hijabiRN

So, we have a pt who says that she will leave the floor to go smoke, no matter what the doctor says (i'm on a med-surge floor). We can't tie her down, and we can't go with her to the smoking area downstairs. She is youngish, but she just seems unsteady. She did go out for a smoke earlier this morning with no problems. I had her nurse in there with me (i'm a supervisor), and I reiterated to her 3 or 4 times that her doctor ordered for her not to leave the floor (COPD, O2, dyspnea, anxiety), and that if she were to leave against dr's orders, we can't help her if she were downstairs. We can't monitor her or stay with her. She said she understood and took full responsibility. There has got to be a better way to handle these situations. If she were 100% steady on her feet and 100% coherent, I wouldn't have a problem with her leaving. But this one just makes me nervous. Suggestions?

We had a nurse that charted "pt pitched a fit when I put her IV in".

I hate breathing in through my nose because I feel like the nasty is in my lungs. And I hate mouth breathing because I feel like it's, well, in my mouth. :barf01:

Phew. I made it all the way through this thread. All I can say is :uhoh3::rotfl::hdvwl::omy: A few of mine. These are a couple of things I did as a new grad. I gave a pt their iv abx BEFORE drawing blood cultures. Oops. I had an order for a stat uric acid level. I asked my preceptor how I was supposed to get urine out of the foley and into this tiny little tube. Oops, and duh!! A CNA on my floor did not report a HR in the 180's on my pregnant, H1N1 pt. She was in Afib!!!! Had to transfer her so she could get a cardizem drip. When I was a new grad, a nurse on the floor had been working with a pt for hours trying to get their SBP up. The pt was basically on their head. I think the pressure was in the 70's. CNA goes to get vitals, and lo and behold, their bp was a perfect 120/80. Guess what, it was the same CNA as the 1st incident with the swine flu pt. He was fired. A nurse I worked with would come in and administer everyone who had pain meds ordered at the same time of their evening meds, whether it was time for them or not. She did this because she wanted them on the same schedule and "didn't feel like walking up and down the hall all night". When we admit a new pt, we put their home meds into the computer. Then we have to print the list and put it on the chart for the doc to continue whichever meds he wants to continue. This is done for every single pt. I had a nurse who has been on our floor for atleast 2 years now, ask me to show her how to print the home meds sheet. The same nurse as above was trying to transfer an elderly pt from the bed, to the BSC. She had a CNA heling her. The pt's leg was stuck under the bed rail (don't ask me how), and they broke her ankle. The daughter was in the room, and she said she heard it crack.

Well, you do have to grow some thick skin, but not to be bullied around by your co-workers. Patient's, families, and people in general are just mean. That's where you need your thick skin. I hate when old nurses treat new nurses like crap. We were ALL new, scared nurses at one point, and we should never forget that feeling. People's lives are in our hands, and the last thing a new person, with that new responsibility shoud feel, is fear. Fear to ask for help, ask questions about meds, procedures, etc. And DO NOT skip your breaks so they can take theirs. They are old nurses, they should have better time management skills since they are so "much better than you". That is a sure fire way to burn yourself out, quickly. You take your lunch, your breaks, do your tasks, then if they need help, offer it. I know too many nurses who take advantage of newbies trying to help them out. I want to type more, but I have a crying baby. This topic really gets under my skin.

I feel AWFUL when i'm at home, in the shower, and I remember that cup of coffee I was supposed to get Mr x!!!! Just my little tip for report: I write my report out in black, and all day, as new orders are being written, I write those on my sheet in red. That way, when I give report to the night nurse, I know to tell her about all of the new orders for the day, and I don't have to remember what they are, because they are all in red on my sheet. HTH.