Nurse Sings the blues

Brownms46 · Jun 28, 2002

WOW... (((((((((((((((((((((((MARIO)))))))))))))))))))))))))):kiss:

I have to admire you...as you're a really taking a beating at that place! I feel that nurse was very unprofessional herself, and I would let that be known. Her comments to your were unneccesary, and just plain inconsiderate:(! How could someone do that to another person, for no good reason, other than their friend couldn't work because a staff employee wanted to???

I feel you did the right thing in helping the other pt., because if you hadn't this nurse would have something to say about that too! Where was she when her pt needed her? Busy being pissed for no good reason?? Take heart...because if a pt. wants to pull something out...they will do just that. And it only takes a second for something like that to happen.

JMHO here...but I just don't think you're in the right place...to be nurtured as a future RN...

I sincerely hope things will improve, and you will be allowed to grow, as you should in a more productive setting.

Don't let this get you down...let it roll away...because again you did nothing wrong!:)

alwaysthere · Jun 28, 2002

oh dear ... i know this all seems very bad at the moment but it will pass... i had horrible experiences during my first three months at my new job...it really broke my heart becuse i had put so much of my self into doing this and into being in this feild and i had never had so many problems as i was having... do you have someone on the floor you can talk to? In my facility we pair the experienced aides with the new ones until they get the hang of things...the new ones can ask questions get help and just vent...also when i have a difficult pt. and my nurse is not around (the ft rn and I decided to work with our pts together as it makes things soo much easier) i get another cna to come with me...it really helps when they have prior phsych or dementia experience lol (of course if your that cna you want to pull your hair out since by the time the night is over you will have dealt with every 'hard' pt on the unit ) ...and personally i dont beleive your comments where right... i dont tell the patients anything about my job...they need to focus on getting better ...not the fact that they may be getting me in trouble...also people sadly are more self centered now adays ,,,next time try saying something to the matter of fact that they are harming thenselves... in the same vein your rn was not right in calling your manager... your new dont they get it? you'll get used to people pulling things out ...just leap outa they way so whatever it is dosent get on you ....hehe... :D im here for ya!

alwaysthere · Jun 28, 2002

wow! you better apprciate that cuz it has to be the longest post ive ever written ! :)

TaraER-RN · Jun 28, 2002

Mario...it seems like a lot of weird things are going on in this place that you work. A lot of tattle telling etc....is this the place you really want to work? It seems to be giving you nothing but heartache

thisnurse · Jun 28, 2002

ok mario...where do you work?

we will go there and take care of these ppl that are messing with our mario!

i dont care how closely you watch a pt...they will pull their lines. the nurses you work with are aware of that.

you are doing just what you should be. just go about doing the best job you can and hold your head high. it might seem like everything is going wrong. it might seem like you are screwing up left and right but you arent.

this is just some of the messed up stuff we are constantly moaning about. in time you will pass the "audition" and things will go along smoothly. dont lose faith in yourself and dont let the creeps you work with make you feel like you are incompetent.

suzannasue · Jun 28, 2002

:eek: OMG, Mario...I send you hugs and tugs over the http://WWW...

I agree with above that there seems to be a whole lotta tattlin' goin on at that place and urge you to search within yourself regarding exactly how much more you are going to endure before you blow a fuse...I suggest you speak with your manager about the above incident and get some feedback...if it's negative,start looking elsewhere for employment. You are a new employee and there is so much to learn...seems they need a mentoring program.

Yeah, this too shall pass,but at what expense??? Your self esteem??? Your reputation within the facility??? :rolleyes:

Do I need to come out there and open a can of,nope, a SACK of

whoop-A$$???????????

Take care Mario...keep us posted on this employment situation...

we care aboutcha!!!!!!! :kiss

Sleepyeyes · Jun 28, 2002

Why on earth was this patient's hands not restrained????

Why did the RN not give him some "Vit A" to calm him down????

Why did the CNA assigned to the other Pt. not show up in time to help Pt.#2???

Doesn't matter if the RN "reports" you or not, this was still HER patient and ultimately she is responsible. Had he been mine, he woulda been in wrist restraints, especially if he had an IJ.

Mario, even if you only poked your head out the door to call for another CNA to take care of Pt #2, that patient #1 woulda had that line out; they're short, and they do pull fast.

(Boy, that sounds like it musta been messy....and putting pressure to the site for 5 minutes gives you plenty of time to kick yourself in the butt for something that may've been inevitable anyhow.)

Not too long ago, I had one LOM who couldn't do much besides pull his lines, no matter how "creatively" we threaded them through his gown. Pulled something like 4 PICCS, (i.e., 11" of line there) and on the night I had him, he was supposed to get a unit of blood. Ergo, wrist restraints. Line stayed in for my shift; he pulled it out the next one.

