One of the RN's on the floor I work on (I work in an ICU/CCU) and as usual at about 1am (I worked 7-7 last night) we had a patient that coded (v-fib).
Now, this nurse in question here recently transfered from the med-surg floor. She's rather new (only been nursing for about 8 months). She is a younger girl (I'd say... 23-24?). Anyways, 3 nurses (including her and me) initially responded to a code (I quickly paged an RT as this patient was intubated). We followed ACLS protocols and all standing orders on this patient.
I was performing chest compressions, and I noticed that this new nurse was rummaging around the room and not helping at all! I asked her what she was doing and her response was: "I'm trying to find a laryngoscope" (note that she holds NO titles that would require her to use one of e'm). Shocked at her response, I asked "What for?".
At that point, she slammed the cabinet closed that she was working in and sluggishly walked over the patient - and just as the RT walked in the room she RIPPED THE TUBE RIGHT OUT OF HIM!
Of course, we were all shocked and began to yell at her. I suppose all of the other nurses heard the comotion and 3-4 other nurses arrived along with that pt's MD. Then right after this, she began to yell over everyone and try to change the topic saying that "He is not doing compressions right! You do 5 not 30 at a time!"
She was then removed from the room by the other nurses and was sat down and given something to drink.
Fortunately the patient was intubated once again and was put a BVM, pushed epi/atropine, continued CPR and rhythm returned after shock at 200. He's fine as far as I know.
In any case, several nurses and other staff witnessed what she did and we all expect that she may be on either drugs or she was completely intoxicated (either that or her mental status is just completely somewhere else!).
My question is: although me and the witnessing nurses filled out reports on her and turned them in right away, should we all go to the manegment tomorrow directly and discuss this matter as she may continue to harm other patients like this? (as it may take several days for the report to get to the right group of people).
I'm still in a bit of shock as to what she did but... I don't know. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
wow it sounds like something out of a soap. thank goodness everthing was able to get under control. keep us posted to what happens. i can't even begin to imagine what was going through her head. maybe i missed this in the original post but, what has her behavior been like in the past?
seriously question this person's suitability to function as a nurse! Not only should the institution be investigating this incident, but also you Board of Nursing needs to check this situation out. IMHO, the nurse in question is probably facing both criminal and civil jeaporday...
Yea, I would make sure to talk directly with your manager, but I'm thinking that the report you (and the others) wrote will speak for itself. It's so shocking the facts will leap off the page (or screen, whatever your hospital uses). I get tired of reading posts about "incompetence" when it's really just nit-picky stuff. This is not like that, it's completely outrageous!!!!
My only thing is I would have reported a suspected impairment to the supervisor on shift. It may not have been drugs/alcohol but the time to test (if the supervisor agrees) is then, not days later. But I can understand being shocked by the situation.
seriously question this person's suitability to function as a nurse! Not only should the institution be investigating this incident, but also you Board of Nursing needs to check this situation out. IMHO, the nurse in question is probably facing both criminal and civil jeaporday...
I agree- this is not only dangerous behavior for a nurse, but it may border on criminal behavior. She needs to be drug tested, she needs a psych eval, she needs to NOT be working as a nurse, and she may lose her license because of this. Ripping out someone's ET tube in the middle of a code could be construed as attempted manslaughter. Every person involved needs to write this up, report it to your manager, and then she needs to be reported to your board of nursing.
She was then removed from the room by the other nurses and was sat down and given something to drink.
This has to be reported of course, but is there any reason to suspect she may have a medical condition (diabetes, whatever) that could have led to her bizarre behaviour?
Why would anything having to do with diabetes cause a nurse, who apparently had been acting fine all shift, to suddenly rummage around the room during a code, looking for a laryngoscope, then rip out the pt's ET tube, and start yelling about the number of chest compressions??? Even if she is diabetic & was suffering from high/low blood sugar, this behavior is extremely bizarre. It'll be interesting if the OP keeps us posted on how this turns out, but I'm placing my bet on her just being plain crazy.
Why would anything having to do with diabetes cause a nurse, who apparently had been acting fine all shift, to suddenly rummage around the room during a code, looking for a laryngoscope, then rip out the pt's ET tube, and start yelling about the number of chest compressions??? Even if she is diabetic & was suffering from high/low blood sugar, this behavior is extremely bizarre. It'll be interesting if the OP keeps us posted on how this turns out, but I'm placing my bet on her just being plain crazy.
I'm not saying that was the cause, but a medical condition should certainly be ruled out. I've worked with nurses with diabetes and migraines specifically who suddenly exhibited very strange behaviours (admittedly nothing quite like this).
:trout:WOW!! WHAT IN THE HECK?!?!?!?!:trout: I would take it to the manager ASAP!! I would not worry about the reports that were filed. :uhoh21: I can not even imagine what was going through her head! Please let us know what happened to her et the patient.
She might be already be on med's for mental health issues. This is more dramatic and potentally more lethal than what happened with a nurse that I knew. She acted fine until the stress level went up and then she just cracked. You truely need to talk to the manager, not just to protect the patients but to get her the care she needs. In the mean time she should not be working, especially in the ICU.
Wow! I have read this thread with total disbelieve and as someone else said, truth is stanger than fiction. This nurse is a danger to patients, staff and herself and needs to be removed from the clinical enviroment as soon as possible. There is no ifs,ands or buts about this. There is also no need for the OP to feel bad about reporting this nurse today as the OP could save someones live by doing so. My God, if this nurse does this in front of other people, what is she capable of doing in private with a patient? Scary!
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MrsMommaRN
507 Posts
wow it sounds like something out of a soap.
thank goodness everthing was able to get under control. keep us posted to what happens. i can't even begin to imagine what was going through her head. maybe i missed this in the original post but, what has her behavior been like in the past?