Btherese

Where are other pregnant nurses working during covid?? I am currently 7 months pregnant. I was working on a pcu unit that was made a covid unit so administration made me redeploy to my old med-surg unit. That med surg unit was then also transitioned to covid so they redeployed me again, but apparently that unit no longer has a need for me (always low census now). I have been told that they do not have a new place to redeploy me and are covering my time using my pto (I only have about 48 hours so it’s going quickly). I spoke with HR and they state I need a doctors note stating I’m “high risk” to qualify me for the new paid emergency leave program. When I spoke with my OB they can’t write a note stating I’m high risk because a lack of evidence that pregnancy is truly a high risk category (although it is listed on the cdc website under other at-risk category). I’m just wondering what other nurses are doing?? To be clear: I WANT to work. But since administration “can’t” redeploy me, I’m trying to find other options.

I was faced with the situation my junior year of nursing school, only I was the family member. I was staying with my dad in the icu overnight (the previous night he had suffered a heart attack at home- my first CPR unfortunately). It was about 2am when he coded. The nurses asked if I wanted to leave and I refused. One lovely nurse stood next to me and walked me through everything they were doing. Telling me what rhythm he was in, everything. I'm sure I only heard maybe half of what she said but it made me feel better knowing what was happening and, God forbid they didn't get him back, at least he had someone that loves him right there. Note: they did get him back and he's doing better than ever! I can respect the nurse's concern about having family there but from my personal experience seeing first hand how quickly they reacted and how hard they worked made me feel better about his care. Even if they hadn't gotten him back I would know that everything possible was done for him. And that's all I can ask for as a family member.

At my school there aren't restrictions on class attire. If you are giving a presentation you must dress professionally, in lab and clinical you wear scrubs (appropriate, shoes, hair style, ect). Outside of that we weren't restricted. I find that to be ridiculous. Are nurses expected to dress up outside of work? No. I would find it unreasonable to expect me to study all night, wake up to be at class for 8 am and sit in a five hour lecture in uncomfortable clothing. With that said, my professors take clinical attire very seriously. Which makes sense because that's where will we work and need to learn what is safe, professional and appropriate. Although I have been allowed to remove my name tag for only my current clinical in the prison because it states my full name on it (and I have a unique name). Don't need inmates being able to find me.

I'm currently a student finishing my senior year of school. For our leadership rotation I ended up volunteering to go into the county prison to do my final rotation. It's never a speciality I knew about or even considered, but I LOVE IT!!!!! I honestly think I've learned more in this rotation than anywhere. At the clinic I've already been able to assist with wound dressings, diabetic clinics, trauma assessment, vaccine administration, and been on a medical emergency call to the inmate pod.... And I've been there three days. Some of the things those nurses see you just can't make up. Saw one inmate who put staples through his lip to make sure his lip piercings wouldn't close up. I went to take vitals on this same patient and couldn't hear anything taking the blood pressure. He starts laughing and lifts his sleeve to show a bullet wound scar and says "yeah no one gets it there. I just wanted to see what you would come up with". Definitely not something I was taught to look for when taking a blood pressure in school. Many of the inmates have a variety of medical problems and the nurses need to know how to care for each one. The nurses I've worked with have been the least judgmental, most supportive group I've encountered. Their sense of humor is fabulous and they are great investigators. They really can see literally anything when they walk into work. I have so much admiration and respect for correctional nurses. After my first few years perfecting my skills I plan on going into corrections. Never a dull moment. I don't see how anyone could look down on them.

That makes sense. I haven't had training yet on responding in a hospital setting (I'm going into my complex adult med-surg rotation this spring). I'm SO glad to hear you've been able to fall back on training and just do it. It seems like that what happened with the CPR in this case. It was almost like an automatic response because everything happened so quickly. I'm hoping I'll feel more confident once I've been through that training, but I'm sure until that moment comes to act on it I'll still be nervous about it. I'm just glad to hear that your training has helped you be able to switch into that mode. There's still hope for me I guess!

He's doing great! His retirement started earlier than expected (go figure) but he's enjoying time to do some more fishing and exploring. Thank you for asking!

