moveoveronce

Please seek legal assistance from a nurse lawyer. Thank you.

Thank you for the excellent heartfelt responses from contributors. Here is my take on this situation. I understand that the Director of Nursing made a hasty decision of directing the RN to drive back to the hospital during an inclement weather. It resulted in a disastrous event. The nurse could have been injured or killed from the accident. Rookie mistake by the nursing boss. With cool head and basic application of what all nurses are good at, CRITICAL THINKING, this could have been an under control event. Yes, there is going to be an investigation and paperwork to be filled out, and maybe a possible reprimand; but nobody is going to die for a missing narcotics key. I was thinking may be the DON just do not want to be bothered by paperwork and decided to cut corners. Unwise move always results in undue haste that makes waste. Moving forward, the unit where the RN is working needs to do a root cause analysis of this narcotic key issue. Everybody is tired after 12 hours of painstaking patient care. We understood it. But the shift turn over is as important as doing patient care. A quick checklist of important items to be given to the oncoming nurse might help. Please have mindfulness and presence of mind during turn-over sessions. I know it's easier said than done but we are in a profession that requires it at all times.

Hard stick and difficult to draw patients are part of my daily routine. Some people have spider veins, scarred veins due to drug use, rolling veins, and even excellent veins. Honestly, I have my fair share of unsuccessful attempts in all of those conditions. It's an energy and self-confidence eater. But through the years, II've learned to do it in steps. You need to conduct recon on both arms and hands first. After deciding on the best spot, warm compress and hang the arms down. Please use a 22 gauge IV cath. and larger if you can. That is 2 birds one stone, for drawing blood and fluid admin. In Nuc Med and CT, 20 gauge and larger is the ideal but 22 gauge is the last resort. Focused, confidence, and prayer is the key before attempting. If you had a rough night and didn't get any sleep, don't be shy to asked for help.