time to vent again

[Waitingformyresults]

alrite folks, I need to vent right now..hope you guys can make me feel better

I've been an RN already for 7 months.. I'm on a telemetry floor, but our specialty is that we get fresh kidney/liver transplants, and thoracic patients. So I've been on my own for the last 5 months, and everythings been gravy. ive been able to see whos gonna have my back. I thought everyone was nice and stuff. then something happened. Now I work in the nightshift. I've been having good nursing rapport with my colleagues. About 2400 midnight my patient went asystole. (gonna keep names out, HIPAA). basically I went in there, checked for pulse (absent), saw if the patient was unresponsive (he was), then I thought it was time to start a code. Pressed the button, my charge nurse ran in as quick as lightning. Now as I began doin compressions and my charge nurse bagging the patient, the rest of the staff (except for two other nurses) were just watching. i understand that sometimes maybe there might be too many people in a code. Mind you though there were only two people in the room (me and the charge nurse). Everyone should have BLS, with the nurses having ACLS (which I have). Even if they have their BLS they should be in there. My arms started to cramp after the 5 minute while waiting for the code team to come. I yelled out for someone to relieve me, but no one did, so I continued compressions. A couple of minutes later, i was told that we had a pulse. palpated and noticed I had a carotid pulse. Code team came, and the MD's check for pulses and said pulses were now strong. Good thing right? well it was my first code on my own. I was a wreck. usually ive been in codes that havent been my patient. And when it was, I was still precepting and my preceptor took over. This hit hard when it was actually me who started the code, me doing compressions and so forth. I talked to my CNIV and Nurse manager after my shift was over, and they were telling me about howt eh code went. how many people were involved. when i told them, they were shocked that not alot of people came in. (at least 3 shoudl be there. 1 to do compressions, 1 to do bagging, one to record). then they asked me who didnt come in..this is where it gets tricky. Ive made great nursing rapports. I was scared that I didnt wanna say names. they kept on saying, youre not snitching, cause we're trying to change the culture of the floor. I hesitated cause when I need my nurse manager/CNIV, or if im ever in any discrepancies, they never hesistate to help. So i figure they never hesistate to help, I should tell them honestly. So i gave them 2 names. we are now entering like 4 hours into the shift (around 0930am). I havent left the floor yet. I felt guilty knowing I said names, and maybe I shouldnt have said it. but at least I was professional because later on I approached them individually and asked tehm why they werent there. When they found out I mentioned them, they put me on blast i front of everybody/" oh you think I didnt help you, who do you think got you the IV's to start fluid maintenance." and other lines such as " oh who put the pads on the chest to be able to watch the patients rhythm". they said all that and made me feel embarrassed. Just because Im a new grad doesnt mean you can make me feel incomptent in front of everybody. i thought they shouldve been professional about it. At least go to me and ask me professionally why I told what I said. My CNIV keeps telling me that im a hero, and that I did what I had to do. She said itll all blow over in a week. I just keep thinkin that the people that i trusted thinking they would have my back, actually didnt. If they were so busy do their own assignments and stuff, then why were they just watching me the whole time doing compressions? I guess they were so busy just watching.

Maybe i'm the bad guy in all this, and if I am then Im sorry. but isnt the reason nurses are on a shift is to also be a team in nursing? when theres other codes Im in there with them, helping them in whatever they need and so forth.Stuff like this makes me dread work and not want to come to my shift knowing if anything like this happens I wont have anyone to help me. At least I know my charge nurse it there..

please any advice or anything you can make me feel better if I did the right thing.

p.s im actually on shift right now.

-kris

[Race Mom, ASN, RN]

Kris,

Congrats on a job well done! Maybe the other nurses were scared and didn't want to do the wrong thing. The best thing to do if you are ever in this situation again is to say "Jane, come relieve me. Susan, we need you to record"...If you direct a specific person that may help avoid everyone thinking someone else will do it.

If people did help with certain things but you said there was no one helping, you need to go back to your manager and let her know that "x" helped with the IV and "y" helped with...

I know I'd be nervous in someones code, but if you told me what to do...I'd be there!

[Melinurse]

Congrads on a job well done for your patient. I had the same thing thing happen to me. Slightly different. It was not my patient but another nurses. I went in there and she was blue/purple with no breath sounds and a weak thready pulse. So I called the other nurse and we checked pulse again and got nothing. I started chest compressions, other nurse called code and bagged, CNA ran for crash cart. Well then the rapid response team came and no one relieved me from my 15 minutes of chest compressions!!! The doctor even made a comment about how only 1 nurse must know how to do compressions. And still no one helped. Anyways, I hope things work out for you on the floor. Good luck. You have a justified rant/vent.

Funny part is this person who coded was about a year ago and I have moved on to LTC. Now I bet you can't guess who is at the facility I work at and on my group.

[I_Scream]

You did a great job really! I know how hard it must've been for you to be feeling alone, and now maybe feeling isolated. But I guess most would agree that you did the right thing. And talking to your manager if you know something isn't right may upset many people but in the long run, the whole unit might suffer from lack of teamwork. Or maybe teamwork is there, but the staff just needs direction, like who should tell who what to do..

I can totally empathize at how dreadful it is to call a code and be in a code especially for new grad. But sooner and later, everyone would go through that. That was your time. And you did handle it the way you should be. You have more to go and more to learn. When I took my CPR class, a sweet but tough nursing supervisor told me, "DURING YOUR FIRST FEW CODES, JUST STAND ASIDE AND OBSERVE THE MORE EXPERIENCED ONES AND LEARN FROM THEM. DON'T LET ANYONE PUSH YOU AROUND AND BULLY YOU AROUND WHEN YOU ARE STILL LEARNING." I'D never ever ever forget what she told me......