Worst night ever

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 17, 2012

honestly, you need to realize that you didn't do anything wrong under the circumstances, on the contrary you tried to get the proper help for your patient and for that i applaud you. on the other hand, your cn should be rethinking if her actions were in any kind supported of you, and the patient in question. needless to say, as upper management i would have a serious meeting with all who were involved, once all of the facts are gathered and evaluated. unquestionably, we all have experience nights like the one you have posted, in one time or another trust me when i say it will get better, and it will give you the tools you'll need when this type of event arises in the future. furthermore, don't see it as a failure on your part, see it as a challenge that you overcame and learn from the experience. moreover, regarding those you heard laughing take it as a compliment, as we all know they also laughed at florence nightingale, when she tried to place into practice her revolutionary patient care. having said that, i wish you the very best always in all of your future endeavors, as i send you a hug :hug: from across the miles...aloha~

danarooo, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2012

Wow. I had a similar instance at the tail end of nursing school. I had a patient that was way over my head and a horrible unsupportive clinical instructor, the nurses on the floor I was on weren't any better. Very unsupportive and unprofessional atmosphere. It is hard when you aren't totally confident yet and something like that happens. You were done a disservice by your supervisor, and the other nurses laughing was just rude. I had to adopt the attitude that I didn't care if other nurses thought I was stupid for making a mistake, asking a million questions or whatever because my job is to provide safe patient care period. Ask the questions you need to ask, ask them as much as you need to. It's your license and your career and your patients well-being on the line so if others are crappy about it then they must not care or don't remember being new.

You are new, you need to feel like the nurses on your floor and your supervisor(s) have your back. You need a secure net under you which is what they are supposed to be. What I did to get over what happened to me (which stayed with me for a while), was to talk to someone about it, to get those emotions out and that allowed me to realize I had been screwed over and "they" weren't good nurses in any respect after what had happened to me. Learn what you can from this sitation and know you do have support in the way of the nurses who helped you. The most important thing is for you to begin to process this and deal with the emotions left over, and learn the lessons from it.

Good luck!

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2012

I'd like to add something.

Just because a person is designated as a charge nurse, does not mean that he or she is the go-to person concerning assessments, unfortunately. A lot of people are put in charge because they have a good relationship with management, are good with staffing, excellent attendance, etc.

You will find that some nurses in your department are not in charge because, well, they don't want to be! Or maybe they have a lateness problem, or refuse to further their degrees. That doesn't mean they aren't helpful and experienced clinicians.

Also, a lot of times the charge nurse has a lot of extra work to do and even if he or she tries, may not be as available as some other nurses with less responsibility.

What I mean by this is, let's say Nurse Susan has completed her night assessments, given her midnight meds, and is well on her way through her charting. She isn't in charge, but she's been a nurse for quite some time, is friendly, and is available to help. On the other hand, Charge Nurse Helen has a staffing crisis, needs to cover lunches, and may have her own patients, etc. Obviously this may not be the case in your situation. But I think you understand what I mean.

rnlately · Jun 18, 2012

I'm sorry this happened to you. I've met a couple of charge nurses such as you describe; even worked alongside a few with the same mentality. Charge nurses receive that title and are paid more for a reason and part of the reason is to be a resource person for the floor nurses especially new ones. If she was toooo busy she should have went ahead and called RAT team for you; would have only taken a few minutes. Were there other seasoned nurses on the floor that might have had a few minutes to assist you? I ask this because whenever I see my CN getting aggravated with a newer or overwhelmed nurse I generally try to step in and offer my assistance. Hey, I've been new and timid before. Best of wishes to you and don't beat yourself up. You are still learning and will be a strong nurse.

Good Morning, Gil · Jun 18, 2012

We've all been there. Hugs. Odds are, it will be better the next night you go in (it usually is), and after a night like that, it's super nice when you have an easier night to follow. Whenever you think you've had the worst night, there will be one in the future that tops it lol.

Good Morning, Gil · Jun 18, 2012

Oh, and your job will get better with time as you gain confidence and competence. Don't let your charge nurse get to you. She shouldn't have spoken to you in the way that she did, and was she a free charge? Meaning, did she not have any patients? If this is so, then she has nothing to complain about. However, listen to her. If she gave you tips, even in a not so nice way, you can learn from her.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2012

Wow, this sounds a lot like my early expereinces! I gather you work nights, and where I work nights gets stuck with these icu/stepdown type pts in med surg plus our 4 other post ops, and then on day shift things get done faster etc. Also the people you work with seem like jerks. We have plenty also and they DO get enjoyement out of seeing people struggle and do make unfair assignments on PURPOSE. i know it as I listen to them plot it out, charge and the cronies, and was once at the end of it. I had many many many of these terrible nights as a new grad and it gets better SOMETIMES because you become more competent and faster at everything. For example, if you get those drips/meds in the future you will be more familiar with them. I Also, wiht more experience you will know what everyone else can handle and will know when it is you vs an unfair assignemnt. In the future if you feel you need to call a rrt, call one, the charge nurse shouldn't have a say in it. They try where I work, and some of them seem to want to keep every pt on our floor, no clue why, I have called in the past when charge said "we don't need it, keep paging the intern". I called rrt and pt was transfered stat to ICU and the primary team was lectured by the critical care drs. If I had waited the pts might not have lived to morning ( 2 cases in particular had good outcomes because the pt was transfered to the icu, quickly because of an rrt i called, dispite charge/dr saying no need for rrt....).also if this is a free charge, what changed things for me , in no one helping was I said " fine don't help, i will just ask the manager what she thinks about that" if someone is busy that is one thing, if they sit at the desk laughing while you run around titrating drips and dealing with all of that it is another. they get away with it because they undermine your skills/knowledge and are rarely confronted.

