My traumatizing night...

[Mary C, MSN, RN, APRN, CNM]

I'm a new grad and I absolutely just learned hwo quickly a patient can turn south. Somewhere in between my q2 repositions, my patient began having very bloody stools. About 2 hours after I had previously assessed him, I bathed the top of him and flipped him when i saw it. Pt denied stomach pain previously. His hemoglobin dropped about 1.4 in 24 hours. The day before it had dropped .9. Called Dr. set up dressings & got the blood transfusion stuff rolling. This happened an hour before report, so I passed it on to the new nurse. Anyways, lots of other stuff was going on with him, a woundvac on his tummy from a perfed bowel... chest tubes... vent... Tube Feed AND TPN. I was trying so hard to stay on top of assessments, and I feel like a failure.

I go back to work tonight and I can't sleep. It was so awful to see this and my heart just dropped. I feel sick to my stomach and that there was so much more I should have done, and that I could have prevented this.

How could I have gone about this differently?

I feel traumatized... Will it ever get better when bad stuff happens?

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Yes it will get better as you get better. It sounds like you did a fine job. Sometimes when there is so much to do it can feel overwhelming. Just ask yourself what is the most important thing I should be doing now and then next what would that be. then set out to do that. As pt condition changes you have to constantly re-prioritize if they are that unstable. A loss of 1 unit of blood brings your Hgb down by 1 and your Hct by 3.....so it was not a massive blood loss.....but if it keeps going....a pt can bleed out fast. So.....instead of being traumatized...say to yourself...thank goodness I was there to help....and I am grateful for the experience to learn and grow. STOP yourself from that behavior because that will only cripple you and will not help your patients. Praise yourself on a job well done (Always) and critique yourself on ways to improve.Look up anything you do not know as knowledge will always make you more comfortable as a nurse.

[Mary C, MSN, RN, APRN, CNM]

instead of being traumatized...say to yourself...thank goodness I was there to help....and I am grateful for the experience to learn and grow. STOP yourself from that behavior because that will only cripple you and will not help your patients. Praise yourself on a job well done (Always) and critique yourself on ways to improve.Look up anything you do not know as knowledge will always make you more comfortable as a nurse.

Thank you so much for this... I feel like I spend an ungodly amount of time researching everything!

[NurseyPoo7]

There was a pt on a vent on a med surg floor?

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

The patient was still alive when you gave report? You did good! It does get easier, but there are always going to be those nights when nothing goes right!