Night from #@**

Nurses New Nurse

Published

Ok, I can now officially say that I have had the night from #@**! To start off with, my hospital is in the middle of some renovations (which makes things interesting to say the least). As soon as I hit the door yesterday, I had two patients fresh from hip fx repairs (by fresh, I mean they hit the floor about the exact same time I did!). One is a middle aged alcoholic on watch for withdrawl, the other is 100 years old (almost 101--not kidding). Another pt claims that someone gave him meth without his knowledge which induced a MI. Straight away (before report), I had to go do assessments on my two new surgery pts who seemed fairly stable at the moment. I went to get report, stepped out on the floor and all hell broke loose. My 100 y/o became non-responsive with no bp to be found. Telemetry reports showed she was in a sinus brady rythm in the 30's! (did I mention that I am in the middle of hanging blood at this time? for my first time EVER)) OK guys, I'm new and I will readily admit I had not a clue what to do. I immediately turned her on her head (trend) and called for my charge nurse. Within minutes, the ER doc arrived. We increased her fluids (after a bolus of NS) and the situation was resolved (for now). Not more than 2 hours later, same thing. Only this time, my meth/MI guy across the hall went into respiratory distress. Called RT for him and played the same game with the 100 y/o as before. Crisis adverted for the moment. Left 100 y/o in trend for the rest of the evening. Seemed to help (for a while). Now it is getting to be about 4am and I have not charted one thing! I have passed all my meds, but have not done any real assessments on any of my other patients. Did I mention that meth/MI guy has now pulled out his IV? LOL! After spnding a great amount of time on the phone with the dr, I run through and do quick assessments on my pts (at this point they were all breathing and that was about the extent of my assessment). I sat down and charted everything I could remember, but wonder now if it even made any kind of sense. During my charting, one of my other pts who is completely "with it" mentally decides to have a horrific nightmare on me. She apparently thought someone was after, ripped out her IV, stripped off her clothes and was standing in the hallway naked and covered in blood. Got her woke up and reoriented her. She was terrribly embarassed. Pt redressed, IV restarted and now I realize that her antibiotic that was supposed to be hung at 1300 the day before was still sitting there. It had technically expired so had to remix it myself, fill out an incident report and get it going. Now, I can finish my charting...yeah right. So I am sitting there wondering how I am ever going to get finished and this twit I work with asks is I could help her with her chart checks!!! (she has been a nurse for 10 years and has not offered to help me once tonight. not to mention that chart checks were the least of my concern.). I simply looked up at her and asked her if she had lost her mind! So it is now 30 minutes after my shift and I am getting close to being done when 100 y/o craps out on me again (the next shift was still in report), so back on the phone with the doctor AGAIN. Another bolus, more trend. By the time I was finished it was an hour and a half past my shift. I apologised to the next shift for everything I had done or not done and told them if they would just let me sleep until noon, they could call me then and let me have it. They assured me this would not happen. I told them not to make promises until they saw the mess I had left for them. I did get a call from work around 1100, but it was not from the nurses, it was from our lady that does our schedule. They need help tomorrow (today 9/1), can I come in from 7a-1p. Sure I said and back to sleep I went. I felt like a horrible nurse guys. I did not give my patients the care they deserved last night, but I gave them ALL I had. To be honest, I only got one bathroom break last night and did not have time to eat anything. I left this morning ashamed for all that I knew I had missed, but also proud that everyone was still breathing when i left. I think I held up OK under the pressure (not that I am ready to do it again anytime soon) but my poor charge nurse (who normally has nerves of steel) literally went into the bathroom to cry last night. Please someone tell me that everyone has had these nights and it will be ok. how do you handle these situations and what else could I have done? Just for the record, my 100 y/o was on her way to CCU while i was on my way out the door this morning.

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Specializes in ICUs, Tele, etc..

oh sorry u had a busy and terrible night, it happens...come to think of it, murphy's law tends to happen more during nightshift.

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Specializes in Tele, Home Health, MICU, CTICU, LTC.

Sounds like you made it through the night quite well. Nights like that can be quite stressful. Sometimes you can only do what you can do. Did you get any admissions along with these patients? That's what would have happened where I work, they would have given an admission on top of my patients who were all going to crap.

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Specializes in L&D.

I think you did a GREAT job! You're right...everyone was breathing when you left! :balloons: Last Saturday was a crazy evening for me. Not as bad as yours though.

You're doing great!

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Sorry you had a terrible night hang in there and good luck. :)

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Specializes in Gerontological Nursing, Acute Rehab.

You got thru your shift from h#ll without:

a) pulling your hair out

b) rocking in a corner curled in the fetal position chanting "take me to my happy place..."

c) leaving work and heading right for your local truck driving school.

