What have other peers done intentional/unintentional to freak you out? Good or bad. Happy or sad.
On my FIRST day as an LVN, (LTC) a res was screaming in her room as I was walking out to leave. I went in to see what was going on. She was having an anxiety attack and severe pain (post stroke). I pulled the call light, and no one came. Uggg.
So I peeked out the door and saw my CNA walking down the hall, and told him to come sit with res. I went down to get her a Xanax and a pain pill, well relief nurse was in the restroom, and relief CNA (with call light still going off) was sitting behind nurses station reading a newspaper. I told CNA to tell the nurse to get a Xanax and pain pill for res. She said OK. I go to relieve my CNA. Said goodbye to him, and stayed with res. after 10 minutes, CNA COMES INTO ROOM WITH XANAX AND MORPHINE PILL. She is soooooo shocked to see me still there, she hands me the pills and RUNS to the relief nurse. I could NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!!!!
(I did immediately call DON and tell what happened. Luckily, my CNA was still checking on another res, and saw the whole thing.--------they got a slap on the wrist! that was it!!!) :madface: :madface:
Not that it was a "Danger" to the patient per se, but I did know of a nurse who was caught having "intimate relations" with a patient, yes, while he was under her care.
when i was still in school doing a rotation in the ICU- a nurse came to the nursing station and said she needed help with something. apparently she tried to give a whole pill through an NG tube and it got stuck! AND she stated that another nurse told her that it was an ok thing to do....
A nurse tried to start an iv on my father. First she was going to do it without gloves on until I raised holy hell. She put gloves on finally. Then she tried the iv again. When she couldn't get it, she pulled the needle out, and put it on the bed. She then proceeded to palpate for another vein, picked that same needle off the bed, and was going to go at it again, until I yelled at her loud enough for the whole hall to hear, "what the hell do you think you're doing?!" and she laughed said "oops" and walked out of the room. She brought back another nurse to start the iv.
I am a student, still early in my nursing education. At my clinical site, my patient was found having a hypoglycemic episode. Diaphoretic, lethargic, very thirsty. She was soaking wet from head to toe. I notified her nurse, who was not concerned. Thankfully my clinical instructor & I checked her blood glucose because she was barely above 30, & going downhill quickly right before our eyes. We gave her orange juice, & when her nurse came to the room, she had insulin with her. It really freaked me out as I watched her inject insulin into my patient whose blood glucose was already so low! I am still not clear on why this was done, but my patient is still alive & kicking, so I'm sure there is logic to this that I am just too new to the game to have caught on to.
I am a student, still early in my nursing education. At my clinical site, my patient was found having a hypoglycemic episode. Diaphoretic, lethargic, very thirsty. She was soaking wet from head to toe. I notified her nurse, who was not concerned. Thankfully my clinical instructor & I checked her blood glucose because she was barely above 30, & going downhill quickly right before our eyes. We gave her orange juice, & when her nurse came to the room, she had insulin with her. It really freaked me out as I watched her inject insulin into my patient whose blood glucose was already so low! I am still not clear on why this was done, but my patient is still alive & kicking, so I'm sure there is logic to this that I am just too new to the game to have caught on to.
I'm halfway finished with nursing school and I can't see any logic to that.
One day, we were talking about diabetes and this genius in my class says "Okaaaaaaaaay, so, like if a person is hyperglycemic, you would never, like, give them insulin, right?" So, I said "Hello, insulin is what brings it down". Her response: "I'm soooooooo confused".
I am a student, still early in my nursing education. At my clinical site, my patient was found having a hypoglycemic episode. Diaphoretic, lethargic, very thirsty. She was soaking wet from head to toe. I notified her nurse, who was not concerned. Thankfully my clinical instructor & I checked her blood glucose because she was barely above 30, & going downhill quickly right before our eyes. We gave her orange juice, & when her nurse came to the room, she had insulin with her. It really freaked me out as I watched her inject insulin into my patient whose blood glucose was already so low! I am still not clear on why this was done, but my patient is still alive & kicking, so I'm sure there is logic to this that I am just too new to the game to have caught on to.
It does depend on what kind of insulin she would have been giving. Rapid-onset, rapid-peak insulin (such as regular or humalog) is of course not indicated and you'd be right to be concerned; however, there are plenty of folks with diabetes who have to take much longer-acting insulins (such as Lantus or NPH) whose onset of action is several hours and peak is not for 8, 12, or even 18 hours after injection. Now, if the low blood glucose consistently occurs at a certain time of day/night, it might be prudent to consider tweaking the insulin regimen in terms of dose or timing, or consider a diet-appropriate snack to keep it from occurring.
It also depends on the type of diabetes - you almost never withhold insulin from someone with T1DM, even if their sugar's low, though in this case I'd wait a bit, and also consult with the endo reg first.
What often happens is that the patient hypo's, insulin's withheld, the patient starts to trend higher, and the team spend the next two-plus days trying to restabilise the sugar. There was a case at my hsopital (though not my ward) recently where a patient with almost resolved DKA had insulin withheld for a low BSL; insulin wasn't given when the hypo resolved, the unit wasn't contacted, and for some reason the next dose was also withheld (even though the pre-meal BSL was high normal) - by midnight the patient was trending back toward DKA, had a two-day extension of admission, and an increased risk of lifetime complications of diabetes.
Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
i agree w/the last two posters, the nurse was likely giving Lantus which is long acting which has a delayed onset and peak time, HOWEVER, regardless if it was long or short acting, the nurse should have been checking the pt's blood sugar herself prior to administering it, as well as assessing the patients symptoms. Not to mention, if it was my patient, i would've been giving an amp or half-amp of D50 for a glucose in the low 30s.. but thats just me..
one other thing... did your instructor say anything at all to the nurse? or ask what type of insulin she was giving? or just stood by and assumed this nurse knew what she was doing? or at the very least, explained it all to you, assuming she had more information? if not, i'd say she isn't setting a good example for her students.. i don't care if someone's a student, a housekeeper, or the chief of medicine, if you notice someone ignoring troubling symptoms, or appearing to be acting negligent to a patient in any way, say something.. it might pis* that person off, but i know i personally wouldn't be able to have a clear conscience if i was right and that person was affected negatively...
First off I am no longer a "neophyte" and at that time I did not want to work anywhere but in longterm care. I can honestly say that I learned just as much there as I have in a hospital setting.
Secondly, the only way to get to the xanax, or ANY meds for that matter is thru a closed, LOCKED door that only the nurse on duty has. I was going out the door. The LVN that relieved me had just come on duty. Why are you being so judgemental of me? I didnt do anything to you, and I ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO DO MY JOB.
Lastly, this incident was several years ago. I made this thread up for laughs.
That was my first thought, you already said you were leaving and, of course, xanax is locked up. Geeze.
As a brand new nurse, I was holding an agitated pts arm while another nurse was trying to draw stat labs on her. The nurse blew out the first attempt pulled out and stuck again inches below it (same needle no alchohol)!!!. I watched dumbfounded (I know I should have spoke up) as she attempted 5 sticks on that same arm with that same needle with no success.
:madface: 
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joanna73, BSN, RN
4,767 Posts
I physically cringed when I read your post. Filter needles would hurt like hell!