lake123

some of the alarms i try to prevent with my hourly checks....unfortunately alarms are a necessary evil...they are there to watch your patient when you cannot...and everybody knows you cant be in 5 places at once.

I have been a RN for almost 7 months and I have had one of the worst days of my career. I need help! I know I had only 5 pts but!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were; a confused pt for 3 units of blood, 2 surgery pts, 1 pt constantly needing you every 15minutes for everything, a very sick 3 month old girl with a gtube and O2.and 3 blown IV's. I stayed after my shift 3 hours just to get my paperwork done. That is wrong. I need desperately some tips on how to prioritize these pts with assessments, post op care, charting, pain meds, doctors, etc. Do I check on all my pts, leave each room, chart assessm. then and move on? I am so scared I will give up on a career that I really like because of feeling overwhelmed. I believe each of my pts deserve my undivided attention when I am in there. I need advice from anyone: cheat sheets, report sheets, funny jokes, anything. The threat of being sued d/t lack of documentation is so thrust down our throats..I feel I document more than I give care. HELP!!!!!!!!

help i need some advice. I have been in orientation on my floor for 2 1/2 months. I feel like I want to quit. There are so many "grey" areas and if you ask 2 nurses the same question...you get different answers. Different pts each and every day it is so hard to remember what and how to take care of patients if you have that same type of condition 4 months later.....help anyone.