Have you ever left in the middle of a shift?

[SilverBells]

Has anyone ever left in the middle of a shift?  This morning, during our morning meeting, I left because I was having a severe panic attack.  I went for a 30 minute drive to calm down.  

Has anyone else ever done this? 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

vintagegal said:

Silver bell, the thread is unraveling the sweater. I wish you would attend to your own needs. Another one will bite the dust and we will lose another nurse to the inertia of working conditions and societal pressures.

I hate to see you like this. Please take care of yourself...

She is only caving to her own conditions and pressures. So many on here have given good solid guidance, which SB chooses to ignore

[Nurse nurse, MSN]

I almost did it was a new job that cut orientation short because of short staffing. I did what I could. Stayed the entire shift. Never went back 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

Of course people leave in the middle of a shift. Sometimes family calls with an emergency, sometimes you have one yourself (one of our school nurses was taken out by an ambulance when she had tachycardia during her pregnancy). We aren't robots that turn on at 7am and off at 7pm. But as everyone else has said, you just make sure your patients are covered— if you're a manager you follow whatever procedure your workplace has. And you make sure it's an *emergency*— like, something that may happen a couple of times in your entire career. 

[beachynurse, ASN, BSN]

HiddenAngels said:

I didn't know you could leave in the middle of a shift.  I thought that was called patient abandonment.

As nurses, we are people too, with lives and family outside of work. We get calls for sick kids from schools, we have family emergencies. You better bet that if I get a call that a family member has died, or I have a sick child, I am going to notify my boss and do whatever I have to do to leave. It's not patient abandonment if the charge takes over and tells you to go while they rearrange assignments.

[Simba&NalasMom, LPN]

HiddenAngels said:

I didn't know you could leave in the middle of a shift.  I thought that was called patient abandonment.

I work in long-term care and I work the floor and it definitely would be if I did.

I'm sure it depends on the scenario though. 

[thisnurse123]

Yep after DON waited four hours to give me a login. "I couldn't do the med pass on time.

[nightwingcreations, CNA, LPN]

Not exactly, I work in a nursing home. Came in and find out I was scheduled as the only nurse for two floors, over 60 patients, and only 2 CNAs. I asked if they had even tried to find any help. The hall coordinator who was working the floor, just shrugged. So I turned around and said , goodbye, and left. Never clocked in, so no abandonment. They try harder to cover now.....

[BlueShoes12, BSN, RN]

I've left once to go to the ER with chest pain and tachycardia (after my charge nurse assumed care of my patients). 

[Tired nurse]

If you report to your supervisor and report off to another nurse they send take your place there is no problem.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I have for a death in the family, or being unable to stop vomiting. Twice in thirty years. Early in my career I had anxiety attacks regularly but would go in the bathroom, organize my brain, or cry, and come out and try again. Sometimes I'd go to a seasoned nurse and run whatever situation it was by her, see if I was missing something.

When I oriented to PICU I had almost hourly overwhelmed attacks. I had to resign after about a month, and it took a couple weeks before I could organize myself to get out the door to make it to an appointment. My brain was not braining. 

Over the years I can say that watching someone break down in frustration or tears was commonplace, but how they picked themselves up and kept going was a sign of true character. Take time away, resolve to just muscle through the next hour, and DO it. After an hour, do the next hour. It sucks, but you are building your character.