I need to vent...I have been thinking about this for days.
Telemetry nurse of a little over a year here. Had one pt starting Tikosyn. Spent all night worrying about his ever changing rhythms. Did a total of 8 EKG's - spent all night on the phone with the hospitalist. Ran all over the hospital to show them the EKG's - only got an order to keep atropine at bedside. Just happened to have a cardiologist there for an emergency - chased him down. He basically told me just to keep the crash cart at bedside and he stuck around to see how it went. Well sure enough - 5 minutes later - torsades. Called the code and long story short - pacemaker in place and saved - thankfully.
After coming out from the pacemaker placement I over heard him thanking the ICU nurse (who I graduated with) for coming because me and the other girl I was working with didn't know what to do. Not in a nasty way, in a "I am sure they tried their best" and laughed type of way. Then they both saw me standing there and changed the subject. All the ICU nurse did was push mag because the cardiologist said so. I could have done that.
I am not expecting a medal or anything. But that comment sure did feel horrible.
Definitely, vent. This really sucks, it was totally unfair, and darn it, this crap happens to nurses a lot.
It's really one of those super-duper-jaw-droppingly ARRGHHH things that we all experience. Definitely vent it out, blow it out, and at some point, if you are venting appropriately, you will laugh about it.
A patient, who's butt you were trying to save at the expense of your OWN sanity and the well being of your other patients, just dissed you in about the worst possible way. Totally unfair. Hugs :)
Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.
OP,
I think you did well in handling the patient's condition, all things considered. People talk about having integrity, doing the right thing even when no one is watching. To change the subject when they noticed you tells me they knew it was impolite. The ICU nurse may've been uncomfortable, but could have redirected the conversation and shown support for you (a colleague) while the patient expressed his feelings. I would appreciate having a colleague like you who advocates for the patients.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
These are the kind of things with which I entertain myself, that when the person DOES meet their maker, there will be a little smirk as they pass the pearly gates and hear "You're late...thanks to Nurse Lola....Remember when you almost died? Yeah, that was her. Thank her when she gets here, mkay?"
The patient is just ignorant, but the nurse shouldn't have allowed the patient to give him/her all the credit, shame on him/her, must've needed an ego stroking.
I can actually feel what you are talking about. It does not feel good when you work diligently for some good thing only to feel dismissed and someone else gets the praise. It is a terrible feeling and is unfair.
However, you know what you did. You know you kept this patient's health at the front of your radar and advocated diligently for them.
If you decide to approach the cardiologist, I would spend some time thinking about that particular cardiologist's personality, and how you can approach them in such a way as to accomplish what you intend to accomplish, rather than just being ignored or brushed off as over sensitive. I would try to leave all emotion out of it, and come from a rational place. One cannot argue with logic.
Sorry this happened to you I find constantly working with so many different health care professionals can often be tough, especially when you're not recognized for the hard and amazing work you do as a nurse!
It's disappointing when you bleed buckets for a patient and they don't notice.
Oh NOOOOO! You're talking about my career!
The patient surveys come in and the Pre-Op nurse, the OR nurse, the Surgeon, the Anesthesiologist, the Transporter even the flower delivery guy who opened the door gets a thank-you but NOBODY remembers the ole PACU nurse. That damned Versed!
I know that had to sting after such a long, stressful night.
Patients don't realize how much nurses do to take care of them away from the bedside. He probably didn't have a clue how much time you spent running around sorting things out! All he sees is a code get called, and an ICU nurse and code team coming to the rescue.
Either way, you, the ICU nurse, and the docs know how everything happened. What that patient thinks doesn't really matter, all the nurses have probably just blended together by now!
I am a seasoned nurse of twenty years plus, and have been an agency nurse a little over 6 years with the same agency. I have found one hospital that I like to go to and have received several very late calls where I got out of bed and "went in to their rescue". They have tried to recruit me many times to go PRN and want to cut out my agency to save money. They always say "We will not be using agency anymore" to pressure me. I want to stay with my agency because they have treated me well and hustle to make sure I get hours every week. In addition I like not being subjected to all the drama/meetings/inservices etc.that regular staff has to deal with. I do get paid $4-9 an hour more then the regular staff, but pay my own insurance and do not get PTO or EIB etc. Now a new CEO is saying "we will use agency sparingly" meaning they will send me home after 4 hours after I have done all the hard work and necessary documentation, made the patients comfortable and put them to bed. This makes me feel used and unappreciated! They seem to think this is an ethical and acceptable practice! Am I wrong to expect to work the complete 12 hour shift which I was booked? I do not like driving home 30 miles in the middle of the night. This is abusing agency nurses in my book. What do you think? I appreciate any feedback you may provide.
I find constantly working with so many different health care professionals can often be tough, especially when you're not recognized for the hard and amazing work you do as a nurse!
Gooselady, BSN, RN
601 Posts
Dang
Definitely, vent. This really sucks, it was totally unfair, and darn it, this crap happens to nurses a lot.
It's really one of those super-duper-jaw-droppingly ARRGHHH things that we all experience. Definitely vent it out, blow it out, and at some point, if you are venting appropriately, you will laugh about it.
A patient, who's butt you were trying to save at the expense of your OWN sanity and the well being of your other patients, just dissed you in about the worst possible way. Totally unfair. Hugs :)