Just a Vent About My Evening Yesterday...

weetziebat · Oct 1, 2004

As I was reading your post felt like I was right there with you. Know well just how you are feeling. Been there and done that!! So dang frustrating.

I think the cell phones need to be turned off during working hours and staff can check for messages on their breaks.

Sorry you had such a miserable shift, and hoping your back improves quickly. Injuries like that can come back to haunt you for a long time. Take care.

Here's a hug for you :) ((((((((((Danielle))))))))))

LEL · Oct 1, 2004

:balloons: :balloons: :balloons:

It was one of those days...I came on at 1400 and by 1500 I was filling out 2 incident reports for things that happened on days, but only brought to attention after change of shift...no big deal. Then at about 1630 I'm in the middle of my med pass when I go into a Res.' room and he (a 190# dead wt. man) was sliding out of his w/c. 1 more second and he would have been on the floor. I was able to stabilize his wt. and lock the w/c with the other hand. His foot was pressing against the wall which was helping, but he had foot rests on his w/c so if I let him go, he would have been ontop of the footrests, mashed against the wall. So basically I was holding him with one arm under his knees and the other around his back and totally unable to pull him up in the chair. Now, this whole time his motion alarm is going off and NOONE is coming. I was yelling "I need hep in 109!!!" still NOONE came. This went on for nearly 10 mins. The other nursewho has the other half of my hall finally comes mozying on by and I yell her name. She comes in, I tell her what I want her to do and we STILL can't get him in the chair. I tell her to go get help so she leaves, comes back with 3 CNA's and the RCM. We got him back in the chair, I look down and mt arm that was around his back is COVERED in BM which I later found out was up to his neck. SOOOOO...at this point my back is killing me and progressively getting worse all night. The other nurse says...and I quote..."Well I heard someone yelling for help but I just thought it was one of the Residents" So why the _ell didn't she go help?????It could've been someone on the floor, hurt, etc...Then the 2 CNA's that were working my hall say "We were sitting at the desk and we never heard you" These are the same 2 young ladies that I had just got 2 Res. complaints about them each being "Too busy on their cell phones " while giving care. I have talked to each of them before as they are always on their phones in Res. rms, the feeder dining rm, etc...After work I went to the ER as I couldn't turn my head by midnight and was seen and in and out and at the pharmacy and home in an hour. They made me file L&I at the ER...I wanted to use my ins, but they said that was illegal. The Doc told me to stay home for 2 days. I called in when I got home last night. If they give me ANY trouble at work for filing a claim, or taking time off, I don't know what I'm going to do. Sorry so long, thanks for listening. And, of course, today is much worse, just like the ER doc said it would be!
Danielle

LEL · Oct 1, 2004

I have been in your situation more than once and having a DON that doesn't support me is a big pain in the _ _ _.

Midwest4me · Oct 1, 2004

I'm so sorry to hear about your pain. I hope you're feeling better real soon. To echo Weetziebat's words: "felt like I was there with you" too!!! How frustrating indeed. Do you ever feel you sometimes work more as a CNA than as a nurse? I sure did by the last few days at the last LTC I worked --trying to do treatments, answering call lights and bed/pt. alarms every few minutes and wondering where the heck the CNAs were...and thinking that they were probably taking extended breaks or just "disappearing". (The night nurse had told me a day or so earlier that she'd overheard a CNA tell several of the others "We're getting the union in soon and those nurses need us more than we need them---you can do whatever you WANT to do!":angryfire I'm all for teamwork. I know they work hard(the majority of them in LTC) but there were quite a few slackers there. While reading your post, I got to thinking "why were the two CNAs at the desk?" Doing paperwork or chit-chatting? I find it hard to believe that one of those gals didn't think it odd that a pt. alarm kept going off and didn't get up to investigate. Can you tell this is a sore point with me???Haha.

medsurgnurse, RN · Oct 1, 2004

Whatever you do, don't back down about the injury having occured at work. It's good that you filed a report. I've been injured and at first I was to scared to file report. A patient was falling I caught him and injured myself. Anyway, Write down evrything you remember about the incident now. Keep it at your home. Write down how many people where working, who was on duty, what the asignments where etc. Also everything that your co-workers said., such as the comments about hearing you but not responding. Hopefully, you will be better in two days, but if not you will need as much information as possible. Just keep these personal notes, you may need them in the future. Also, you may need to get statements from the person who actually saw you bent over holding the patient from falling. And a copy of the assignmnet sheet. I hope you feel better. And the CNA's should be out making rounds, too.

IDlvrM · Oct 1, 2004

Thank you all so much for the support. The whole situation is just so frustrating. The CNA's at my facility do work very hard and are very good (for the most part) It seems to be these two girls (both very young) that are constantly on their cell phones, going into Res rms with their Starbucks and Slurpees...I actually walked into a rm to do a bolus PT feed and the same CNA was toileting the roommate with a Frappuccino in her hand. A) That is just gross B) How totally unprofessional. I feel that I have been "nice" up until now with "reminders" and "warnings", but if there are any backlashes on me for this injury, it is going higher!

medsurgnurse....good advice, thanks! I will write everything down and get those copies of assignments and TRY to get statements.

I failed, purposely, to say in my original post that the other nurse is in her 70's and most of the time can't hear D/T the squelching from her hearing aids...That comes strait from her own mouth, not mine. I didn't want to sound like I think her age has any baring on the situation. Anyway, thanks again!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2004

Hope your back is o.k. Agree, you document that you're having back pain, just in case.

Nursenan0 · Oct 2, 2004

Just like most of the other replies...been there done that. I hope your back feels better soon but I'm guessing that wont be the case. The other posts are right, keep track of all the information about the injury, it may come in real handy with workmans comp. We had the same problem in our building, Now our facility policy says NO cell phone in the building at any time. Write ups arent used in your facility? or maybe its one of the cases where they dont matter even if you write them?

aileenve, ASN, RN · Oct 3, 2004

I've been there and done that, sounds like our floor at least couple times a week, BUT, as you said you injured your back at work..at our facility if you have a work related injury you may come in and be on "lite duty" which means: pass meds, admit patients, QA monitors, etc, NO patient care until released by our employee health, now I'm sure you guessed it! We have so many nurses on "lite duty" its killing the rest of us! Please take every break you can get...you sound like a very dedicated nurse and the patients probably really appreciate you! You know we all do!

kathy_79 · Oct 3, 2004

i am sorry for you, it was really tough day but you did what you supposed to and that is important.

i read your post and i am getting mad because of your friends attitude and proffesionalism to nurse code of job. i think most of nurses forgets very easily why thay are why they are who they are and for whom they are working. i always try to put myself in my patient situations and do the best for them i can, and if i am not busy i really answear on call ight or someone yelling for help. you never know what is going on with person, how situation looks like. i am student nurse but it really does not matter if it is going about patients. that part f my job. i work as cna and i lnow it is common to behave like your cnas do. my coworkers were different and i usually have a luck to work with responsible and carring people exccept my last job which i changed very quickly. to working my a... for someone who will sit and and talk by phone is no no for me. i am the eldest one from my siblings and i was mom for them that is why i know my resposibility and follow that even if i have bad days. it is so bad when i heard stories like that even if it is real life. i hope this people understand what they do wrong before someone gets really hurt and then they will regret, before will br to late to fix it.

good luck, :)