New Nurse In TEARS...

PICNICRN, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

Hang in there! You have received some solid advise on this thread. I think BlueBell is on the money about documenting your efforts on the tele leads. That way there is NO question.

As for that COMPLETELY INNAPROPRIATE behavior by the Doc, this should also be documented! Fill out an incident report or whatever form your facility has for this situation- believe me with all the attention JACHO is giving the "hostile" work environment the hospital should care about this incident!

No more thought about it!

wanderlust99 · Jan 9, 2009

I'm so sorry about his.

I understand how you feel, as a new nurse I remember going home crying quite a few times. Even cried at work a few times from horribly rude and mean patients & their families.

The doctor should be reported if he really yelled at you. A 2 point drop in sodium overnight isn't even a big deal. I always blame the docs for stuff like that. It's their fault for not treating a low sodium, not yours.

And you did the right thing, always tell your charge nurse. If equipment is malfunctioning, tell your charge nurse and he/she can fix it. If you did that, then you haven't done anything wrong.

I hope your manager was supportive.

Princess_M83 · Jan 9, 2009

You should not have allowed the MD to yell at you in front of other staff. Next time that happens, calmly say to them "I am sorry, can we please take this to my supervisors office?" That way you have a witness to the discussion and the fact that a physician is behaving inappropriately. If they refuse, you have the right to walk away. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

NursKris82 · Jan 9, 2009

No damage was done her, but you need malpractice insurance!! Any nurse that knows anything about nursing law will tell you the same. Your hospitals insurance covers them, not you. If you messed up or went against the hospital policy- they won't help you. Also, malpractice insurance provides an attorney if you ever have to go up against the B.O.N. It is so cheap and so needful. Please, please get it. Alot of nurses I know use NSO.

Sorry about your crappy night. Get some rest and then remember the good nights and why you became a nurse to begin with.

KidzNrz17 · Jan 9, 2009

You facility needs something like we have at ours. When drs act like that they can be written up. Please learn to not take them personally. You are going to find doctors who prove their greatness by yelling at people and you are going to find some who are nice and apperciate nursing. Toughen up. When he stopped you should have smiled and said, I know she didn't drink anything during the night or that she only drank what you gave her, whatever.

I work with kids, so I know how the leads can be. All you can do is state all the things you did to keep leads on the man. his daughter is being very inappropriate and should be ashamed of herself. And always remember to write it down and tell your charge person.

(I wouldn't be a nurse for almost 19 years if I hadn't learned some of this through the years).

Good luck and hang in there.

nurseeB · Jan 9, 2009

I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but I cried almost everyday my first year as a nurse. I felt so overwhelmed. I thought I was stupid and hadn't learned anything in nursing school. I also worked with a few doctors that everyone walked on eggshells when they were around. Luckily I had a supportive nurse manager and became friends with another nurse who would give me words of encouragement when I needed them. I went from all of this to being charge nurse in two years. I quit taking the crap from doctors too. I was never disrespectful, but I let them know in no uncertain terms that I deserved to get just as much respect as I gave to them. The first year or two in nursing really are the hardest. You are still trying to pull together everything you learned in school and apply it to patient care all the while having someone's life in your hands. It will get easier. It will start to "click". Just keep your chin up and smile. :bugeyes:

sunray12 · Jan 9, 2009

Going forward was supposed to be done in a situation where leads won't stay on? What can be done to fix this?

Neveranurseagain, RN · Jan 9, 2009

This MD needs to be written up. Talk to your supervisor on the policy/procedure to do this. His behavior was completely unacceptable and he needs to be aware that it will not be tolerated.

For a pt. to do a med mal case harm has to be done to the pt. Staying in the hospital did not harm the pt.

Take care of yourself, have a little compassion for YOURSELF!. Don't beat yourself up to badly--no harm came to either pt.

We all strive for perfection, but in reality do the best we can!

zuzi · Jan 9, 2009

Somenthing is not working well there in: how they receive orders, process orders, comunications beetwen staff and patients/family, work place behavior, all in all, my darling, talk with your suprevisor, look on their feedback.... not burnout...think...if you fell that is not ok somenthing there...IS NOT! your choice! A lot of love to fell better, you are a great nurse not worry one minute about!:heartbeat:heartbeat:heartbeat

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

That doctor is an ass. I can understand being upset when an order isn't carried out, but his behavior is inexcusable. Where I work, we can write incident reports regarding physician behavior, and this would be an instance where I would write one.

For the electrode patches that won't stick, try wiping the area with an alcohol pledget first. If the patient is totally with it, you can also show them where the leads go and ask that they stick them back on if they fall off. Some people like to be involved in their own care and will happily cooperate with this.

Rascal1 · Jan 9, 2009

I remember crying a lot when I was new. That MD.,over reacted and was a complete jerk. He was probably upset or angry with something or someone else,but,you unfortunately got the brunt of it.

Dorito, ASN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

Keep your chin up. If that patient was chugging water all night her sodium would have dropped a lot more than that. I've put up with docs lots in almost 30 years of nursing. It gets easier. Hang in there. We've all had rough shifts. You learned from it- that's all that matters. Blow off the threats from the family. Sounds like she's just blowing hot air. There was no negligence or malpractice.