R!XTER

Because it's mounted and glued to the wall. But this is obviously a larger issue lol he also roams the hallways looking for anything he can ingest.

Kudos to all of you who have so much else going on besides work! Right now I'm working and in school for my masters and a mom and wife, and my energy is depleted by those pursuits! I wish I had more time to volunteer, cook, or spend time with the family. Can't remember the last time I watched a full TV episode or movie. At this point I choose sleep over almost anything. I'm hoping this will all be an investment to give my family a better future, where I can work less and earn more. I just can't see myself being a bedside RN forever, I find it to be beyond draining (mostly due to the people, not the job itself which I do enjoy). Fingers crossed.

Patient came in describing symptoms of TIA but was back to normal by the time he got to the ER. "Any medical problems?" "Nope." (His wife) "tell her about the heart thing!" "Oh yes, I have Afib" "Do you take any blood thinners?" "No way! My Dr. Wanted me to but I vetoed that idea!!!" (Very proud of himself) "Why?!" "Because it's rat poison!! I'm on an all natural blood thinner. " ...yeah... How's that workin out for ya?

A few recent gems from triage: "pt complains of a fingernail stuck in her throat for 6 years; states it's causing fevers" "pt fainted as his fiance cleaned his infected toe" "pt arrives via ambulance for feeling tired and not wanting to take medication today" "I'm allergic to all medications." "All medications?!" "Yes. they don't work." "I have pain on the top of my head and my whole body is burning" "I'm pregnant" Laugh or cry??

Thanks for the support! As of now I'm trying to work through it on my own, but I'm willing to seek therapy if it gets worse. I'm hoping I won't need medication because I don't like taking medications in general. Sending hugs to all who are dealing with this problem!

Can I ask what kind of environment you work in now? I 100% identify with your post. I had a patient the other day who was just so nice and behaved so "normally" that I said to my colleague "isn't it nice when people are just normal?!" then the craziness of that statement hit me and I realized that sadly, I've become so accustomed to people behaving rudely/bizarrely/inappropriately etc. that "normal" is now "abnormal". Thankfully I'm in school, working on my masters, and paving my path out the ED door!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel!! (get through one more day...get through one more day...)

I feel ya. Some days on the way home from work I just burst out crying from all the sadness I've witnessed. It gets overwhelming.

Had an alcoholic patient yesterday, the MD order "constant observation: patient eats hand sanitizer if left alone" Best part of my day!

The ED where I work is very close to a local psych facility where the patients are free to come and go as they please (not lock down) and we are off the wall with it!! In our area they're using K2. They freely admit they are buying it at a bodega nearby, but since it's not officially illegal to sell, law enforcement can't do anything about it. We're seeing 5-10 or more cases a day. It affects each patient differently. Most come in really lethargic, some with stable VS, others with really low HR or BP. These are mostly psych patients so they are "repeat offenders." we keep them for hours to monitor HR/BP, then it wears off and they start waking up and becoming agitated, we discharge them and within hours they're back. SOOO frustrating. The psych facility takes ZERO responsibility for the problem. They just call 911 when they find them passed out on their grounds. EMS and law enforcement are equally fed up.

I'm doing a bit of an unofficial survey - I've been wondering if nurses are disproportionately prone to anxiety. This is something I've been dealing with practically since starting my first job (I do believe there's some genetic component for me as my Mom is pretty high-strung). I have also noticed from discussion/interaction with other nurses that many of my colleagues deal with anxiety too, but are not exactly "advertising" it. Outwardly, you wouldn't guess that I am so anxious because I try hard to appear totally chilled. Also, I feel very safe at work because I know if anything were to happen to me, I'm already in the ER! Anyone I have confessed this to is pretty surprised. An attending MD I used to work with is married to an RN and he told me that he says to his wife "nurses know too much and too little - they know a lot so they worry more than lay people, but they don't know enough to know how to fix the problem, or when the 'problem' is not really something to be concerned about." Personally I agree with this 100%. I work in the ED so I see some very sad/horrible/shocking things, and it definitely affects me. I have been having minor panic attacks for a while now, and I have become somewhat of a hypocondriac with several medical work-ups (endoscopy for stomach pains, MRI for headaches and dizziness, etc.) all which thank God showed nothing. There always seems to be another "symptom" cropping up and I try to tell myself it's nothing and to ignore it, it's just anxiety, etc. but it doesn't always work. I believe our jobs carry an inordinately high level of stress as well as exposure to scary things most people are clueless about, a combination of which is the perfect recipe for anxiety. Just wondering if anyone else is dealing with this too?

Sounds super unsafe. I would try to avoid being put out in triage with that system (or lack of system). Triage holds tremendous liability for the triage nurse, and it sounds like you are being set up for problems... If your management is receptive to suggestions for improvement, definitely to try to improve the system. Maybe get together a team of nurses who would be interested in helping you improve the process, and write up a realistic plan for safe triage and present it to your managers. Good luck and watch your back!

The only patient I remember yelling for a doctor was an elderly psych patient who was yelling for just about anyone and everyone at top volume. Somehow she got the resident's first name and was screaming "I need Dr. "Joe"! I need Dr. "Joe"!" Over and over Til we all thought we were gonna go crazy, while "dr. Joe" hid behind the partition in the nurses station. The rest all yell "nurse!"

Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...

Why don't they ever yell "doctor!"?