I've noticed for a while that there's a common phrase of "saving people's lives"......
In the ICUs (various sorts) and EDs - Yeah, they do save lives. IN surgery, yep- I'd agree with that.
On a med-surg floor, you help patients progress and stay stable. It's not a constant "hero festival" :)
To read a bunch of threads/posts, it sounds like every nurse is out there saving the world (did someone forget to tell the UN?).
Nurses (aside from ED, and the units where critical patients are being cared for) work on rehab the minute the patient lands on the bed. You do deal with unexpected emergencies that are life threatening- but it's not a constant run from room to room assessing for the need for the ERT.
It's busy, sometimes overwhelming, hard work...but most of the time, you maintain the status quo, and hope for some improvement that helps get them out the door (and not feet first).
Is EVERY floor a hospice floor? Nobody comes to the hospital to get well anymore? Someone's life has to be in jeopardy before you can save it :)
Saving lives, saving lives, saving lives...... just sounds like it cheapens those floors that REALLY are faced with life and death decisions every single day. JMO. :)
I don't have any problem understanding the OP. She is just making an observation of things as they are on average in nursing... your mileage will vary depending on the ride you have. :)
I think she is just wondering about those who wear the T-shirt.
i'm actually kind of offended by this post to say the least. and i really don't see the point in posting it. it's probably the most pointless thread on here.
i work on a med/surg floor, and i can tell you this....i have "saved" many lives. i caught a patient going into flash pulmonary edema before it got extremely critical. i had oxygen, respiratory therapy and ekg there all at the same time while on the phone with the physician. i had a patient who i noticed was acting hypoglycemic. patients blood sugar was 26. i acted in time before patient went unresponsive.
i had a patient who went into anaphylaxis from a new medication that was ordered. it was an unknown allergy. i have many more i could tell you about.
so just because my patients are "stable" doesn't mean i don't save lives. because these patients are in the hospital for a reason. they are not in the hospital so someone can wipe their a$$.
i don't know, maybe im overreacting with this but i do find this very offensive.
absolutely no disrespect intended, but i do think you are over-reacting. i don't think the op had any intention of insulting her readers.
i assume this is simply because everyone wants to feel validated for what they do by and for others and "saving lives" has that impact pretty instantaneously.
we are all in the process of dying. taken literally, nobody saves a life, but rather delays death. that is something every nurse plays a part in, acutely, subacutely and preventively.
yes, and in the instance of "successful codes" where the patient is resuscitated and sent to the icu, this is particularly true. most of the time, the code members "save the patient's life," only to have them die in the icu soon thereafter. i don't know the statistics, but they are not good for anyone who has gotten to the point of a cardiac arrest on the floor or out in the field.
I am preparing for ACLS, and here is an interesting quote from the handbook:
From this, I would say that saving lives can be a very quiet affair that is done in the normal course of floor nursing, without breaking open the code cart and an overhead page. The flurry of activity surrounding codes may not be saving lives as much as it is prolonging the 80% chance of death.
Interesting discussion.
i was just going to post about the very ubiquitous 'burden' of "failure to rescue"...
which to me, implies that we indeed do 'rescue' pts on a daily basis (or not).
and to me, that is synonymous with saving a life.
difference being and i'm fully agreeing with dudette, that it should be a quiet affair...
and nothing to puff our chests about.
our nsg obligations are often overwhelming, if we truly take the time to acknowledge all we are responsible for...which includes maintaining the pt, anticipating and preventing (fatal) complications, and always trying to stay one step ahead.
i think we can all agree that none of us wants to be compared with some of the egotistical dr's that walk around with God complexes.
i for one, certainly don't see anything worth publicizing about "saving lives".
if anything, i am beyond humbled and always introspective after such events.
so yeah, whether it's icu or med surg or any other setting, we nurses have to always recognize any potential risks to pt's health while caring for them...
because often, it really can turn to a matter of life/death.
every disease has its own unique set of critical complications.
and it's our job to know that....
we're not heroes, we're nurses and that's what we do.
*shrug*
as for dying in one's arms, i haven't any idea what op is referring to.
Saving lives, saving lives, saving lives...... just sounds like it cheapens those floors that REALLY are faced with life and death decisions every single day. JMO. :)
while i do believe the overriding perception of "saving lives" could be construed as a bit delusional, i don't believe for one minute that it diminishes those who are truly critically ill and at the verge of death.
to this day, i am still in awe of what a nurse is responsible for...in spite of most pts being "status quo".
that does not negate the potential of anyone bottoming out at a moment's notice.
and this is precisely why i would like to see the bar raised in entering our profession...
because it does involve life and death situations, at any given time...
whether it is icu or any other setting.
while most of us don't go running around bragging that we save lives, most of us are fully aware of any implications/potential that come with ea and every pt.
xt, while i do not like those who strut around with their hyperinflated sense of superiority, i would guess that the majority of nurses are not like that...
and so, should not be contrasted with those who are/do.
i don't know if you're asking nsg as a whole, or just a handful of nurses...
but i don't think it's right to diminish our very burdensome roles in pt care.
