What's the worst you've ever been dumped on?

Nurses Relations

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3-11 shift

22 beds, census 21

Start report

3:05 patient falls, bleeds, 911. IR, transfer paper, copies of chart, etc.

3:10 patient left alone on toilet by 7-3 falls, hits head, 911. IR, transfer paper, copies of chart, etc.

7-3 not only took no responsibility for fall #2, much less #1, she told me she has to chart, so 'get back to me when those two have been sent out'. Nice.

Back to report.

Count. Narcs missing. Told 7-3 not taking the cart till it's audited.

Phone call, wife is coming to discharge her husband, NOW.

Admissions director comes by, asks why there are two ambulances out front, and "How many empty beds do you have?" Told her "One- the other 2 are going to the ER, but I'm sure they'll be back- don't get any funny ideas, this place is already a DISASTER". Did not tell her about the call from the wife coming to d/c her husband.

4PM, she drops THREE admit packs onto my med cart, says "You need to get housekeeping to prep those other two rooms, and pack up their stuff- if they come back, they're going to the long term care hall. I need those beds!".

5PM, wife comes to take husband. Same exact time, a patient died. But he was DNR, so that was a walk in the park.

2 falls/discharges, 3 admits, a sudden discharge, and a death/discharge. Almost all before the first med pass?

Yes. I confess. I dropped the f bomb. But I learned- never again did I get report without my first making rounds, or getting report given to me DURING rounds.

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Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

One of my last nights on cardiac before going on my merry way to babyland, I notice I had two "walkie talkies" and I thought "oh, that's nice..."

HAH.

My charge Vocera's me "hey, when you're done seeing your two patients I need you to come up here, we need to talk about your admit."

That's always a welcome message, isn't it? So, turns out, my admit was waiting down in ER...he is 22, he flew into some sort of rage at a buddy's house, punched a hole in the guy's window, sliced up his hand, had a go at the cops when they arrived, was tazed several times, brought in to ER in heavy restraints, given a laundry list of seditives and anti-coo coo drugs. Why was he coming to the cardiac floor?!? Because they weren't sure if he was "on something that the urine tox didn't pick up" and he was not drunk either.

So mister wacky pants gets up to the unit, restraints off, dozy. One of the transport folks just barely touches him and like the Hulk he roars to life, and the two male PCA's have to almost lay across him. Did I mention he's a good 6'3 or so and easily 250-300 lbs? Did I mention there was no 1:1 available to sit with him? So, we go ahead and put the "soft" restraints (the politically correct ones) on him. He rips them. We call security (why didn't they COME UP WITH HIM?!?) and they place the moderate restraints, and I place some more drugs in his little ole IV, along with a happy lil' foley. So I have him all nice and zonked, and around 3-4am, they inform me they found a safety assistant- a 4'10, 70lb little tiny Asian girl.

I gave him some more drugs. Lots of 'em.

The shift ended with him waking up and demanding, in a very forced, strained tone that I remove the foley or he'll pull it out himself.

That was the most so far. Had a c-section come up to the floor before I even got report on my other people or signed into Vocera (so, at like 1510) a few weeks back. That was kind of annoying.

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Wacky pants. LOVE IT!

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"Remove this foley or I'll pull it out myself!"

Do it. I dare you.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I was just about to call my job for a shift tonight until I read this post. I work as a float nurse at a hospital. I just got in from Daytona beach last night. After reading this, I hung up the phone before they answered. I was looking for a reason not to go in tonight. I'm gonna wait another day before I go back into the crap that awaits me. Thank God AllNurses and for free will!

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We record report on a voicemail system, and for the first half hour of your shift you listen to report while the previous shift maintains care of the assignment. Then we give updates and ask questions. I listen to my report on a patient and hear that she went from "walkie talkie" to being on a non-rebreather and severely decompensated overnight. The patient was a limited code, not a no code. I finish listening and go to find the night RN to get updates and see what the plan is. Then I find out that the night RN left. I go into the room and my patient has no blood pressure, is severely mottled, satting in the low 80s, and looks of death. She died within the hour. No family was notified by the night shift, and her daughter was already on her way in for a visit when I called. The daughter expected to visit with her recovering mother but instead had to be told she passed away.

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I've gone into rooms more than a few times to find dead people, that haven't been touched in hours, that, according to report, were 'no changes'. I, myself, consider dying to be at least a litte bit of a 'change', anyway. But, a HALF HOUR twice a shift to listen to report? Yikes.

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Specializes in ICU.

I walk into the ICU and they're coding a patient. "Here's your assignment! Throw your coat in the corner!"

"No" I replied, I don't start for another 10 minutes.

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Specializes in RN.

Well, no stories as critical as some of these, I mean, holy cow!! Anyway, I have just been the workhorse "in general" for lazy charge nurses. I don't need a charge nurse if their main function is to delegate/avoid doing anything to help out on the floor. It may be exclusive to my facility, but the charge nurses I have had are not advantageous to anything going on on the floor. It's like they have considered it "in house retirement." So the kind of "dumping" I am accustomed to has been by other "slugs" on the floor.

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Specializes in Pedi.

I did once get a "oh by the way, your patient just tried to strangle herself with the call light, is expressing suicidal ideation, the doctor hasn't been notified and she doesn't have a sitter." THAT was a fun night.

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Yeah, you always work 12.5 hours to cover the oncoming shift. I mean, you only listen to report once obviously but it's time consuming.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

Thanksgiving night the 7p-7a shift:

Got report. Two patients in our ICU. Not a huge deal except one was new and totally unstable. No I couldn't be made 1:1 so I did my best. As I am getting report the nurse is telling me that the new patient who has been there for over an hour needed stat ABG's, and lab draws. Normally I am thinking I'll get to them if a few after report, but these were stat and the pt was in severe respiratory distress. The pt was on bi pap with no relief, given no sedation. Eventually we got the ABG's and they sucked. I finally talked the resident into putting in an art line and later a central line. Had to start on pressors due to tanking BP. This pt had severe pneumonia (I think if not CHF, this was a few years ago). I ended up spending most of the night in her room. Thank God my other patient was q 2 VS, and q 4 neuros. Just a bad night.

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