I’ve been a nurse for 2 years. I generally think I’m a pretty decent bedside nurse. I’m thorough, I work hard and I care tremendously about people and their health. Lately I’ve been burning out. Tonight I think may be an example of how burnt out I have really become.
Patient is a younger man in his late 20s. Came to our facility for pt/OT after an injury and surgery to both his legs. He’s been with us for a couple weeks. Came to us with massive amounts of pain meds to the point where our doctors were uncomfortable prescribing him that much and scaled him back a bit to OxyContin scheduled and oxycodon PRN.
9pm rolls around and he’s scheduled for his OxyContin. I give it to him at 925pm (I have 30+ patients, so I’m feeling pretty on track here). Facility policy we must wait +1hr before administering the oxycodon. Patient knows this and says he want his oxy at 1030. I tell him I will do my best but to put his call light on.
1000 rolls around and he’s calling for his pain med. It’s early and I am caught up helping other patients so I do not answer him but two CNA tell him I will be there as soon as I can.
By 1030, he is screaming and banging a stick against the wall. He’s calling me all sorts of names and screaming "pain meds, pain meds, pain meds" at the top of his lungs. I wait a little while hoping he will calm down and I can get in there and hand him his meds.
Well, it doesn’t happen.
He gets more verbally aggressive to the point where something tells me - don’t go in there. Just a weird gut feeling of not feeling safe around this man. So I start charting hoping he will tire and calm down. He eventually gets quiet so I pull his meds and walk to his room. As I’m almost there he starts screaming again and banging against the wall. I stand in his door way and tell him point blank: I do not feel safe walking into your room, so I’m not going to be helping you until you can behave in a way that shows me I can feel safe approaching you. Well this made him angry and I walk away. He proceeds to yell and scream for the next hour, calling me everything under the sun. Eventually he chills a bit and the charge nurse goes in and hands him his meds.
I feel like I did the right thing here? But now I’m not sure.
I was speaking more regarding the fact that the first pain med was 25 minutes late due to having 30 patients. If he was first, he would have gotten his med at 9 when it was due, and the whole escalation would not have happened in the first place.
Sorry, I meant to quote Nurse Beth, stating to bring 10-15 min early. I really need to start paying attention when I click quote!
Hoosier_RN, MSN
3,968 Posts
Sorry, I meant to quote Nurse Beth, stating to bring 10-15 min early. I really need to start paying attention when I click quote!