What was the toughest situation you encountered at the Hospital as a Nurse?

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Mar 12, 2008

Oh yeah btw...the patient was a long term alcoholic had blown a huge varices in his esph during the AM from a cough, and his liver was no longer functioning. Not only did his GI tract back up over the past few days (no ng or anything to counter that), but he had no platelets to stop this bleeding anymore (blood tests showed this happening for a week...and no platelets or transfusions were done!!!!). It was documented he was terminal by that very MD!!!!!

He did indeed bleed to death, filled his lungs up first by aspirating on the blood over and over again till the lungs could take no more...and he had no other recourse but to vomit the blood hitting his gag reflex!

But of course that wasn't told for weeks till I insisted ad nauseum in the guise of 'learning to be a better nurse by researching this case'. HOw it got to the rest of the nurses in that hospital I have no idea really...but it was general knowledge after I found out!

I still feel vendicated, but also still...even almost 8 years after the fact...well...pis*ed!!!!!

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Mar 12, 2008

I was coming back from the pharmacy after getting an IV for my patient when I walked by the lab the lab supervisor was face down in an isolated hall. I ran over and she had no pulse and wasn't breathing I started Cpr and began screaming like a crazy woman so someone could hear me (no Phones close enough to stop) an xray guy heard me and made the phone call and started to help me. The er team didn't hear the alarm and a RT showed up and she called the ER herself It seemed like forever for them to get there The good thing she survived with a reaaly bad amnesia. that never went away but she and I became really good friends

At least it was "only" amnesia. Could have been alot worse.

abbaking · Mar 13, 2008

I had a end-of-life 15 year old kid i was taking care of once. He had a severe bowel obstruction and rectal CA. Although a palliative patient he was semi-alert. This particular shift he was confused, fell out of bed, and as we went to pick him back up into bed, be began to vomit stool contents and blood. Despite out efforts to suction him, his stool/blood vomit was so much that he ended up aspirating and drowning on it. He is still on my mind after all these years and I am getting upset. Can't talk about it anymore

Psychtrish39, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2008

Well I was a nurse at the time living in a midwest state and I wasn't a nurse there where my significant other passed away but there as a family member and what I took and have kept inside myself as a nurse and a human being is that one don't tell a family member you will be with them when you get finished charting (this was in the ER) and also don't be a new young RN and ask the girlfriend (me) is it normal his lips were bluish ( told the newbie it is cyanosis...) and most of all don't tell the family that you smelled alcohol on this man's breath when you were intubating him after his fall from going to the BR at night as I had went home because he had ascites, he had ascites from heart failure and also had no ETOH in blood tests done at admission and most of all don't be a ghost in the ICU when the family and said GF are deciding to end life support , don't just walk in and out changing IV dopamine bags and not talking to the family... That was my toughest situation and I have decided if I ever start to be like that or treat patients and family members like that I will walk away from nursing.

It shook my faith in what I do as a career and I did much soul searching at that time but I came out of it and knew that I could decide to be different but I will never forget that 2 days as long as I live. . :bluecry1:

kimmie518 · Mar 13, 2008

Well I was a nurse at the time living in a midwest state and I wasn't a nurse there where my significant other passed away but there as a family member and what I took and have kept inside myself as a nurse and a human being is that one don't tell a family member you will be with them when you get finished charting (this was in the ER) and also don't be a new young RN and ask the girlfriend (me) is it normal his lips were bluish ( told the newbie it is cyanosis...) and most of all don't tell the family that you smelled alcohol on this man's breath when you were intubating him after his fall from going to the BR at night as I had went home because he had ascites, he had ascites from heart failure and also had no ETOH in blood tests done at admission and most of all don't be a ghost in the ICU when the family and said GF are deciding to end life support , don't just walk in and out changing IV dopamine bags and not talking to the family... That was my toughest situation and I have decided if I ever start to be like that or treat patients and family members like that I will walk away from nursing.
It shook my faith in what I do as a career and I did much soul searching at that time but I came out of it and knew that I could decide to be different but I will never forget that 2 days as long as I live. .

I'm sorry that happened to you, but you're paragraph is very hard to understand. It's one big sentence.