beeker · Jun 19, 2012

The charge does not have patients on my floor. Some of them help us a lot. Some of them disappear for hours at a time, and some sit at the desk and shop online all night. Most of them are good, but the ones that are not, don't try at all. I had a good night yesterday but still have the feeling of dread about going to work. Ugh. I am trying to decide if I should say something to her or not next time I work with her. Probably not.

jleonard90 · Aug 19, 2012

I know this is an old thread but want the young nurse posting this that not all people are this way and the only one doing a terrible job that night was the Charge nurse! This is a person who may have the experience and knowledge to cover the position but he or she definitely do not have the leadership skills to perform in that position. Given that you received so much support from the other nurses and the other supervisor, I can only hope that they reported this incident and it is being delt with accordingly. Keep your chin up and keep plugging away. Chalk this up as an experience not to repeat when you are a charge.

I had a horrible shift last night. It was the worst one I have had so far. I finished my orientation mid April and have been on my own since then. I am still slow but feel like I have been getting better and I have had some good shifts and some that have been hard and hectic. Last night I had drowned completely. I just don't know if I can do this.
Right at the start of the shift I got an admission from ER. I already had one patient that was on close watch for having went downhill during the dayshift. But the admission, this patient was a train wreck. I was not at all qualified to care for her. We do not normally get this type of patient on our floor, and she had a lot of medical issues going on, and procedures and drips I have never done. She was too large for our bariatric beds, and not feeling well, she was less than pleasant to us. Her family was also very difficult. But I could not move her or reposition her without a team of people, and she was not comfortable because she did not fit on the bed. I had to ask the charge nurse for a lot of help because of all the drips I have not done before, and she was getting very irritated with me. The pts condition was declining, slowly at first and I was in over my head and asked for help. When she started going downhill faster I wanted to page rapid response. The charge nurse said no she would handle it, and another supervisor came down to help. Next time, I will just call RR. I ended up calling the on call doctor several times for orders, respiratory therapy came to help (they were awesome) and I ended up spending the entire shift in that room. Between her and the other patient, i feel like I completely neglected the rest of them. I ran in and out of their rooms so fast, I doubt they could pick me in a lineup.
Towards the end of the shift the charge nurse, at the nurses station, told me I had the easiest patient load on the floor and that at this point I should not need so much help. She gave me a loud long lecture on basically how much I suck at everything and how I ruined her night. I have never felt so incompetent in my life. I cried and as I was leaving the station I heard everyone laughing. I wanted to die.I though I had been doing ok so far. I was just starting to feel like I was doing ok on my own. I guess I do ask a lot of questions. A few of the other nurses later came to tell me I have been doing fine and reassure me, but I can't forget hearing them all laugh. When the day shift arrived the charge nurse pulled me aside to ask what had happened, I guess you could tell I had cried. She came in to see the patient and immediately called to have the patient transferred to CCU. She said next time just call rapid response regardless of what the CN says. She helped me finish up and made me feel slightly better. I am thankful for her being so nice. I was a mess. I am still a mess. My supervisor left me a message today telling me I did fine and that it was a hard patient, I have not called her back yet.
I am still a mess. I am not normally a crier, but I cannot stop. I am DREADING going back to work. I don't know if I can do that again.I still feel like there is so much to learn. It is overwhelming. I think the combination of being new and working nights is making me tired and emotional. The stress is really building up.

Nugget · Aug 20, 2012

Everyone here has given you some great advice and as a newbie myself, I do not know what I could offer in the way of wisdom - but you got through the night. You did no harm and that is the most important thing. I would have bawled in your situation as well. Nurses laughing at you? Next time, call them out on it. People are not so tough when you confront them about being complete wankers.

Your charge nurse obviously has no idea how to take charge. I am sorry you had such a rough night. Hold your head up high and learn from this! Now you have a greater understanding of when to call RR and also how not to treat future newbies who will one day be working with you :)

KaeliF · Aug 20, 2012

I am so sorry to hear that it sounds like a nightmare! I'm a new nurse too (a few weeks out of a 1 month orientation) and I cannot imagine that happening to me, we don't even take patients on drips on my floor. All I can say is from what I'm hearing you did the very best anyone could expect you to do under the given circumstances. It is disgusting that the CN treated you that way and then people had the gall to laugh, they were all new once too! Sometimes people just forget that you are new, especially if you ARE doing a really good job, and give you more than you can handle. There was one night I was called in around 2300 and I had 4 admissions, so I was there until about 0930 charting and finishing up (our shifts are usually 6-6) I felt totally incompetent. Then my unit director happened to walk by and ask why I was still there and I told her what happened, thinking I would get in trouble, but she said that she was shocked that the CN gave me so many admissions and that was too heavy a load for a brand new nurse and that she would have a talk with said charge nurse about it. I know that is nowhere near as bad as your night, but point is your colleagues sometimes forget that you ARE new and they give you more than you can handle, that's not your fault. If anything the charge nurse probably subconsciously realized she gave you too much and felt like she had to blame you in order to justify herself.

All that being said, whenever I have bad night I have to write it down and brainstorm ways to improve my performance before I go back in to work, or else I go in with zero confidence. Even though it sounds like you did nothing wrong, it may help you feel better to sit down and work out ways that you could handle that kind of situation in the future (like you said calling the RRT regardless of what the charge RN said) before going back in, if nothing else just to help you feel more confident and prepared.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2012

I'm a new nurse too (a few weeks out of a 1 month orientation) and I cannot imagine that happening to me, we don't even take patients on drips on my floor.

A ONE MONTH orientation? That's it? I had 8 weeks as a new grad, and I don't think that was enough. New grads get at least 12 at my facility now.