Poor care post surgery

[bradleau]

I am post surgery now for 6 wks. I still can not get out of my mind the poor treatment and pain control that I received post surgery. I had a plate put in at the C 5-6-7 as part of the removal of bone spurs from a surgery 8 yrs prior. One bone spur was anterior and was adhesed to my esophagus. The PAIN was intense! It took 2 hrs and 30 min from arrival to room to get my pain medication. My husband was there, and kept requesting for me. So by the time I got the IM Morphine I was very uncomfortable. Policy was to tell the patient how much they could have, and what and how frequent. This I was never told until the night nurse came on. I was needing pain relief and my scheduled meds...that were several hours late. This nurse, who lectured me that I SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR IT SOONER, told me I could have 10 mg every 3 hrs. OK, I then asked her why it had been 4 hrs since I had repeated asked for pain medication, and my scheduled meds. Their bid is Q 12 hrs. Where I work it is 9 am and 5 pm. Certainly NOT q 12. Anyway, the adhesion removal was extremely painful. I DID NOT EXPECT TO HAVE THIS TYPE OF PAIN. I ALSO DID NOT EXPECT A LECTURE IN A SNIDE TONE OF VOICE FROM A FELLOW RN. Every nurse that came into the room was informed that my pain level was at least a 7 out of 10, and that I was not getting relief. I asked for the doctor to be called. MY SURGEON.

Of course by the time the night nurse came to my room at 22:10 some other NP was taking call for a different MD in the practice. The excuse from my nurse regarding my home med delay was that it had not been stocked in their Accu dose. This hospital has 24/7 pharmacy and it had been over 12 hrs since I had been on the floor post op. NO EXCUSE!

Perhaps the worst part was my nurse said she was the charge nurse, and that the hospital did not have a supervisor ( whom I had requested). That was a LIE! There always is a supervisor especially for a large hospital like that.

My pain level never did drop below a 7. I was having irritability from the delay of my home medications....

I NEVER HAVE TREATED ANY OF MY PATIENTS POST OP LIKE I WAS TREATED (ABUSED).

I reported this to my doctor's ACNP who made rounds and discharged me the next morning. I also called administration the following day requesting to file a complaint. Around 4 pm that day, the floor supervisor phoned me. She said that there was a supervisor, but that the charge nurse thought I was satisfied with her answeres as "a charge nurse". H--L no! SHE WAS THE PROBLEM. THAT IS WHY I WANTED THE SUPERVISOR.

I know how some nurses feel that some patients are drug seekers. That is the way I felt she was treating me. ( note: She told me that it had been 5 hrs since my last shot and why did I not ask sooner) Well I had, like every 30 min. EXCEPT SHE DID NOT COME TO MY ROOM until many hours after her shift had started.

I know what nurses go through as I have been one for over 30 yrs. I try to not have complaints, etc. BUT TO BE LIED TO AND TREATED IN THAT MANNER was the worst.

I will be getting back to that nurse manager with a registered letter for a follow up. Thanks for listening.:angryfire

[EmmaG, RN]

My surgeon could not be paged as it was night and he does not do surgery at night.

There was someone on call for your doc.

IF THERE IS A NEXT TIME, I WILL ATTEMPT TO HAVE ACCESS TO HIS PRIVATE NUMBER.

You mean like his home or personal cell? Wow. Really bad idea...

[SICU Queen]

Okay, so why are we making the OP feel like she did something wrong?

Obviously there was a problem in that she had pain management issues that weren't being addressed. Why are we expecting a PATIENT to use "resources" just because she's a nurse? She was post-op, post-anesthesia, and IN PAIN. Perhaps it didn't occur to her to figure out how to get the nurses to do the job that they should've been doing?

We all need to remember that just because we're nurses doesn't mean we don't get the the luxury of being an appropriately cared-for patient.

[EmmaG, RN]

Okay, so why are we making the OP feel like she did something wrong?

