Nurse's intuition

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Have you ever had a premonition that a patient was going to code (and been right) without any obvious symptoms, abnormal labs, or vitals?

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Yep. A lot.

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Oh, yes! And, even worse, when the patient tells you that they think they are about to die, you'd better listen-they are rarely wrong!:eek: :o

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More times than I can count. Once I even woke up in the night concerned about a former patient, and found out a couple of days later that she died right around that time!

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TNTC gives me the creeps everytime.

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The who in the what now, baseline? :confused:

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yep, but i like the "this one's gonna make it" intuition a whole lot better.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Absolutely! More times than I can count I've made a turn into a patients room for no good reason, had no business whatsoever being in that room, and have found them on the floor, or in some kind of distress.

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Originally posted by CATHYW

Oh, yes! And, even worse, when the patient tells you that they think they are about to die, you'd better listen-they are rarely wrong!:eek: :o

Absolutely right!! I know a couple of surgeons who will consider canceling their case if the patient tells them "I think I'm going to die on the table" or anything to that effect.

Kevin McHugh

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Specializes in OB.

Definitely know the feeling, your subconcious working overtime to warn you of things you don't conciously notice. And high praise for the rare docs who will take you seriously when you say "This one's going to crash". (And especially to the anesthesiologist who stayed in house one call night after a pt. with a placenta previa-supposedly stable-not in labor-asked the nurse "Please don't let me die" She tried to bleed out later that night)

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doesn't have to be a straight out "i'm gonna die today" kinda feeling either.

had a lady tell me she was just soooo tired and didn't know how she kept going. :o died in my arms a few hours later.

i shall never again dismiss that gut feeling of "something is about to happen."

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

oh you don't even know how this hits me right now...answer is yes and very recently. all i can say. and no, it was not good; it shook me to the core.

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