Was not on duty this particular day but one of my co-workers had a horrible experience. She was covering for her partner when she notices that one of the leads of the telemetry monitor comes off. She goes in to check on the patient. Patient had been admitted as a walkin talkie. Steady no fall risk. Pt was on BiPAP that night and when she goes in to reconnect the lead . PT states he wants to get up and go to bath room b/c he was feeling a little nauseous. Pt is about 6'2" or so. Strong guy normally steady on his feet. PT got up at of bed and without warning passed out in front of her. There was nothing she could do. Pt just passed out hit the floor and ended up quadraplegic if you can believe that. How freaky is that.
Horrible for the nurse horrible for the family and patient. But it happen so fast so sudden. All the right things was done PA covering had experience with neuro and logged rolled patient it was just horrible. It could have been any of us on duty.
I have a habit to always tell my patient please please do not get up out of bed if you feel dizzy if you do not feel well. However patient have minds of there own. I had a patient one morning that I told this to. He too was a tall man independent steady patient. I told him not to get up without calling me but in the morning patient felt like getting up he did just that and fell head first. Pt cut his forhead told me later how sorry he was for not listening to me. Hey what can you do.
Stuff like this happens. Since this happen to this other nurse its made me a little more nerevous about my patient. Especially when my partner goes on break and there are more patients to cover.
I had another patient one night who was s/p fall at home. In ER Ct scan showed a small bleed. I kept checking on this patient. He had been independent at home and very reluctant to call for assistance. I kept reminding him this was only tempory until the doctors took care of his bleed. Patient was so upset that I wanted to help him each time he got out of bed that he asked for another nurse stating that I was making him feel like he was incompetent. He got another nurse that night and that particular nurse ignored him all night. I had another patient in that room and would go in and talk to him often and check in on him. The patient that did not want me stating I was over protective then was complaining b/c he was being ignored by his new nurse. Patient can drive you to drink but in the end the nurse will always be blamed.
I heard that on inguiry they even asked our manager that if the patient truely fell why didnt the nurse fall with him as well. Go figure its so scary sometimes in this profession. It truely scares me some times. I pray before every shift. Its hard enough when a patient does not survive a heart attack but to have something random happen like this truely pulls on your heart.
Well just sharing hoping all you nurses out there stay safe. Say a prayer for this nurse and this patient family as well.
This is so unfortunate for both the pt, the family and the nurse. Imagine going to work and something like that happens. I just graduated from nursing school and preparing to take the NCLEX exam. Let me tell you, I agree that you should pray that nothing like that occurs b/c with someone like me who is a brand new nurse, I would probably pass out too!
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
I have relatives in a home that has walkie talkies, nursing care required, and inbetween.
The CNA's there were told that if anyone fell they had better be on the floor underneath them. They would be fired if anyone fell.
That's just ridiculous.People in LTC fall-sometimes they just do.It's one thing if staff leave a confused ambulatory with assistance resident unattended on the toilet or shower chair and they fall but often staff is following the care plan to the letter and an accident will happen.Someone is always trying to find fault and pin the blame on someone else.Especially when short staffing is the real problem.We have several residents on 1 to 1 observation 24 hours a day now because of frequent falls.Guess who does it when we are staffed to the bare bones with cna's? Yup---try dragging a confused screamer around on your morning med pass...We don't even charge extra for the service...
This always peeves me. People fall at home, work, on the street, lots of places.
Who in their right mind thinks that just because they are inpatient, they are magically protected from falls??
PEOPLE FALL!!! Heck, I fell this week.
Now JCAHO has made falls a zero event.:angryfire Meaning, that there is no excuse for a fall.
Okay, pt is sick, medicated and in a new environment. It's only reasonable to expect if they can fall at home that the risk goes up now!!!
The only way to prevent 100% of falls is to:
1) tie pt down - but NO! JCAHO doesn't want folks tied.
2) sitters for everyone - and make health-care so expensive no one can afford it - not to mention there simply isn't enough staff.
3) insist a family member stay with patient 24/7 and be responsible for pt safety - yeah, like that's going to happen - besides who wants t deal with the family 24/7??
There is no way to win. If the management and idiots who think this stuff up had to work a minimum number hours on the floor yearly maybe they would get a clue.
Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.
3) insist a family member stay with patient 24/7 and be responsible for pt safety - yeah, like that's going to happen - besides who wants t deal with the family 24/7??
I have to disagree. Although some family members can drive a person absolutely bonkers they can also be very helpful for confused patients. One hospital that I work for does not employ sitters. It is downright scary to have a confused/non-compliant patient that is high fall risk because you know it is just a matter of time before they hit the floor. However, if family are in the room with the patient they can encourage them to stay in bed, re-orient them to their surroundings, call for help, etc. A lot of societies value spending time with their family in the hospital. I find it disheartening that many Americans tend to abandon their parents/loved ones in the hospital. The vast majority of my patients are lucky to get visitors, let alone reliable, normal family members who are willing to participate in their care.
The first time I had a pt fall on my shift, we went to her room only to find her sitting on the floor. It sucks, but unfortunately it happens. I learned after that night to always document non compliance, and double check the bed alarms, etc. As nurses, we must do our best to prevent falls, but it is unreasonable to assume we can be 100% compliant, since we can be in only one place at a time. Bed alarms might alert you, but if the pt is going to fall, they will have done it by the time you get there, even if you run. Also the people who insist they are fine when they arent are the worst for this, especially if they are younger, or used to being independent. I'd rather have a pt complain that I was being too protective and taking away their independence than have to explain why they are paralyzed or have a broken hip. As to why I wasn't under the pt who fell while I was in the room with them, I agree. I will do everything in my 5'2" power to prevent a fall, but if it comes down to it, I'm not letting the 400+ pound pt fall on me. Hate to say it but it's true. I will do my best to "assist them to the floor", but no way am I making a dive to cushion their fall and hurt myself in the process.
3) insist a family member stay with patient 24/7 and be responsible for pt safety - yeah, like that's going to happen - besides who wants t deal with the family 24/7??
Thing is, if they DO fall, even with family present, we're still responsible. And I can't count the number of times I've had families in the room watching as the patient pulls out lines, crawls out of bed, etc.
Nursing homes in my area are putting mattresses on the floors, because TPTB state no restraints, ever. A roll belt is a hell of a lot more dignified than laying on the floor. Good Lord. Common sense has flown completely out the window.
Specializes in Assisted Living, Med-Surg/CVA specialty.
I just had my first patient fall when I was right there the other night. I feel so bad since I was right there... It was about 5:30 am and I had helped her out of bed to toilet her and wash her up and get her dressed for the day (I am an 11-7 nurse, no CNA). I pulled down her Depends (Alzheimers, incontinent) and she ended up urinating on the floor. Right when I was in the middle of telling her to be careful, she stepped in the urine and slipped and fell away from me. This is a very old (nearly 100), petite woman. She seemed to be OK... Tried her POA, couldnt get a hold of them x 3 tries, so I called another daughter and she said to "watch her" and refused to send her to the hospital. I called the DON and they agreed to just watch her.
She still seems OK from what I have heard from other staff (I havent been assigned to her the past 2 nights), but I still feel awful.
Nursing girl28
63 Posts
This is so unfortunate for both the pt, the family and the nurse. Imagine going to work and something like that happens. I just graduated from nursing school and preparing to take the NCLEX exam. Let me tell you, I agree that you should pray that nothing like that occurs b/c with someone like me who is a brand new nurse, I would probably pass out too!