Patient gets sent to me after getting report and learning that she was dehydrated with acute kidney injury. Vitals stable, but labs were a little off.
Ok so the patients slow but she's a&o. Within 30 minutes new labs came back. BUN 112, Cr 11.7, Ca 6.6, K 2.4, Na 109, C02 13. I had orders to give her NS @ 100, 40 PO K, and really nothing else. The K, Ca, and Na were low before, but not that bad. I think Na was 120 in the ED. The patient had been in the ED since 5pm. She came to me at 10:30 pm. No consults had been called in that the ED dr had ordered when he saw the patient. There was a renal and cardio. So at 11:30 when the patients labs are called to me Im calling and waking up someone when they don't even know the patient. I got orders to transfer the patient to the SICU, but I had to fight with the supervisor for that bed. I don't understand why that patient was ever sent to my floor.
I get that we were out of beds and not enough nurses, but the paitient could have started having seizures and died while I was helping one of my other 5 patients. It just worries me that they're sending people to our floor like this and then we end up having to transfer patients all night. I just wonder if this is normal and happening other places. Sure is scary.