1. Just walked onto unit for my shift and grabbed my assignment sheet, haven't even take report on anyone yet..”The ER is calling report on your patient coming"
2. Only like 25% of my patients' medications are in the med room - the rest I'll have to order from pharmacy and wait and wait until they send it
3. Unit secretary: "so and so called and said their IV came out and blood is everywhere" (99% of the time this is at shift change)
4. Got everything settled with my admission and think they're good to go, 5 minutes before the next shift arrives the MD puts in a million orders for the pt.
5. Pt. has probably 20 pills in a med cup. Proceeds to dump them all in their hand and miss their mouth.
6. NG tube that won't unclog, attempt to flush it and then get sprayed in the face
Yesterday the patient scheduled for a lap chole next day demanded to speak to the surgeon, would not tell me why, then asked the surgeon on the phone if he can go home and come back the next day to "minimize the hospital bill".
You are very fortunate for this "someone".....they are none to be found on our unit.....
I technically am the someone, but I was the sitter for this pt and couldn’t leave the room. I’ll be a sitter, I’ll get v/s, I’ll check BS, I’ll run get telemetry batteries, I’ll transport pts, I do all the random stuff. LOL.
My current job (an outpatient setting) used to have five nurses in my department. Two quit. Two are assigned to vaccinate full-time now. Leaving yours truly to do the work of 5 nurses. Every time I send an SOS to my boss or my boss’s boss, they are sympathetic and basically say “Damn, that’s crazy. Good luck with all that, we are rooting for you.”
All you can do is your best. Don't try too hard, though, because they will see you are successful at being 5 nurses and will never replace the other 4.
All you can do is your best. Don't try too hard, though, because they will see you are successful at being 5 nurses and will never replace the other 4.
LTC, a resident loudly accused a CNA of being inappropriate, he yelled "stop grabbing my dick!" loud enough to hear down the hall while swatting at her. This resident had a long term foley cath, the CNA was putting on his leg bag and was nowhere near the anatomy in question, and yes there happened to be another staff member in the room to verify this. But regardless I still am required to go through the steps of reporting allegations of abuse no matter if they are legitimate or not.
So I do what I am required to do and initiate the investigation, first step in the reporting chain is the unit manager. I followed her direction as to what she wanted me to chart/report to the letter and then I proceed to get reamed out by both the DON and administrator. I mean I was chewed up and spit out for doing my job as required and doing it the way I was directed to by my immediate supervisor. I worked there for 25 years by the way so it's not like I was a new nurse that didn't know the required process.
That ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back for me and I started looking for another job. Of course when I put in my notice they were shocked and didn't want to lose me. Well they maybe should have thought about that before they yelled at me for doing my job.
I got the last laugh however as I accepted a job with more pay, better benefits and better hours.
When the actively COVID positive patient says "Why are you placing me on the covid unit? I don't want them to make me sick!"
The patient presents to the ER at two in the morning with mild chest pain...for a year. No other symptoms, nothing has changed. Decided now was the time to discover the pain source.
Patient states "I have no medical conditions. I'm completely healthy!" Then dumps a truckload of medications that he takes on a daily basis.
"I had diabetes but the Januvia and Metformin keep my sugar in normal range so I don't have it anymore."
Patient comes in with severe abdominal pain, registers, and moments later asks the nurse (before even being fully triaged) "So when am I going home?"
I've got many, many more...
My wife used to do disability hearings in the US. She learned early on that it was better to just ask her claimants to bring their medicine bottles with them to the disability hearing. If they didn't, she'd ask what they were taking, and she'd get a response like, "Oh, a little white pill, a red tablet, and a big blue pill," but when asked, pt had no idea what the medications were, or what they were for. She also had far too many like what you described, where they'd happily tell my wife that they "used" to have diabetes, but they "don't anymore."
"Oh, really? Then what are these (diabetes meds) for?"
"My diabetes! But I'm cured now, because I take the pills!"
BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN
398 Posts
Yesterday the patient scheduled for a lap chole next day demanded to speak to the surgeon, would not tell me why, then asked the surgeon on the phone if he can go home and come back the next day to "minimize the hospital bill".