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Discussion

Umm what to do???????

OK so last night im @ the front desk and the phone rings, charge nurse answers and says "what?" being a tele floor about the only calls we get @ night are "you have leads off in 4406" so i look @ the monitors and i see a pt who is brady ie 39 . well as i watch it drops to 32, so i haul ass the the pts room ( stop to grab vs machine as i go. when i walk in i see a look of fear on the pt's nurses face. Now this nurse is a BSN and is ACLS however she looks confused and is trying to talk to the pt. I yell one time w/o response from said pt. i sternal rub this guy w/o responce. so i hit the door running for the crash cart, when i get back we start the process. Now this is where i become confused. im waiting on orders from said nurse (remember she is has her ACLS) but i get nothing i mean she is completly confused as to what to do. so i mean i take over (telling her to increase o2 15L, other nurse to grab ambu, other nurse to hook up leads as im doing chest compressions) and i wanted to push epi as protocol states. Also this code was ran like crap, 4 yes 4 RT where in the room and it still took about 6 minutes to get suction started. the Doc was yelling, and Er nurse that showed up was screaming (she wasnt even to be there) the to CCU nurses that responded where bullied out of the way by the ER nurse when they where the ones who where to be there. I guess i told you all that to ask this. I have been a nurse for 6 months and i was the one who was stuck running it until doc got there. I seen alot of crap that went wrong and i want to tell my unit sup so these things can be improved for future codes, however i already know she will look @ me cazy D/T "extensive" background. Any suggestions?

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Does your facility ever run "mock codes"? it was a big help to staff at one place I worked.

sorry, clicked twice..

  • Author
sorry, clicked twice..

no but tonight im going to have security open the edu office where there is a stocked unlocked crash cart and im going to have a mock code for all the nurses on the floor tonight.

  • Experts

Who filled out the code form? Times and actions should back you up on why more education should be providied. A telemetry unit ought to be able to perform a bit better IMHO. Be careful in how you phrase your report to the supervisor. I'd let the run sheet speak for itself.

  • Author
Who filled out the code form? Times and actions should back you up on why more education should be providied. A telemetry unit ought to be able to perform a bit better IMHO. Be careful in how you phrase your report to the supervisor. I'd let the run sheet speak for itself.

charge nurse did the paperwork. very good idea, thank you

Welcome to the world of nursing! In my experience, unfortunately, I have seen more codes run like a cluster you-know-what than not. As for the nurse who was just standing there, sometimes when its not your patient you have more prospective. I've seen a lot of experienced nurses "freeze up" when its there patient, but they're great with someone else's. If you are going to bring it up to your manager, I wouldn't even mention this code specifically or any particular staff, but just say that you think it would be a good idea to have a mock code. It can't hurt!;)

I learned a LONG time ago, just because you are certified does NOT mean you can do the job. She probably is one who needs someone to tell her what to do. Sounds like you did a good job. Don't expect people to respond the same in a code situation. People will suprise you.

Is she a new nurse or recently started in cardiac? Has she run a code before? Sometimes, even though you've taken the classes and passed the tests, it's different when things actually go wrong when caring for a real patient. I can imagine (if new to this) she was panicing & trying to remember all she was taught and trying to figure out what to do.

However, great job to you! This is what teamwork is about. It sounds like you handled things well even though it wasn't the most smoothly run code. What matters in the end is not so much as who did what needed to be done, but that it was done to try and save a life.

(I know that each person is supposed to have a certain role, but the outcome is what I think is what truly matters.)

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