April 25, 2015 was the day that changed my life forever. As a junior nursing student I had been living with my parents, who were getting ready to retire down to Florida. I had been gone most of the day and returned around 10pm. I walk in the house and I hear my mom yelling "Bonnie come upstairs!" I yelled back "What is it? I'm about to eat dinner" I had assumed there was something funny on tv she didn't want me to miss- the usual reason she yells for me to come to the family room... But I was so wrong. She yelled back "something is wrong with your dad!" I sprinted up the stairs and dropped everything onto the floor. Then I looked to see my dad laying in his recliner appearing to be sleeping as he does every night. However, this time he wasn't waking up. It was like my "nurse mode" was activated. I starting shaking his shoulder yelling his name. No response. I tried a sternal rub and thankfully he opened his eyes. I asked him if he was ok and he said "yeah, I was just sleeping" I said "no you weren't. Are you feeling ok?" At this point he is pale and diaphoretic. "Now that you mention it, I'm really hot" he says. I knew something still wasn't right and told my mom to call 9-1-1. My mom went to go put on clothes (she was in a night gown) and put the dog in the crate. I stayed with my dad asking him questions so I could figure out what was going on. He was able to answer but kept almost nodding off as I was talking to him. Then he started doing a strange agonal breathing I had never seen before. As I was talking to him I took a quick video because I knew what was happening could be important. He then tensed up, turned purple, and went unconscious. My heart was racing as I tried to find a pulse on him. I started yelling for my mom to help me find one, praying we would...Nothing... I quickly told her to grab his legs and help me lift him onto the floor. At 5'6" and only 110 lbs I wasn't able to get my 6'2" 240 lb dad over the side of chair with help from my mom. I made sure the chair was reclined back as far as possible and began compressions. I was terrified that I was doing it wrong. I already knew he should be on a hard surface, and since that wasn't an option I knew my compressions might not be as effective. I had never been in a situation where I didn't have an instructor or nurse there to help coach me through. All I could hear is my professor's voice in my head saying "lock your elbows, use your body weight". I asked my mom to go downstairs so she could direct the EMTs to where I was. I needed help, and fast. After only three rounds of CPR the ambulance arrived. Two EMTs ran up the stairs and took over. I answered questions and gave them information as best as I could. I stayed by my father's head telling him I was there, and begging for him to stay with me, as I kept his airway open. My mother walked in as they were applying the AED pads. I yelled for her to go downstairs because I knew what was about to happen. They defibrillated him...Nothing... Defibrillated again... After 8 defibrillations they prepared to move him to the ambulance. I stood up looked out our bay window to see my whole neighborhood (people who have been like family to us for the over 20 years we have lived there)in my driveway. One neighbor did the 'thumbs up, thumbs down' sign and I responded with a thumbs down. I helped ambu-bag him as it took all of their hands to get him in the back of the ambulance. My heart was racing and it felt like an eternity before we started off for the hospital. The driver of the ambulance talked to me about school and as we approached the hospital gave me the run down about what was going to happen. They let me give his hand one last squeeze and kiss him on the cheek quickly before they wheeled him in. The second the doors to the ER closed, the adrenaline faded and it hit me all at once. I was a crumpled mess of tears waiting for my family to meet me in the waiting room. Doctors came in asking me questions, reviewing the short video I took, in awe that he had still been conscious and looking at me. My dad was sedated and they inserted a central line and prepared to put him on a cooling blanket. One doctor came out around 5:00 am and told us it would be a good idea to call any family from out of town. Fifteen minutes later a different doctor came out to the waiting room as asked "who was the person that started CPR?" In that moment I was convinced I had done something wrong. I knew he should've been on the floor when I started CPR. I must have not compressed deep enough. Maybe my breaths weren't effective... I raised my hand and the doctor comes over and shakes it "that's amazing. Because of you, your dad is doing well. He woke up right before we were about to put him on the cooling blanket. Scared the crap out of the nurse when she turned around and he was looking right at her" The next day he was removed from the ventilator and things were looking up. That night I stayed with him in ICU. He went into cardiac arrest again at 2:00am. This time all I could do was stand and watch as people ran into the room and began fighting to save him. One nurse told me I could leave but I refused, standing in the corner of the room watching. She helped talk me through what was going on as they defibrillated him. It killed me that I couldn't do anything to help this time. As I stood there I was amazed by how organized all of the responders were. Everyone was calm, had a job, and was ready to jump in as needed. After 4 defibrillations they were able to stablize him. He was rushed to the cath lab where they found 4 blockages. He received quadruple bypass surgery that Wednesday. Amazingly, his recovery went smoothly and the doctor has reported there is minimal to no damage to his heart. While I am beyond grateful my dad had such an incredible outcome, it makes me nervous how I will handle my next code. I know that my dad is not the typical patient. Many of them don't come back. I also know that when I reacted I was confident that whatever I did it would be ok because it was my own family member and I was just doing the best I knew how. Did I stay calm because I was the only person to help so there was no other option? I'm hoping that I just have this magical natural ability to stay calm in crazy situations, but I know that's probably not true. Does it get easier every time or are all nurses still nervous about their next code blue? I'm planning on working towards a career in the ICU when I graduate this spring. People tell me I should be confident that I can do it because I've already been through this aweful situation and been able to put my training into effect. I feel like I just got really REALLY lucky. I know if EMS hadn't responded as rapidly there would have been a much different end result, so it wasn't just me singly handedly saving his life. Because of this situation I want to learn how to be even better and I know I still have so much to learn. Working in a hospital setting during rapid response is COMPLETELY different. I'm just nervous that the bar as been set high for me and I won't be able to rise to the occasion.