Random vents from the last two nights I worked...

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

delete.

Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.

I hope your next shift is a whole lot better! :heartbeat

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Gotta love those kinds of situations. Give yourself a break. It's easy to 2nd guess and beat ourselves up after the fact.

I know you're only venting, but as a side note, I've found during these times people can't read your mind and they need specifics: YOU GET THE CODE CART NOW!........YOU DO CHEST COMPRESSIONS NOW! YOU ARE NOT NEEDED, STEP ASIDE AND GIVE US ROOM.........

People are eager to help.

sounds like you felt you were drowning, and your coworker was the one putting cement blocks on your feet.

are you friendly enough with her, that you could discuss it after the storm?

leslie

Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

Yep, I remember looking around in a crisis and seeing nothing but several pairs of eyes belonging to deer who were apparently facing headlights. Thankfully, that didn't happen often in our unit - I had great co-workers.

Even worse were the interfering "helpers" messing with stuff, yelling out useless information and offering even more useless advice.

I'm sorry your shifts were so bad - I feel your pain! :bugeyes:

Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.

I'm feeling your pain. My last shift was awful, too. Had 2 vented patients, one was chemically paralyzed and sedated and bronchospasming. Required a lot of bagging. The second one was having a bronchoscopy and some pain issues. The charge nurse was also telling me to put at the top of my priority list to help a co-worker with a discharge (we don't do too many discharges from our unit). Hello, I'm trying to take care of two complicated patients. Then, she has the bad sense to ask "who gave you this assignment?" Well, DUH!

Just sympathizing with you.

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

delete.

Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
Gotta love those kinds of situations. Give yourself a break. It's easy to 2nd guess and beat ourselves up after the fact.

I know you're only venting, but as a side note, I've found during these times people can't read your mind and they need specifics: YOU GET THE CODE CART NOW!........YOU DO CHEST COMPRESSIONS NOW! YOU ARE NOT NEEDED, STEP ASIDE AND GIVE US ROOM.........

People are eager to help.

I've been both the preson barking at co-workers during a code and the one getting barked at. Sometimes people just need to know HOW they can help.

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

Yeah, I agree that people sometimes need to know how they can help but don't just stand there and stare at everyone, ask if there is something you can help with.

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
It's not usually crazy like this when we get other admits but it always happens when we get livers from OR. I'll just start assigning duties next time.
Sounds like a good idea...
Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

I had a bad night, too (it's a full moon somewhere in the solar system, right?). Had a pt on q2h neuro checks, walk in to do the midnight check, and she's obviously had something really bad go down -- r side flaccid, couldn't talk, one pupil a pin point, one blown, fixed. I woke up the neurologist, got him in, and he writes a list of orders a mile long. ICU starts pitching a fit about not wanting to take her, but I can't do the q15minute neuro/VS checks, cont. pulseox, and hang the "must be visually observed" IV meds when I've already got 6 others, including another evolving CVA with q2 neuros, a new onset seizure with q2 neuros, 2 PEGs with q4 bolus feedings, and a paralytic illeus that's stopped putting stool out of her colostomy bag. I make a deal to take one of their patients if they'll take my pt. We get her to the ICU, with the ICU charge giving me #*@& every step, saying we should have kept her on our floor since she "isn't that bad." I'd had the patient about 3 times in the last year for things like gallstones, pneumonia, etc., and she went from A/O x3 and talking to me to a flaccid lump. The pt. goes into respiratory arrest as we're moving her from our bed to theirs. This was ICU, and everyone was looking at my patient like they couldn't believe she'd stopped breathing. I'm trying to help get the ambu bag, get her on the pulse ox, etc., and this isn't even my unit. The travelers were standing around like, "wha happ?" Trauma07, wish you'd been there, you sound like you're awesome at what you do. The group I had last night, wasn't. It broke my mean old nursy heart, I just found out she passed away on dayshift. They think she ultimately threw some kind of a major something in the brainstem. Luckily, they'd made her a DNR by that time.

What the heck, I kept the other 7 alive....:crying2:

Specializes in ICU.

Since this is a vent thread, can I vent too???

I had a TERRIBLE DAY yesterday and last weekend too! Our hospital just opened up last year and it's finally starting to fill up with sick patients. The managers seem to think the unit will run itself without ANY MANAGEMENT and an unofficial charge nurse (ME). I was actually hired to be an ICU nurse, not a team leader, charge nurse, house supervisor, whatever.

I have too many agency nurses that don't care about anything, they even give KCL to patients without looking at their labs. K+ is 6.0, then act stupid when I tell them they've done something wrong.

The powers that be seem to think that if a patient codes, we can keep him on the med/surg floor with an ICU nurse. (because ICU isn't open yet) Let me tell you, a med/surg floor is not condusive to a vent/levophed patient waaaaaay down the hallway with no other resources besides ONE ICU nurse. What if I have to pee??? No one would break me out to potty, I was ******. I really don't want to go back there. It was terrible.

I didn't tell the whole story because it would take too long and I might get carpel tunnel just trying to type it. I am just glad I can come on here and vent. I hate it when the nurses like me bust their ass and management thinks they are all high and mighty, going out to lunch at fancy restaurants while we are busting our butts and risking our licenses.

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