But geez, I'm the first to admit that I just plain got lucky....

Nurse Ratched, RN · Jun 28, 2002

Sleepyeyes - I had to wonder why they didn't restrain the guy's hands or at least have them in mitts (not considered a restraint as long as they're not tied down, but sure makes it hard to pull stuff when you don't have your fingers free! :))

Mario - sorry for yet another rough one. We've _all_ lived to regret agreeing to stick around after we had our chance to escape.

Pt's who are one on ones in our facility MUST have a private room by our policy (I think to prevent incidences like this - it's one on one - not one on two.)

But as others said, pt's will pull their lines when you're in the middle of a blink. It's the law in nursing. Don't fret tons. I agree I'd be more worried about this tendency people at your workplace have to go running to the manager to say things about you. This seems not to be a terribly supportive environment to say the least.

Sleepyeyes · Jun 28, 2002

Originally posted by Nurse Ratched
I agree I'd be more worried about this tendency people at your workplace have to go running to the manager to say things about you. This seems not to be a terribly supportive environment to say the least.

I concur. Not real supportive, especially when any dummy can see that you're trying to do backflips to please them.

*sigh* I wish I could help, but there's no substitute for hard-won experience.

I've been told that good leaders come out of experiences like this. So there's a little peek at your future, Mario. You'll be a preceptor one day, and you'll be good at it because you'll understand the newbie so completely.

Keep those electrons circling the nucleus... :cool: and best wishes for a better shift next time.

(Frankly I think the only reason I survived my first couple years was that I was surrounded by great patients... :chuckle:) )

NurseDennie, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2002

Well, I think the reason the person wasn't restraied was because he had a sitter. In order words, the sitter was there so the poor guy didn't have to be restrained. The rest of it I agree with - but one of the major reasons for paying for a sitter is to keep from having to restrain an old, sick person, who is uncomfortable enough no matter what.

I agree though - it was a lose/lose situation, and he would have pulled his IV out if you had gone to the door to yell for another tech to help.

((((((((((Mario))))))))))))) Sometimes it's just like that. I hope you don't let it get you down.

Love

Dennie

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jun 28, 2002

Mario, I was once at a break and another nurse was supposed to be watching my vented pedi pat. I came back and the nurse said the pt was pulling on her arterial line, in her foot, it was exTREMEly hard to put in from what I was told, and pt was very sick, and really needed the line. I look up as she says she reinforced the drsg, and the waveform disappeared, before I was even back at her bedside.

I got blamed when I wasn't even there. The surgeon came out of the OR, with his lights on, the speacial goggles they use for open heart surgery, just to yell at me and make me feel like shyt! It didn't take much. Then the anesthesiologist who put the line in came out to dish out some more and to try to put a new line in. They refused to sedate the little girl while they poked and prodded to try to put a new line in. She was crying silent tears, and finally I couldn't take it, I started sobbing. Right at her bedside. Fortunately, another nurse, my peds preceptor, saw what was going on, came over and said, I've got it, please go take a break. I hesitated, and she said quietly, Linda, this kid doesn't need to see you cry too! I knew she was right, so I went to the lounge and sobbed.

I was just off peds orientation, pregnant with hormones raging and ultra sensitive ( those at&t ads would make me cry on TV, killing a bug would make me cry when I was pregnant!) I am eternally grateful to her for relieveing me. I came back in the unit, they had started a new line, given some sedation, and everything was OK with the child.

About 15 minutes later, a surgical fellow came in and said, OMG, you should see how PI$$ED Dr. M is that this line came out, I don't think I've ever seen him so PI$$ED!!!! That was it, I started bawling again, and Sarah, my preceptor, talked to the charge nurse and they ended up sending me home. It was a good move!!

A few weeks later, I went to see the child up on peds, she took one look at me and burst into tears, running away from me, clinging to the peds nurse. Talk about feeling like whaleshyt on the bottom of the ocean!

I guess the moral of my story is, no matter how hard you try, no matter how consciencious you are, shyt will happen. You will be blamed, sometimes appropriately, sometimes not. The important thing is what you learn from it and how you handle it, b/c no amount of wishing or crying over it, will change the fact that the pt pulled out a line.

Ask your manager how they would have handled the situation if they had been in your shoes. You had to make a decision in a split second. You could have pressed the call bell for someone else to help the pt, but what if he got super anxious and started to jump the siderail?? What is he broke a hip? Then again, what is the worst thing that could happen if you didn't get someone else in there to help him asap? He would be laying in pee for a few minutes, no harm done. Think about all the possible ways you could have handled the situation, and the possible outcomes, then decide which is the lesser of two evils, and remember it for the next time.