As an agency nurse I work for a small community hospital at times
(Home health is my reg job). This is my fave facility. I had a bad experience. Here goes.
1) I hear a pump beeping in a patients room.
2) I enter the room to see if I can be of assistance.
3) The patient looks BAD
4) I try to get a response from the patient. (zero response).
5) I find the patients nurse quickly and ask if said patient is a dnr and tell her the shape she is in. That it sounds like she has aspirated something.
6) The nurse states "She wasnt like that a few minutes ago".
7) I go into the room with o2 sat to check and the nurse comes in right behind me to take vitals. The patients 02 sats are 60. I tell the nurse. Who basically lets me know she does not want me there.
8) I go out of the room. The code is called by yet another nurse. I get the cart in the room the code is started.
Well to make a long story short the patient expired.
I find out. The patient had a ng tube to suction and pulled it out and that she refused to have it reinserted. By the time I saw her she was in no shape to refuse the ng tube. If this were my pt I think I would of reinserted it at that point. ( My god, the amount of fluids was unbelievable). Then sent her to the unit and intubated.
I dont know. It just seemed like a really messed up situation. I do believe the patient would still be here if the ng were reinserted to suction.
Hopefully housekeeping will have removed said dots and cards between patients. Heaven knows I've found many wrong name cards and even former patient equipment like basins in a supposedly "ready room."
Ugh, you have a very good point, P_RN! I've seen more than a few 'ISOLATION' cards (of various types -MRSA to droplet,etc) left on the doors after a room was 'cleaned'. But at least thats not as bad as a non-dnr becoming an unwilling dnr. Ugh, makes me shudder.
God why are humanbeing so afraid to ask for help? Why do we think we must appear all knowing in front of other humans?
Especially when everyone knows that no one is.
Ask questions. Ask for help. And the saddest of all is that those who are most likely to try to appear to know everything are those who need help and answers the most.
If I get in a situation like that PLEASE help me out. Hurt my feeling and my pride; they need to be.
I used to work with men and I thought this was just a male thing. It is not.
Ditto Angus...the nurse who DOESN'T ask questions or for help in a critical situation scares the crap outta me...I'm an "all hands on deck" kinda person when a pt. goes bad..I mean my goodness EVERYONE needs help in that situation..you only have 2 hands and multiple tasks needing to be done at once.
P_RN, ADN, RN
6,011 Posts
Hopefully housekeeping will have removed said dots and cards between patients. Heaven knows I've found many wrong name cards and even former patient equipment like basins in a supposedly "ready room."