You did fine, handled it like a pro, and gave the best care you could. I've been in those situation where it was every patient for themselves. Unfortunately it happens sometimes.

I give you brownie points for actually agreeing to come in and pick up some hours. Good for you!

Keep up the good work....you are doing fine!

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Specializes in ACNP-BC.
Ok, I can now officially say that I have had the night from #@**! To start off with, my hospital is in the middle of some renovations (which makes things interesting to say the least). As soon as I hit the door yesterday, I had two patients fresh from hip fx repairs (by fresh, I mean they hit the floor about the exact same time I did!). One is a middle aged alcoholic on watch for withdrawl, the other is 100 years old (almost 101--not kidding). Another pt claims that someone gave him meth without his knowledge which induced a MI. Straight away (before report), I had to go do assessments on my two new surgery pts who seemed fairly stable at the moment. I went to get report, stepped out on the floor and all hell broke loose. My 100 y/o became non-responsive with no bp to be found. Telemetry reports showed she was in a sinus brady rythm in the 30's! (did I mention that I am in the middle of hanging blood at this time? for my first time EVER)) OK guys, I'm new and I will readily admit I had not a clue what to do. I immediately turned her on her head (trend) and called for my charge nurse. Within minutes, the ER doc arrived. We increased her fluids (after a bolus of NS) and the situation was resolved (for now). Not more than 2 hours later, same thing. Only this time, my meth/MI guy across the hall went into respiratory distress. Called RT for him and played the same game with the 100 y/o as before. Crisis adverted for the moment. Left 100 y/o in trend for the rest of the evening. Seemed to help (for a while). Now it is getting to be about 4am and I have not charted one thing! I have passed all my meds, but have not done any real assessments on any of my other patients. Did I mention that meth/MI guy has now pulled out his IV? LOL! After spnding a great amount of time on the phone with the dr, I run through and do quick assessments on my pts (at this point they were all breathing and that was about the extent of my assessment). I sat down and charted everything I could remember, but wonder now if it even made any kind of sense. During my charting, one of my other pts who is completely "with it" mentally decides to have a horrific nightmare on me. She apparently thought someone was after, ripped out her IV, stripped off her clothes and was standing in the hallway naked and covered in blood. Got her woke up and reoriented her. She was terrribly embarassed. Pt redressed, IV restarted and now I realize that her antibiotic that was supposed to be hung at 1300 the day before was still sitting there. It had technically expired so had to remix it myself, fill out an incident report and get it going. Now, I can finish my charting...yeah right. So I am sitting there wondering how I am ever going to get finished and this twit I work with asks is I could help her with her chart checks!!! (she has been a nurse for 10 years and has not offered to help me once tonight. not to mention that chart checks were the least of my concern.). I simply looked up at her and asked her if she had lost her mind! So it is now 30 minutes after my shift and I am getting close to being done when 100 y/o craps out on me again (the next shift was still in report), so back on the phone with the doctor AGAIN. Another bolus, more trend. By the time I was finished it was an hour and a half past my shift. I apologised to the next shift for everything I had done or not done and told them if they would just let me sleep until noon, they could call me then and let me have it. They assured me this would not happen. I told them not to make promises until they saw the mess I had left for them. I did get a call from work around 1100, but it was not from the nurses, it was from our lady that does our schedule. They need help tomorrow (today 9/1), can I come in from 7a-1p. Sure I said and back to sleep I went. I felt like a horrible nurse guys. I did not give my patients the care they deserved last night, but I gave them ALL I had. To be honest, I only got one bathroom break last night and did not have time to eat anything. I left this morning ashamed for all that I knew I had missed, but also proud that everyone was still breathing when i left. I think I held up OK under the pressure (not that I am ready to do it again anytime soon) but my poor charge nurse (who normally has nerves of steel) literally went into the bathroom to cry last night. Please someone tell me that everyone has had these nights and it will be ok. how do you handle these situations and what else could I have done? Just for the record, my 100 y/o was on her way to CCU while i was on my way out the door this morning.

Doesn't it feel good to vent? That's what I just did here too, about my draining day at work. I had 5 very sick patients on the day shift-it was like a zoo! And next week (week 7 of my orientation) I go up to taking care of 6 patients-it's so crazy on the day shift-& add to that the fact that I'm new! Ugh!

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Be proud that you can handle this type of shift. You did just fine and willing to go back too. Excellent job.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

Hey...be easy on yourself! Even the most experienced nurses would've left that shift feeling the same way you did.

Hope your next shift is better.

