Hi everyone! I'm a new nurse and I had a really bad day a bit ago with a patient who I had to call our rapid response team for and he ended up in the ICU (I have no idea other than that, HIPAA and all) and a small part of me wants to know how he is doing. He was young and I felt helpless when I couldn't fix the oxygenation issue that was going on at that time (O2 sats dropping despite increasing oxygen to 6 liters-the only method we have on our floor is nasal cannula unless respiratory brings it). I hugged his mother as they left the floor and that's the last I heard about him.
I've done everything I can think of to leave it at work but it still nags at me occasionally that I want to know how he's doing. Logically, I know that it's honestly none of my business, I'm there for my shift to take care of my patients and go home and return on my next scheduled shift to do the same. I have no desire to call and find out or do any of the creepy things I've read/heard about nurses doing (showing up to the room to check in on my days off, calling, sending flowers, etc.). I honestly just have a curiosity that I know can't ever be satisfied and I think it's because he was the first patient who left the floor on my shift to go to a higher level of care. I've had fleeting thoughts of other patients, too, who have touched me in some way, whether it be how sweet they were to me or how kind their family was.
I just need to know: what kind of methods do you use to leave it at work? I know this is one of the (I'm sure many) places I need to improve.
What a nice plan to help you maintain emotional integrity after working a shift in an emotionally demanding profession. All of your suggestions are effective but I especially like your idea of reading the Bible or listening to a sermon, I suspect on some type of audio recording.
I was talking some time ago to a friend's wife who has a sister that is a RN in ICU. My friend's wife said that she was concerned about her sister, the RN, because she seemed to have gotten so hard recently. I explained to her that an ICU nurse must put her emotions aside and focus on what the patient's problems are and what she needs to do to resolve the problems. I reassured her that if I was an ICU patient I would want an extremely competent RN who would save my life over one who held my hand cried while I died. She thanked me for that.
What I didn't tell her but I share now, is that as a person who worked as an RN on in patient psychiatric units in acute care hospitals, I know that when a person's emotions get too high that they impair logical thinking!
Specializes in Med-Surg, , Home health, Education.
Very hard to "leave it at work". In all my years of nursing I still wonder/ worry about pt's and I do check on them- particularly if I got them transferred etc. It seems that this thread took a wrong turn at some point and I don't think it has anything to do with being a new or an old nurse....we all have trouble "shutting it off" when it comes to a critical patient.....distraction, friends, share with a friend and a glass of wine help me! I don't believe it's a HIPAA violation to call and check on the pt for follow up. I consider it part of the continuity of care.
There are some patients that you will never forget even though you try.The reason is all of them leave an impression on you.You did everything you could do in the circumstance.The best thing you can do to try to notake take work home with you is to try to relax do something you like.Hang out with friends, take a long hot bubble bath.Do something for yourself.Another thing find a coworker to vent to before leaving .Just a few things you can do.
Because you can't leave it at work means you care.Means you are an awesome nurse.I have been a nurse for over 25 years.It is difficult at times to leave it at work.You did a good job.Should be proud of yourself.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Because you can't leave it at work means you care.Means you are an awesome nurse.I have been a nurse for over 25 years.It is difficult at times to leave it at work.You did a good job.Should be proud of yourself.
Not being able to leave work at work may mean you care too much. Caring is a good thing; caring too much means you need to do some work on your boundaries. You'll burn out quickly if you don't protect yourself. Burning out endangers your career, your livelihood, your mental health and it's damned unpleasant to go through. Tend your boundaries and take care of yourself.
There are always patients you won't be able to forget -- I've got several rolling around in my brain who pop up from time to time when something reminds me of them. Some I remember with fondness; others with less than fond feelings. The fondness hasn't dimmed over time, but the less than fond feelings have, thank goodness!
I am 54 I have worked in the medical field since I was 18 as a nurses aid, an LPN and finally an RN. There are always patients that we worry about....not all of them....not every time...not in the same way. Last time was an older gentlemen who did not want to become unresponsive before his son came. He was so agitated, so uncomfortable after starting his IV I sat with him as long as I could holding his hand. As an IV nurse when I am called I have to leave. I was called to a different unit and had to leave him. I called later that night...kind of weird for an IV nurse and found he passed an hour after his son got there.
OP, I myself am a newer nurse (3 years of experience). When I've had to call a rapid response I always debrief with my charge nurse to see if he or she has any suggestions for what I could've done differently (if anything at all). For me, it is comforting to know that no matter the situation, I did my job to the best of my ability.
Like previous posters have stated, after a rough shift I like to do something that takes work away from the forefront of my mind, be it listening to music, playing games on my phone, or watching TV. It does seem to get easier though as time has gone on.
I purposely work in a field where I am not required to give even the appearance of a friendly relationship with patients: Corrections. I don't want my patient to bleed out from a good stabbing, but no one expects me to be teary eyed. I am able to remain neutral and focused, and I am not faulted for being that way.
I'm a nurse because it's easy, not because I like people or care what happens beyond my shift.
Jensmom7, BSN, RN
1,907 Posts
Dear Jebus, this is still limping along??
I feel like Ferris Bueller at the end of the movie:
"Go home!! Shoo!!" 😄😛