I had an awful evening at work tonight...not only did I run ragged all night, but a family member who apparently thinks they are a nurse in disguise, kept ranting to me about putting both her parents on antibiotics.
Now, we learned in nursing school about how people can build up tolerances to antibiotics that are prescribed over and over and that is what is happening (I feel) to these 2 patients. But I don't dare say that to this family member without fear of being fired. I basically just charted tonight that family member is requesting these antibiotics. The father has emphysema and COPD and coughs up thick yellow/white sputum...he gets neb tx's qid. I asked the family member what they thought about some Mucinex and she said "No, he NEEDS an antibiotic!" The sputum isn't green it is yellowish-white. Then, her mother has chronic UTI's...I suggested a maintenance antibiotic and this family member says "No, she needs another UA"...ARGH! I mean, really....which of us has an RN behind their name??
Sorry, just had to vent! (I ended up writing 2 separate faxes explaining all this to their doctor who will probably order another round of Z-Pack for both.)
You can't control every situation but you have total control in how you react to it.
As in, shall my corpse be in the fetal position or the "in flight" position? I see a lot of bollocks in what you've just written.
Without law and order any country that is ungovernable has a very high crime rate, including murder. If you take away law and order and general expectations of what society wants from you (ie, the hospital situation where the family is always right) and you get all kinds of behaviour.
I'm sorry for all of you that have had bad nights. That stinks. I hope your next shift is better.
There are some family members that are a hazard to the patient. If they are touching things that are pertinent to patient care they are instructed to stop and if they don't we get them escorted out.
StNeotser, ASN, RN
963 Posts
As in, shall my corpse be in the fetal position or the "in flight" position? I see a lot of bollocks in what you've just written.
Without law and order any country that is ungovernable has a very high crime rate, including murder. If you take away law and order and general expectations of what society wants from you (ie, the hospital situation where the family is always right) and you get all kinds of behaviour.