sabrina_RPN

So far the craziest thing was a pt who was completely independent WALKED up to me with basin in hand asking me to fill it up with water so she could get washed! And the funniest part was that I was standing at the sink washing my hands! Needless to say she got her own water, lol! Oh and another pt I had, 20 something year old peed in her wash basin and said that she couldn't make it in time! OMG

I'm going to say fluid, nutrition, falls. Reason being fluid deficit causes poor nutrition which can cause weakness and falls. Most patients who come in for dehydration are first fluid resuscitated, the nutrition is addressed. Which relates in a stronger patient and therefore preventing weakness which could attribute to falls. Just my 2 cents, Sabrina

I think that it would be appropriate to have a meeting with your instructor in order to discuss what happened, and how things like this are prevented in the future. At the very least, this was a huge learning experience for you. Best wishes for the future, Sabrina

1. Visiting hours actually enforced 2. A force field around me when I am doing medications so I can't be interrupted 3. Respect from family members and patients, I don't appreciate getting called horrible names...I'm trying to do my best

Thank you for all of your comments. I can tell you that if a patient codes, I will be doing everything that they want done, and nothing that they don't want. I very much appreciate all of your input. Thanks, Sabrina

I like to sit down with my patients who need a lot of health teaching and find out about their lives, where they are from, childhood, work, family etc... And ask them if they have questions about their lifestyle. Such as things that are static that cannot be changed, and things that can. I ask patients what they have tried in the past for their specific problem, be it smoking, obesity, drug addiction etc...I find out how motivated they are to make a change, and see if there is a consult that I can try to set up. Such as physio, psych, pharmacy, or a dietitian. This way the patient has the right to choose, and you have done your job as a health care provider to health teach and show that there are options. You can recommend help-lines or websites that are credible. As most things now a days are so revolved around technology. This can be time consuming and sometimes physically and emotionally draining. But you have to do your best. When I feel how you do, I try to go back to my roots of what nursing is all about... Good Luck, Sabrina

Let me first begin by saying that I believe that everyone has the right to choose what they want to be done for end-of-life care. And as a health care provider I respect these choices, no matter what I think. I have been thinking a lot about ethical situations at work, and I have come across one that seems to strike a different chord with nurses and physicians alike. It seems to me that lately at work (medical floor), a lot of our palliative patients with a prognosis of less that 3 months are full codes. Because of this, a lot of nurses have different opinions about what is going to happen when the patient actually codes. Such as, doing a "slow code", ie: no one reacts as if there is an emergency, allowing the patient to pass on. Others think that calling rapid response with any significant change in the patient would effectively take the code situation "off our hands". And other nurses think that it should be treated like any other code. (I tend to agree with the latter) Nurses, students, anyone at all... I am simply looking for some insight, opinions, experiences to develop my own learning through you. Thanks in advance, Sabrina

"this too shall pass" I made my first error a couple months ago. The horrible feeling passes, and you will never make the same error twice. Try not to be too hard on yourself, we all make mistakes. When you do your next med pass you will be hyper-vigilant about the checks and rights. As long as you took the correct steps to log this incident, you are being accountable as a nurse. It's good that you feel the way you do - thats what makes a good nurse. Smile and keep your head held high :)

Wow, been a nurse for only a few months and there are tons of lol moments! Saying goodnight to a pt and pt replies "have a nice vacation!" ... Non-verbal alert pt pointing to good veins where i should start the IV ... LoL! 90-something pt telling all the nurses a dirty joke! (can't repeat here lol) Dr. asking nurses very loud "Where do you keep the lube?!?" Theres lots more that i cant remember at the moment!

Had another one of those days that makes all this worth it. I had a pt who needed an enema, when I was done inserting it, I stayed with the pt.so I could slip the bed pan under if need be. Well at the end if my shift after this was all done the pt got teary eyed and thanked me a thousand times for staying with her and encouraging her to retain the enema. She was afraid to be alone when she had to go. Its amazing how something so small can be appreciated so greatly :)

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I feel like I'm overreacting sometimes but it's better for me to think back on my day then to not care at all.

I hope no one took my post the wrong way. I didn't mean to come across saying that nursing is all work and no fun. There are lots of ways to have fun, just make sure you have your work done first!

Thanks :) I have made one med error so far that I know of... I managed to move on from it, but it has now made me vigilant in doing my med pass. I do try to leave work at work, in fact I tell myself that...but sometimes after a difficult day, it is hard to do that. Thanks for your reply :)

Hey Everyone, I can't sleep, of course ...and some questions came to mind... Am I the only one who goes home at the end of each shift and plays back the entire day, wondering if I forgot something? Am I the only one who wonders how their patients are doing long after a shift has ended? Am I the only one who thinks they give a detailed report, only to realize that I forgot something important? Am I the only one who goes home and thinks that I made a med error? Please share your thoughts and stories of when or if this has happened to you...

"I have a few classes with them and while I will continue to be their friend, I cannot let them hold me back or down from doing well and I am just fine with studying with some of my other nursing classmates who do the reading and keep up with materials. If they want to contribute then I will study with them, but if they expect me to let them photocopy my notes from class or fill them in on the reading that they should have had done the week before, it's not going to happen." (Quote) You said it right in this quote here. You CAN still remain friends, but don't let them bring you down. By the sounds of this post, you seem very mature and know that school comes before friends. And I can assure you that your friends will hopefully realize soon that partying in nursing school = being unsuccessful. When I was a student, no one partied...no one had the time! Sincerely, Sabrina_RPN PS: Make sure you take care of yourself first!