When the nurse has to leave because of an emergency

[LPNtoBSNstudent]

This is a topic that some of my coworkers have discussed in the past and I am curious to know about others experiences as well.

I was taught and still believe that no matter what, you have to give report and chart before you leave. Here are some of my experiences in the past...

In 1990, when I was in clinicals for LPN school, my clinical instructor pulled me aside and told me that she had recieved a phone call from my mother and she had bad news for me...my grandmother passed away that morning. Ok, so I needed to leave clinicals and at the time, being a 19 year old student, I was surprised that I was required to chart before leaving. However, I did it, no problems.

In 1998, I received a phone call at work that my father was dead at age 51. It was a huge shock. After falling to the floor in shock and a bit of crying I got myself together and finished charting and gave report so I could leave. My coworkers were surprised that I didn't just walk out the door.

My friend was working and found out her 3 year old child had broken her leg and was at the hospital (with my friend's husband-the dad). My friend really wanted to leave to go and be with her child and was LIVID that management would not let her leave because they did not feel it was an emergency. I felt bad for my friend. My friend says that there should be more compassion for nurses who experience crisis.

Another nurse I know got a phone call that (I later found out from her) her daughter was raped. She was able to leave work, but didn't tell anyone why (at the time), except for quite possibly, the nurse manager. She did not report off to anyone but did her charting.

Ok, those are a few of my (and other's) stories. I am curious about your stories and what happens when the nurse has an emergency. What constitutes an emergency (for the employee)? What happens where you work? What if someone has an emergency that they are not prepared to tell someone about yet needs to leave?

[cannoli]

I concur with Tweety's answer.

So if someone in your family is dying, you are going to stay and chart rather than rushing to see them one last time before they die?

[RNKPCE]

So if someone in your family is dying, you are going to stay and chart rather than rushing to see them one last time before they die?

Cannoli,

If you were referring to my post. I meant specifically in that broken leg situation. I was shocked that the manager wouldn't let the mom go. I am totally for anyone leaving if someone they love is dying or gravely hurt. I'd be the first one pushing them out the door to go.

[cannoli]

Cannoli,

If you were referring to my post. I meant specifically in that broken leg situation. I was shocked that the manager wouldn't let the mom go. I am totally for anyone leaving if someone they love is dying or gravely hurt. I'd be the first one pushing them out the door to go.

I'm not referring to your post, I am referring to the post that I quoted.

[KacyLynnRN]

One of the women I work with husband fell off a ladder while doing roof work and died. They called her at work and told her to get to the hospital ASAP (different one than we worked at) It ended up he was dead at that time but they didn't want to tell her for fear she'd wreck her car on the way there or something. She just walked out, and we picked up the pieces from there. Rushed to assess her patients, do their vitals, and ask the tech that had been with them all day what was going on with them. Management didn't say one word to her about leaving ever. We survived and it wasn't the end of the world. We sure felt terrible for her, though.

[LPNtoBSNstudent, BSN, RN]

Good discussion.

I agree with everyone that if someone is 'dying', then yeah, get the heck out of there, doing the minumum (chart the meds given or whatever). Again, a very good example as to why it is important to stay on top of the charting.

And definately, it would have been much better on me if I had gotten through the day and went home before finding out about my fathers death, but due to the circumstances surrounding that, it was impossible.

Most recently, I was working with a person who needed to leave the shift because her father was dying. Everyone rescheduled everything and made it possible for her to leave. The next month when I was there, the same thing happened. And the next month (I only work there one weekend per month- weekend charge in LTC), same thing. Well, I don't want to dispute that the father was dying, and I know that when someone is dying, it is impossible to tell exactly when that will happen. I don't know the outcome of this situation but it made me think. What if this person's needed to leave on a *weekly* basis due to her ill and possibly dying father? How long will the job hold out for her? I guess there are laws to protect employees (?), but I wonder where the fine line is. I have seen companies work with the employee over a period of months, but those particular people were not nurses, whose shifts needed filled.

I agree that the compassion needs to extend to our fellow employees and to ourselves in situations like this. I don't mind jumping in to pick up the pieces as long as I know exactly what meds the patient has had and the patient was one that I felt comfortable providing care to (but if hes an ICU patient or an unstable patient, I NEED a report or completed charting)

[RN4NICU, LPN, LVN]

Good discussion.

