worst night EVER!!!

[nurse12b]

I work agency part time, and one good thing about an agency nurse is that you where you will never go back. So last night I worked a LTC facility and as soon as I got there it was mass confusion to start. Getting report was a joke, getting there and everyone wanting pain meds anda pt that needs a straight cath Q4hrs and I said when the last one was done she said at 3 and of corse it was due at 7 (that is not going to happen) which being a nurse I'm used to that I figure it out once I look at the chart and patient. But this night I had the charge nurse from HELL, she was constantly on my back telling me to hurry up every five min., I was in one room for 40 min try to take care of a new pt and family I come out of the room and she says what are you doing? I said my job and she she well you need to hurry and get you stuff done. I went to get meds and Im at the pixis (which is an old one where you have to count everything and make sure you count which been its in, may I say med error waiting to happen if not already) any while I was getting my meds the phone rings and it's her she says "why are you taking so long at the pixis I can see you in the camera" I told her well you can see I'm getting alot of meds and I"m counting and of course she says hurry up. All night long she was on top of me rushing me. I was getting ready to give protonix and she said have the RN show you how to mix it and I just look at her and said I know how to mix it she said I would rather have someone show you, I walked away in anger and I went and gave the protonix. Then at 9:45p she said "why are you not done with your stuff everyone else is done and you are not" I said good for them, but I'm hurrying as fast as I can and she said it dose not happen that way, you have to hurry and be done with everything and I told her I am going to be safe not rush my way to get done on a time limit. LTC pt's have allot of meds and it takes time and when you have someone on top of everything you do it makes you nervous and try's to get you off track. She was going into my pts room and asking if they had any complaints of their nurse. I even had a pt tell me that he sees weakness in me if I had to have the charge nurse monitor my actions and I he sees nervousness in me. That made me feel so incompetent as a nurse and I have never felt like that ever. Around MN I needed to get the cath in my pt and the charge nurse told me to go ahead and place a indwelling foley in her and I documented it as such, oh and when I placed the cath with no problem she was shocked and of course she checked placement herself and I said "see the urine, its in the right spot" that did not go over well. She told me to go chart that is was late and she did not want me to be there until 10a. AHHHH! I was not the only one she had problems with, there was an agency RN that is normally an ER nurse in a nearby big city, she was doing an IV and he was bleeding a bit and holding pressure charge nurse came and took over and show her how to hold pressure and then she sent her home. it was a really bad night sorry so long, just venting...

[eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN]

At least you don't have to go back :)

[Genista, BSN, RN]

Sorry you had such a rough night. That charge nurse was anything but supportive.

[nurse12b]

Sorry for all the grammar errors in the original post, I posted it without reading it back.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

If that ever happens again to you try to get the witch off your back from the get go with a really strong statement. I would have also let her know that if she was not happy with me that she was free to call in a replacement and I will stay until my replacement comes in and I give report! One night of pay is not worth all that agony. I know I would have words with this person had this happened to me.

[amoLucia]

My suggestiuon is that you might want to express your "CONCERNS" (you noticed I avoided "COMPLAINTS") to your agency and request that they review it with the facility you went to. Inasmuchas I'm only hearing your report of the night's activities, it sounds like you ran into the Wicked Nurse of the West. You didn't deserve her behavior.

I will give her the benefit of the doubt in that she, too, may have waded into a cesspool that night also, so that might explain her behavior. But she risked upsetting you to the point of your making a possible mistake. And she was possibly raising a level of concern about your competency (and hence your agency's) with the patients. At minimum, that jeopardizes the professional contractual relationship of her facility with your agency.

You will need to calm down if you go this route. Your emotions are running full speed. But you should notify your agency of this incident as that nurse may also be complaining to her DON about you already. Keep you concerns short and sweet, factual, to the point (avoid pt names r/t HIPAA) and for all sakes, don't blow up! Keep a good set of logical, sequential summary notes of the shift.

If I had been you that night and the situation was as bad as you describe, I would have called my agency STAT and her DON if I felt it was it was that stormy. I mean, what would have been next ... a screaming match between you two??? hands on??? Just curious, was there another nurse or supervisor to mediate?

It was NOT a good night for all. And you're right, you don't have to go back there, but you are dependent on the agency for time and your reputation. Agency can be tough for experienced and newbie nurses but professionalism and pt safety are stil in order.

[nurse12b]

I did complain to the agency about her that morning and she was reported to her facility that Monday morning. I did find out that it was not the first time she was complained about and 3 other nurses also refuse to go back. The nurses that also worked there was notified and they verified what happened that night. Yes, I should have called my agency that night, that was my mistake but I lived thru it. I told the nurses at my full time job that "I will never complain about this place", they laughed and said "it's not always greener on the other side is it". I'm glad that now I know. I actually applied there at one time but did not go to the interview and I am so glad I did not!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

OOOPS!!! OP should have titled the post "Worst night so far". Tempting fate otherwise.

All nurses have had shifts that support the old adage .... just when you think things can't get any worse, they always do. Seriously, surviving "those" shifts makes us tougher & more resilient in the long run - and gives us some great war stories to share with colleagues.

[nurse12b]

OOOPS!!! OP should have titled the post "Worst night so far". Tempting fate otherwise.

All nurses have had shifts that support the old adage .... just when you think things can't get any worse, they always do. Seriously, surviving "those" shifts makes us tougher & more resilient in the long run - and gives us some great war stories to share with colleagues.

Point well taken!