I agree with the OP, and I have always believed the same way. I am surprised somebody actually verbalized it.
"Saving lives" occurs in life-death situations. If someone is already stable, getting ready to go home from the floor, you aren't saving their life but you are helping them progress and improve, in my opinion. "Saving lives" is taken for granted for some reason.
I agree with the OP, and I have always believed the same way. I am surprised somebody actually verbalized it.
"Saving lives" occurs in life-death situations. If someone is already stable, getting ready to go home from the floor, you aren't saving their life but you are helping them progress and improve, in my opinion. "Saving lives" is taken for granted for some reason.
i don't know...maybe i'm misreading op's point.
i'm just trying to emphasize that it is notable, the enormity of our responsibilities as nurses.
i'm painfully aware that even s/p hip replacement, the risk of an elderly pt tossing a clot...
same with chest tubes, vents, meds, infection, etc...the many things that can go wrong.
not saying it will or always does go wrong, but that it's our job to try and prevent any pt from spiralling downward.
even when 'stuff' doesn't happen, it is we nurses who are expected to handle any given situation, until others arrive.
it's nothing i take lightly, and it's high time the public/media know the depth and seriousness of what we nurses do...
i'm just trying to emphasize that it is notable, the enormity of our responsibilities as nurses.
i'm painfully aware that even s/p hip replacement, the risk of an elderly pt tossing a clot...
same with chest tubes, vents, meds, infection, etc...the many things that can go wrong.
not saying it will or always does go wrong, but that it's our job to try and prevent any pt from spiralling downward.
even when 'stuff' doesn't happen, it is we nurses who are expected to handle any given situation, until others arrive.
it's nothing i take lightly, and it's high time the public/media know the depth and seriousness of what we nurses do...
including life and death...actual or otherwise.
leslie
I understand what you are saying and respect that. Nursing is a very serious thing, and should be taken seriously, anything can happen to anybody at the hospital, anybody can go unstable for numerous, unexpected complications. But "saving life" is a different thing and my thoughts about it are still the same.
Specializes in Med-Surg; Telemetry; School Nurse pk-8.
Hey, about that "saving" a life phrase... If we are like baseball pitchers recording our saves, are we also recording our losses?? I bet no one takes independent credit for it when things go wrong!
Is the OP intending to incite? Because that is how it looks to me. Do we need another Icu vs med surg thread?
This has nothing to do with ICU vs M-S.....and no, I have little time for frivolity. I'm very interested in the different perspectives- and learning from them. Do with that as you will. :)
I'm actually kind of offended by this post to say the least. and I really don't see the point in posting it. It's probably the most pointless thread on here.
I work on a med/surg floor, and i can tell you this....i have "saved" many lives. I caught a patient going into flash pulmonary edema before it got extremely critical. I had Oxygen, respiratory therapy and EKG there all at the same time WHILE on the phone with the physician. i had a patient who i noticed was acting hypoglycemic. Patients blood sugar was 26. I acted in time before patient went unresponsive.
I had a patient who went into anaphylaxis from a new medication that was ordered. it was an unknown allergy. I have many more i could tell you about.
So just because my patients are "stable" doesn't mean i don't save lives. Because these patients are in the hospital for a reason. They are not in the hospital so someone can wipe their a$$.
I don't know, maybe im overreacting with this but i do find this very offensive.
My intent was not to be offensive- but to get clarification.
In the years I worked, the vast majority of patients were there for supportive care (which RNs are needed for), to go home. I just see the "saving people' s lives" line as a bit overstated. That's all. Yes- there are always those "catches"...but they are not the majority in most types of nursing.
i respect that all of us have been in situations where many of the patients on our assigned list could go belly-up at any time. heck- so could any of the co-workers, or us.... life is unpredictable. and, illness stacks the deck in favor of complications. but, i've seen several (not just one or two) posts/replies about "saving lives"... makes it sound like a one-man/woman show...some "super-nurse" with a cape and tool chest, who is independently out there to save the world. bs. there isn't a nurse out there that can do what he/she does alone- even if on the street- there's a call to someone else.
yes- what nurses do is very important. but it's not a solitary job. again- i didn't intend to offend- just understand- and i agree with the vast majority of you :)
netglow, ASN, RN
4,412 Posts
I don't have any problem understanding the OP. She is just making an observation of things as they are on average in nursing... your mileage will vary depending on the ride you have. :)
I think she is just wondering about those who wear the T-shirt.