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Ok, I can now officially say that I have had the night from #@**! To start off with, my hospital is in the middle of some renovations (which makes things interesting to say the least). As soon as I hit the door yesterday, I had two patients fresh from hip fx repairs (by fresh, I mean they hit the floor about the exact same time I did!). One is a middle aged alcoholic on watch for withdrawl, the other is 100 years old (almost 101--not kidding). Another pt claims that someone gave him meth without his knowledge which induced a MI. Straight away (before report), I had to go do assessments on my two new surgery pts who seemed fairly stable at the moment. I went to get report, stepped out on the floor and all hell broke loose. My 100 y/o became non-responsive with no bp to be found. Telemetry reports showed she was in a sinus brady rythm in the 30's! (did I mention that I am in the middle of hanging blood at this time? for my first time EVER)) OK guys, I'm new and I will readily admit I had not a clue what to do. I immediately turned her on her head (trend) and called for my charge nurse. Within minutes, the ER doc arrived. We increased her fluids (after a bolus of NS) and the situation was resolved (for now). Not more than 2 hours later, same thing. Only this time, my meth/MI guy across the hall went into respiratory distress. Called RT for him and played the same game with the 100 y/o as before. Crisis adverted for the moment. Left 100 y/o in trend for the rest of the evening. Seemed to help (for a while). Now it is getting to be about 4am and I have not charted one thing! I have passed all my meds, but have not done any real assessments on any of my other patients. Did I mention that meth/MI guy has now pulled out his IV? LOL! After spnding a great amount of time on the phone with the dr, I run through and do quick assessments on my pts (at this point they were all breathing and that was about the extent of my assessment). I sat down and charted everything I could remember, but wonder now if it even made any kind of sense. During my charting, one of my other pts who is completely "with it" mentally decides to have a horrific nightmare on me. She apparently thought someone was after, ripped out her IV, stripped off her clothes and was standing in the hallway naked and covered in blood. Got her woke up and reoriented her. She was terrribly embarassed. Pt redressed, IV restarted and now I realize that her antibiotic that was supposed to be hung at 1300 the day before was still sitting there. It had technically expired so had to remix it myself, fill out an incident report and get it going. Now, I can finish my charting...yeah right. So I am sitting there wondering how I am ever going to get finished and this twit I work with asks is I could help her with her chart checks!!! (she has been a nurse for 10 years and has not offered to help me once tonight. not to mention that chart checks were the least of my concern.). I simply looked up at her and asked her if she had lost her mind! So it is now 30 minutes after my shift and I am getting close to being done when 100 y/o craps out on me again (the next shift was still in report), so back on the phone with the doctor AGAIN. Another bolus, more trend. By the time I was finished it was an hour and a half past my shift. I apologised to the next shift for everything I had done or not done and told them if they would just let me sleep until noon, they could call me then and let me have it. They assured me this would not happen. I told them not to make promises until they saw the mess I had left for them. I did get a call from work around 1100, but it was not from the nurses, it was from our lady that does our schedule. They need help tomorrow (today 9/1), can I come in from 7a-1p. Sure I said and back to sleep I went. I felt like a horrible nurse guys. I did not give my patients the care they deserved last night, but I gave them ALL I had. To be honest, I only got one bathroom break last night and did not have time to eat anything. I left this morning ashamed for all that I knew I had missed, but also proud that everyone was still breathing when i left. I think I held up OK under the pressure (not that I am ready to do it again anytime soon) but my poor charge nurse (who normally has nerves of steel) literally went into the bathroom to cry last night. Please someone tell me that everyone has had these nights and it will be ok. how do you handle these situations and what else could I have done? Just for the record, my 100 y/o was on her way to CCU while i was on my way out the door this morning.

You did the best you could do with the help you had. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone because i felt exactly like you today!!! I ran home wondering if I'm in the wrong place at work. It sounds like you did a great job and used those critical thinking skills we were taught in school. (HAH!). The real world of nursing is really something huh? Don't beat yourself up, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and better. God Bless..AMARTIN1

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You guys are great! Yes, it does feel good to vent (to people who understand what I am talking about). I went in for my extra shift today and things went like clock work. I really needed that. My nursing supervisor pulled me aside for a few minutes to talk about a few "errors" I had made Tuesday night, but told me that she was in no way coming down on me. She said she thought I had handled myself well. I told her that I had learned quite a few lessons that night that I would never forget. I just might make it after all. LOL! ;-)

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Thank you so much for this post and all the replies! I'm sorry you had such an awful night, but I had a similar experience the other night and feels good to know I'm not alone. (This is my first post although I have been viewing for awhile.) I graduated in may and started at my hospital at the end of july. The other night I had 11 patients and more things go wrong than I could list here. I felt crushed by the end of the night. Tonight is the first night I'll be back since (I work 7p-7a) and I'm trying to retain a positive attitude. Just wanted to give a HUGE thank you to all who post on this site. It is a great resource for me as well as a place of encouragement. God bless.

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