I feel her pain

[mineSgold]

I had this resident which I like very much; she is always happy and thankful for everything that I have done for her. one day she's telling me she is in great pain and needs to take pills for it, so I quickly come to the nurse about it. the nurse told me she will come after she finishes her rounds with other residents; the resident keeps calling on the light and when I come to her room she keeps asking me when a nurse is going to see her, and that she is in pain. it took 30 minutes before the nurse came to see the resident who is suffering from pain. I just thought the nurse is somehow too slow, and is supposed to see immediately to a resident who is suffering from pain.

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

Keep in mind, the residents need to get their meds at a timely schedule because

some of them may need to keep their drug levels within therapeutic range/keep levels of it at a constant rate or

this resident may be needy and the nurse thinks it can wait.

The nurse knows how to prioritize their time according to their workload and they're extremely busy.

You did a good job telling the RN because as the resident's "caregiver" you have an obligation, however,

leave it to the nurses for the med pass. They know what they're doing

[hookyarnandblanket]

A patient waiting 30 minutes for a pain pill doesn't compare to a patient who nearly dies because he or she had to wait 30 minutes for an insulin injection. Maybe it's just me but waiting 30 minutes for a pain med doesn't seem very long. Nurses have to prioritize when in charge of numerous patients. It sounds like this was a case of someone needing to wait and not wanting to wait. But, it's good that you're vigilant to the patient's needs.

[Paws2people]

The pt may not have been due for their meds till the 30 minutes was up. Or the nurse may have been handling an emergency with another patient. Or the doctor may not have had pain meds ordered for them. It's really hard to judge the nurse when we don't know all the facts. The nurse responded in 30 minutes... which in my experience is timely. You did your job which was to tell the nurse the patient was in pain, now it's up to she/he to do their job :)

[systoly]

30 minutes is a long time when you're hurting and ideally the wait time should be much less,

but pain is usually not a medical emergency and we don't know what else was going on

the fact that you said the resident kept calling could be an indication that the resident

did not report the pain in a timely manner

there is also the statement by the nurse about finishing rounds which could indicate this

happened at shift change and depending on the acuity on the floor, pain may not take priority

over other issues