Which patients are you most scared to take care of?

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Although a variety of patients have brought forth challenges during my time of a nurse, lately I've been finding myself getting very stressed out caring for patients with GI issues.  I've had three patients in the past year with bowel obstructions/bowel perforations who decline no matter what I do.  I've sent them all repeatedly into the hospital.  They've all required surgical intervention.  This really causes me distress, so much to the point that I can no longer sleep at night if a patient hasn't had a bowel movement.  I'm always worried about doing the wrong thing.

Anyone else experience similar things with any patients? Who are you scared of taking care of? 

3 hours ago, Davey Do said:

Oh. 

I see now, Curious, that you're one of "them".

One of 'whom'? Davey ???

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LOL

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Specializes in Peds.

Central lines for me.

 

I have no problems with trach and ventilator patients, but ask me to administer tpn? 

 I am one of the few nurses that love working with colostomies and ileostomies.

Its just so easy for me

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Specializes in NICU.

don't remind me.

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That is an interesting comment about being most scared of SBO's. I work on a surgical floor and GI patients are our bread and butter. They rarely ever lead to demise. It's always the other ones that randomly pop in our floor such as ETOH Cirrhosis patients, Covids, end stage COPD'rs, or PE's that poop out on us. I feel like the GI patients are usually the most stable. I suspect you are a new nurse and just need a little more experience. Bowel movements need to be the least of your fears ( unless its on you)

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Detox patients. They’re entirely unpredictable and you can’t trust them as far as you can throw them. We used to detox them on the M/S floor, which was horrible because when the DTs hit, they got very scary. I got bitten by an HIV+ patient in the throes of alcohol withdrawals; another guy marched a fully equipped, locked hospital bed across a room while in four-point leathers. They really should’ve been in a specialized care unit with 1:1 or 1:2 supervision and good sedation. Dealing with a patient on the CIWA protocol and trying to manage a team of 5-6 other patients is a special kind of hell that I’m glad I’ll never have to visit again.

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I’m not scared of this age group, but they are difficult to deal with:  18-25 year olds. The reason they’re difficult is because their moms refuse to acknowledge that baby has grown up.  Once they’re 18, they don’t need a parent to come with them for visits, and if they don’t put mom/dad on the HIPAA form, we can’t tell them anything.  I’ve been given the “but it’s my insurance” line by moms but their adult child doesn’t want us talking to mom. I had one 21-year-old new pt that I called for the appointment, and when mom stood up to accompany him he told her no.  Mom comes storming through the door anyway and told me that “he’s never been to the doctor alone so he doesn’t know what to say” and proceeded to come back.  Pt said she could stay.  I asked the pt every single question and asked mom to let him answer when she started talking over him.  LOL. 

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
21 hours ago, Curious1997 said:

One of 'whom'? Davey ???

Whom's on first.

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1 hour ago, Davey Do said:

Whom's on first.

Who's on second? ???

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

For me it was the triple A. When a resident had a known AAA if that thing was going to burst it would go when I was working. For awhile I had a reputation as the AAA Queen when I lost 3 residents in two months.  It's not a pretty death.  The aftermath pretty much looks like a scene from CSI, the only thing missing was  the crime scene tape.

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Quiet, febrile infants. Not scared but acutely aware that the silence is actually screaming impending doom.

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Specializes in Psych.

I'm mainly a psych nurse. I like picking up extra shifts at the hospital and will pick up shifts in any of the med surg or PCU units, but I would say the patients I fear most when I have to take them are patients in the psych unit that want to fight the nurse because of voices in their head. Even worse is when you medicate them and they apologize. The reason I get nervous about those patients is you have to be very careful when dealing with them and medicating them at the same time when the patient is going through a psychotic break and they're trying to fight you you're being careful as possible with the patient while trying not to get hurt yourself. It's a tough balance.

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