I agree with everyone that if someone is 'dying', then yeah, get the heck out of there, doing the minumum (chart the meds given or whatever). Again, a very good example as to why it is important to stay on top of the charting.

And definately, it would have been much better on me if I had gotten through the day and went home before finding out about my fathers death, but due to the circumstances surrounding that, it was impossible.

Most recently, I was working with a person who needed to leave the shift because her father was dying. Everyone rescheduled everything and made it possible for her to leave. The next month when I was there, the same thing happened. And the next month (I only work there one weekend per month- weekend charge in LTC), same thing. Well, I don't want to dispute that the father was dying, and I know that when someone is dying, it is impossible to tell exactly when that will happen. I don't know the outcome of this situation but it made me think. What if this person's needed to leave on a *weekly* basis due to her ill and possibly dying father? How long will the job hold out for her? I guess there are laws to protect employees (?), but I wonder where the fine line is. I have seen companies work with the employee over a period of months, but those particular people were not nurses, whose shifts needed filled.

I agree that the compassion needs to extend to our fellow employees and to ourselves in situations like this. I don't mind jumping in to pick up the pieces as long as I know exactly what meds the patient has had and the patient was one that I felt comfortable providing care to (but if hes an ICU patient or an unstable patient, I NEED a report or completed charting)

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers ANY employee - (yes nurses too) who has been employed at least a year at a place of employment with at least 50 employees (I'd say any hospital or nursing home). I'm pretty sure you must be full-time or part-time for coverage, but PRNs have the option to not sign up for shifts. Any place that would not work with me, is not a place I would work for and if I was covered by FMLA and they tried to deny it - I would not hesitate to take them to court.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

So if someone in your family is dying, you are going to stay and chart rather than rushing to see them one last time before they die?

I think Deb and myself said, we don't know what we would do in that situation as it hasn't happened. If I had a tremendous amount of charting, no I probably would be out of there, but am anal enough to somehow pull myself together to do late entries the next day or so. My immeidate family is thousands of miles away so if I got a call one of them was dying, to get there soon, I'd have to pull myself together to make phone calls, institute their living wills as I'm the health care surrogate, get a flight, etc. If I got a call, that said "your spouse is dying any minute, get here immediately". I would go running (as we are the trauma center, and his hospital of choice, that might not be very far. :))

99.99999% of our notes aren't scrutinized by a lawyer, but when you get a copy of nurses notes you've written from a lawyers office, which I have on two occasions, one gets a little anal. Plus we don't know how many times behinds the scenes our notes are looked at that we never know about. There's no red flag that states "Smilingblueyes family member dying this day". A lawyer without the hospital's interests in mind isn't going to care about your personal life, just a paycheck.

I certainly wouldn't judge anyone for leaving during an emergency.

When I'm in crisis mode it helps clear my mind to focus on something anway, I would probably be one of those quiet ones finishing up things. I don't expect to be judged either.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I was overcome once by paint fumes at a hospital I worked at. My husband was out of town and I knew I needed to leave or I'd pass out. I had done all my charting and reported off but left just before a med pass. I heard about that for the next 2 years. I was so glad when we moved that I didn't have to hear about it any more. It is the only time in 20 years I've left work. I've worked with vomiting, flu, pneumonia, colds, you name it.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

Haven't encountered this situation myself, so I'm not inclined to judge, but it seems worth noting that when a nurse says, "to hell with this job," it shouldn't mean, "to hell with these patients."

What if a surgeon has a family emergency?

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I think we have to have compassion for each other too. However, it has to be with the caveat that you have to be considerate of patients too. I work in a level one truama center where at any minute you could be pulled for a trauma...in fact last night we had 7 traumas within a ten minute period! So, with computerized charting it is important to stay up to date. I have only left work once when my son was involcedc in a rollover and he came to my ER anyway!

[cannoli]

For those who seem to think they are being "judged", I don't think anyone is "judging" anyone else.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Canoli - I didn't get that impression. I think the different ways of handling things kinda goes along with the different areas of nursing that we practice in.