) that it's not going to work, and that she needs to restick him. I whispered under my breath "I'll do it"...she must've heard, because she asked if I was a nurse...I said I am...she asked if I wanted to start his IV, and I said "sure", and that my instructor had told me that I was one of the best IV starters in my clinical group. She procedes to insert another IV (again, distal to the other sites) and does get it in this time...only, she doesn't bother flushing the cath/port after insertion, which had blood in it...oh, did I mention that she wasn't wearing gloves during any of this? She ended up getting blood on her hands...talk about stupid. Luckily for her, my dad is "clean", but the next person may not be.

After all was said and done, she was about out the door when she turned around and said "IV starts aren't anything to brag about...I've been a nurse for 27 years". I couldn't believe that she said that...first of all, I didn't think I was bragging, second of all, with all of the errors she made, there's no way I would have imagined her being a nurse for 27 years! I am really PO'd at how unprofessional this person was and I am very tempted to report her.

Thanks for listening, just needed to vent :madface:

~Lori

[luvkitties]

Sorry, I guess we got the wrong idea from all the angry fire faces and words like "seething".

silly us........

Sorry, but this is inaccurate...perhaps I didn't properly explain. I was referring to past experience during clinicals when I saw other nurses doing things not "by the book" and my reaction to that, NOT the scenario I had posted previously, but thanks for your patronization just the same.

~Lori

[lsyorke, RN]

It doesn't matter as long as it's in not the same vein?!? Now why didn't my instructors tell me THAT?!? They pounded in our heads that you NEVER NEVER go distally--that once you've started a site, you keep moving towards the heart.

This is a perfect example of "school" vs "real life"!! Think about it logically, if you have multiple veins in an arm... why would using a different vein at a distal point be a problem? It's a different vein!! In a perfect world the "always go proximal to the previous stick" works, in the real world... not so much!!:wink2:

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Luv it just takes time. Hope things are better now. You sound like a loving daughter (like my own-though she's a librarian).

[dragonflyRN]

Or....you can avoid at all costs.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

We were taught to start in the hand and then go proximal.

Patients admitted from the ER usually have an antecubital IV - policy says we have to restart that IV and we go distal almost all the time. Starting at the hand.

Sometimes I rip the end off one of the fingers of my glove to get a better feel for the vein.

Your comment did sound a bit like you were bragging and you did seem very angry.

I understand how you feel about your dad though. I hope he is getting better all the time.

steph

[Mulan]

Have you ever actually worked as a nurse?

[TazziRN, RN]

After I blurted out my comment (still not sure why I did it), she asked me how long ago I graduated and where I went to school. My mom then piped up that I had recently passed my boards...the nurse went on to say that some days you have good days, others not so good...I tried to rectify the situation by saying that I understood because there have been days where things didn't go so well for me, either. I wish things could have been different on both sides of the situation, but unfortunately what's done is done. At this point, all I can really do is learn from my mistake, and make sure it doesn't happen again unless it's really warranted.

~Lori

Ahhh, now, see.......NONE of this was conveyed in your original post. What you did was the exact opposite of what you are now saying. Nowhere, at any time, did you say you tried to rectify the situation with that nurse or that you felt bad. If you had told the whole story, you would not have been jumped on, I can guarantee that. The tone of your post was not "I hurt someone and I learned a lesson." It was "Geez, I know more than that experienced nurse does."

As for why your instructors didn't tell you things, they will teach you what you need to know in order to pass your boards. Real life is different. You will learn shortcuts that no nursing school would ever teach, but they work. I worked with intern nurses (just finished their first year) this summer and I supervised two of them with foley insertions. Both pts were male. Both interns placed the sterile drapes on the legs and the containers on the drapes. I asked them "What are you going to do if the pt is altered and combative, or in so much pain they can't hold still while you're setting up like that?" Both interns just stared at me. They were doing what they had been taught in school, but what they were taught does not work in real life.

[LeahJet, ASN, RN]

Sorry, but this is inaccurate...perhaps I didn't properly explain. I was referring to past experience during clinicals when I saw other nurses doing things not "by the book" and my reaction to that, NOT the scenario I had posted previously, but thanks for your patronization just the same.

~Lori

Thanks for clearing that up....and you're welcome.:wink2:

[luvkitties]

Thanks for clearing that up....and you're welcome.:wink2:

:chuckle

~Lori

[luvkitties]

Ahhh, now, see.......NONE of this was conveyed in your original post. What you did was the exact opposite of what you are now saying. Nowhere, at any time, did you say you tried to rectify the situation with that nurse or that you felt bad. If you had told the whole story, you would not have been jumped on, I can guarantee that. The tone of your post was not "I hurt someone and I learned a lesson." It was "Geez, I know more than that experienced nurse does."

Well, in the original post, I was just venting...I was only focusing on what was making me upset, not the whole picture...oops, my bad Yes, I really did try to compensate for what I blurted out, because I felt bad after I said it, and I didn't intend for my comment to come out in a harsh manner...I didn't mean to belittle anyone or make myself sound superior, because I'm not by a long shot...lots of room for improvement here :wink2:

[MMARN, BSN, RN]

Wow. That nurse is a potential risk to herself and others. If she's been a nurse for 27 years, then it's a miracle she's not sick. I feel sorry for your dad that he had to go through all this. Hopefully, she will be caught in time and given the much needed guidance in order for her to practice with more care. Very sad indeed.

[mhull]

Nevermind, it don't matter.