I don't usually start threads, just lurk and reply once and a while, but I have been going stir crazy sitting here and worrying....so anyway,
I was attempting to keep an adult patient with severe handicaps safe in the bed while at our ED. (Kept moving/getting head/feet caught in siderails and so on) This patient was very strong and unaware of the dangers of being so active on our lovely ED stretchers. So I asked for help (multiple times) and even hollered across the ED at the charge nurse to come in and give me a hand/check on my other patients and ask the doc to come in and assess pt/possibly move pt (or gasp, maybe even d/c home as tx. was completed....pt had already pulled IV out)
Doc refused to even come into room, and wouldn't allow the EMT-B student to come in and help (another gripe, why did he NEED this student with him, he never does that on other days). We were (of course) short staffed, so my charge nurse took care of my other patients and asked the doc for an order for restraints, which the doc said no...(I never asked for the order myself, as I was afraid the pt. would get them caught and provide more chance for an injury, but the doctor didn't even come in to talk to me or assess the situation, and my charge nurse told me he informed the doc of the acrobatics my patient was doing)
SO this continued constantly for about 30-45 minutes (me "catching" 80-100# patient who repeatedly launched around the bed, twisting all the cords/iv tubing etc. and then getting on hands and knees and throwing self back toward the floor.) I was trying to calm pt down, singing and hugging and trying to distract the patient to get some relaxation (for us both)
And I was grabbing people for help, but they would leave as soon as the pt. was lying down, not sticking around for the repeated "rodeos". When the doctor finally came in, the patient was literally in my arms, head towards the foot of the bed. Rather than helping me get the pt. back in bed, doc moved the pillow to the foot end and waited for me to lie the pt. down. (like I hadn't tried THAT 197 times already:banghead:)
Then he asked me what I thought we should give the pt to help with the agitation. (BTW
So anyway, if you are STILL reading.....I was rather peeved at that point and reminded him that prescribing medications was out of my scope of practice (probably shouldn't have done that, but I was not a happy camper at that time.) So the doc leaves (takes the EMT student with him AGAIN) and then the charge nurse comes in a few minutes later. At that point, the pt. again launches out of bed and toward my head/shoulder and made contact with my chest/left shoulder area and I felt a sharp pain down my right leg, put the pt down and told my charge that I was "outta here" and limped out of the room.
Anyway, to make a long story longer...I have been out of work since Nov. 16th, trying to get everything straight with a physician's office and worker's comp just to get an MRI of my back/neck.....
generally sore with sharp pains and can't walk/stand for very long without feeling weak in my legs and getting kinda worried that it has not improved.
Since my primary care provider is at a military army clinic (hubby is active duty) I cannot go see them because they don't handle worker's comp insurance. So the PA at this other dr's office just keeps writing prescriptions for Lortab and Valium and telling me there is nothing else he can do until the MRI is done:o. (I'm wondering when they'll start calling me a seeker...even though I told him I am not taking the meds as often or as much as prescribed because they are too strong for me, I am only taking half tabs 2 or 3 times a day of the lortab for breakthrough from motrin)
But the good news is I got to spend Thanksgiving weekend at home with my hubby and daughter, and maybe even Christmas at the rate everything is going.
Thanks for letting me vent, (if anyone actually read this far:chuckle) sorry it got so long....
