I am staying late to chart because of my horrific shift. I am not even in charge of your patient anymore, but trying to be helpful to your demands, I ask what I can do for you. You are short with me.
What you don't realize, dear doctor, is that I have had 12.5 hours of hell. My trach/vent/quad patient nearly crumped last night starting when I took report and walked into the room. They were in a lot of pain, vomiting, and having breathing difficulties. We had to take the patient (vomit and all) down to radiology in the middle of the night which involved coordination of six people. Vent bumped agains the elevator door and broke, and while RT was taping the vent tubing back together we were bagging the patient, (vomit and all). Got patient back upstairs, patient still looking like poop. Three doctors at bedside deciding what to do. Me and charge nurse advocating for patient to do something because the status quo was not acceptable. Going round and round about that. Didn't have time for lunch, started having low blood sugar fainty feelings, drank two orange juices for lunch and kept working to save their life. In the meantime patient has stooled out one end, vomited out the other, and I have to change them and redo their sacral pressure ulcer dressings and give pain meds, and reassure patient, and reassure family. And then adjust salem sump tubing and clean up more vomit. And that's how my night went. And I will be here for another hour charting on it, and finally eating my lunch.