Obviously there was a problem in that she had pain management issues that weren't being addressed. Why are we expecting a PATIENT to use "resources" just because she's a nurse? She was post-op, post-anesthesia, and IN PAIN. Perhaps it didn't occur to her to figure out how to get the nurses to do the job that they should've been doing?

We all need to remember that just because we're nurses doesn't mean we don't get the the luxury of being an appropriately cared-for patient.

I was not implying the OP did anything wrong. I was just responding to her using a doc's private number... although if the doc is ok with it, more power to him. My comment that someone was on call was that shouldn't have been used as an excuse by the nurse not to address the issue.

It sounds like she had chronic pain issues, and her acute pain was very much poorly managed. Unfortunately, that is all to common.

[SICU Queen]

HA! Em, my post wasn't specific towards you, just towards the overall tone of the thread in general.

I agree that calling the surgeon directly would be a bad idea... but at some point it would be something that I'd consider, honestly.

[EmmaG, RN]

HA! Em, my post wasn't specific towards you, just towards the overall tone of the thread in general.

I agree that calling the surgeon directly would be a bad idea... but at some point it would be something that I'd consider, honestly.

Oh. LOL.

Well, on a recent assignment a night nurse got tired of hearing a patient's family complain, so she gave them the neurosurgeon's home phone number. He wasn't on call, but that didn't stop them from calling him repeatedly throughout the night.

When I came back to work and heard what had happened, I was speechless. After witnessing how this doc tore them a new one, perhaps I'm a bit sensitive to that lol.

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

it makes me wonder if any of these problems (getting the meds into the system) have anything to do with jc's insistance on pharmacy review of orders before meds can be dispensed.

it kind of defeats the point of having meds readily available in a pyxis, rather than waiting for them to come from pharmacy, if you still have to wait for the pharmacist to enter the order before you can retrieive the med.

(at least when the pharmacy sends the meds, you know they are there. when they just enter them into the system, you have to keep checking the pyxis to see if you can pull the med yet or not.)

anyway, i've encountered this problem myself where i work. i get a new order for a med, or get a post-op patient, and can't get the med out until the pharmacist reviews and approves it. can be very time-consuming, and very frustrating.

just another example of getting all bogged-down in jc's crap. kind of ironic that one of their "initiatives" (pain control) is conflicting with one of their "patient safety goals" (pharmacist oversite). bet they don't care.

to the op, i'm sorry your experienced was so horrible, and you spent so much time in pain. there really isn't an excuse for it, since pain control is so crucial in post-op patients.

[Nrs_angie, BSN, RN]

12 hour shifts makes more sense now... but im still very curious... when you and your husband both repeatedly asked for pain med... what was the nurse's response? Did she just outright ignore it? Did she say NO? Did she give a reason? I am dying to know the nurse's reason on why they made you wait... then came back much later and said Why didn't you ask sooner?

If the problem was because it takes 30 minutes for the orders to come through.. well what about after 30 minutes... it sounds like you waited much longer than that???

If this nurse ignored you with no good reason... it should be a definite WRITE UP!

Shifts are 12 hrs. SO the nurse had plenty of time. I work that same shift. Short of going AMA or threatening to do so...I do not know what could have been done. My husband went to the desk to ask, as well. I was still getting frequent post op vital signs once to my room. My blood pressure was fine, resp. 20 +. The only thing I was told was that the orders had to get into the system. Orders are faxed, then everything is electronic with armband barcoded, laptop type computer to bring up your med list, etc. 30 min is the time that is set. I work for this group of hospitals. We are all a bit different, but not THAT different. Nurses at my hospital would have been written up and more for the lack of care that I received. So why did the other nurse not give me the RX , it may have been too soon. Every one was thanked from housekeeping , CNT, etc. I did refuse to get up and walk in the hall when this young man came in "to walk me".

I had been up to the bathroom, and walking around in my room alot. I did tell him to come back later after I had some pain relief, and to BRING ANOTHER GOWN to cover my backside.

I was one cranky patient by the time he came back, as I was being lectured by the 7pm to 7 am nurse at that time. I would not wish this nurses care on anyone, including her and her family. But then maybe if SHE got this kind of care, she might learn something.