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.
Sorry, it was the patient who said this. The cardiologist was great.
Just think of it this way, if you hadn't known what you were doing, the patient wouldn't be able to tell anyone the truth. He'd be dead 😉.
Don't let it get under your skin. Patients' perceptions of the medical field and how things work is based on what they see on TV and what they want it to be.
You did a great job, knew your stuff, and the patient lived to complain. I'd say that's excellent nursing care!
dcanada, will your agency advocate for you (and for themselves?) If the hospital contracts for an agency nurse to do a 12, they break the contract if they send you early and do not pay you (and the agency) for the rest of the shift. Some agencies go so far as to have the agreement with the client state that even if a nurse arrives and is cancelled before starting the shift, the originally agreed-upon hours must be paid. After all, had you not accepted that assignment, you would have been available to accept another that would have provided work hours to help pay the bills! I encourage you to speak up and look into this further. The hospital is paying for your skills, knowledge base, clinical judgement and just plain hard work. They cannot have all that on an as-needed basis, often on very short notice, but not treat you fairly. They may not like paying agency fees, but that is the trade-off for getting good nurses on a "rescue me" basis to optimize patient outcomes and not put the licenses of staff nurses on the line (as may happen when they are overloaded). You have your reasons for choosing this type of nursing employment - and as you alluded to earlier, though you make more per hour than does the hospital staff, you aren't going home rich at the end of any given shift. There are financial trade-offs involved in this kind of work. My best to you, dcanada- and thanks on behalf of the many patients who received better, safer care because you were there to help drop the nurse/patient ratio. Stand firm, be strong, and learn what you can about the system in order to make it work as best it might for you! Take care-
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.
It's just business, kinda like you don't want to be full time doing the extra small things you mentioned and wanting a higher hourly wage.
It goes both ways.
No abuse, just protecting the millions they have invested in their org.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Sorry, it was the patient who said this. The cardiologist was great.
Could it have been your comparative demeanors? The picture I got in my head from your OP was that you were kind of running around, frantic. And the ICU nurse calmly pushed meds. Perhaps that lended itself to his perception that you weren't sure what to do and the ICU nurse had it all under control.
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!
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I work nights, and the day nurses get mentioned on the satisfaction surveys at a rate of at least 3-1.
That could be because they're so much better than those of us who work nights, or it could be that the world stops turning while the patient sleeps. I hadn't thought of that, until I read your post.
I'm kind of used to being under rated, but I can see why a new nurse would need that validation.
I can relate, I had one MD who would ask me 1 question and if he sees I don't know what to do, he would grab another nurse he knows and ask the same question in front of me while I try to collect myself. Last time, he even told me to make copies of patient screen when the clerk is right in front of us. I was so pissed that I had to make a note that if he does that to me again, I'm going to have to talk to him. Ugh until this day, it drives me to the edge. He is a nice MD though and he hasn't done anything I have said since I have more experience now. But I am waiting for that 1 time, 1 more time...
So it was the patient? Lol I wouldn't be bothered by it. Patients sometimes don't know how hard we work. I always pay it off with sympathy and more tender loving care HAHA!!!
You are right. Patients do not understand our roles and the things we do and that is why we need to educate them. I would have told this patient exactly what I did that ultimately saved his life (8 ECGS, called MD x number of times, monitored constantly, recognized lethal dysrhythmia).
enuf_already
789 Posts
Just think of it this way, if you hadn't known what you were doing, the patient wouldn't be able to tell anyone the truth. He'd be dead 😉.
Don't let it get under your skin. Patients' perceptions of the medical field and how things work is based on what they see on TV and what they want it to be.
You did a great job, knew your stuff, and the patient lived to complain. I'd say that's excellent nursing care!