I would like some honest input from my peers. I live in an area that has only two major hospitals. I switched from the bigger of the two to the smaller hospital due to schedule changes - my former hospital did not offer evening shift, only 12's and I could no longer work night shift for various reasons. For the most part, I like my new job very much. The pace is a little slower most nights (a looooot slower) and I just love what I do, so i'm adjusting. It is hard at times because they do a lot of things differantly but I'm getting used to it. Oftentimes my new co-workers talk about my old place of employment in a very negative manner - basically that "they" are a bunch of idiots....I don't recall any of my old co-workers ever mentioning my current place of employment as we were usually to busy running our tails off....Last night I was working with one other nurse who is fairly new (6 months of experience). There are always two nurses per 3-11 and 11-7 shift. She is really quite good and a pleasure to work with. I got a call from the ER and they told me that we had a patient of Dr. _____'s coming in (this doc works at both hospitals so I know him.) They gave me the following info: Pt is 24 weeks, states her water broke, is having contractions, states she has the urge to push, is in a lot of pain. I tell my coworker to set up a room, to get IV supplies ready, I call the nursery to give them a heads' up. I page the Doc so I can give him a heads up as ER told me she would be arriving any minute and coming straight to me. There was a lot of confusion as to who was on call with the group that I called - there are three groups, the one that I called happens to be the only one that also worked at my old hospital, so the all know me, and I've never had a problem with them. Anyway, during the phone calls to get to the correct on-call doc, the patient is brought up via stretcher accompanied by the paramedics. She is screaming, crying, scared to death. I follow them into the room, help transfer her to the bed. Take off her pants, tell Marcy to establish IV access and to draw labs. Put oxygen via face mask on her, try to calm her down (she's crying and telling us that she's hurting and feels pressure). I note no bleeding -ask her if she thinks her water broke, she says she felt something come out earlier. She then says she fell. I palpate her abdomen and it feels moderately firm. Is she bleeding internally? I look at vital signs...fine for now. She looks about 24 weeks, but we have no prenatal records on her. Whole other story... Within minutes, we have labs drawn, an IV going, we've position her in left lat trend, oxygen per face mask, and thankfully get fetal heart tones that sound great. We establish a history. During all this I got word that the MD was on his way. As he walked into the room and recognized the patient. He privately told me that she has done this "act" before and hoped that was the case this time. He performs a pelvic exam with speculum, orders IV pain meds, performs ultrasound. Everything looks fine. He tells me, good job..at least my new nurse coworker will know what to do in case something happens for real. We'll watch her overnight. He was very pleasant and acted relieved that the patient was ok and left after about 10-15 minutes. Signed the orders and left. The new shift comes in and I give report. They tell me that I better be lucky that this patient didn't belong to the other group (the group that I don't have a lot of experience with) because they would have chewed my a--. They tried to make me feel like a complete idiot for calling the doc before the patient was in-house and I should have done a complete assessment on her before calling him. They say this isn't like my other hospital and we have a lot of "princesses" here. They say, "well, you know that group (the one I called) better then we do (the group i called rarely delivers at our hospital and prefers my old one. This new hospital is private by the way, the old one is not. Should I have not called the doc? Normally, I would always completely assess the patient, but she came up via ambulance and with what the ER was telling me I figured the doc would have to come in anyway....Did I over react? As I left, my new co-worker was very angry. She told me that she was proud of the way we handled the situation. I had tears in my eyes in the parking lot because they were so critical of my actions...what would you have done?
:angryfire It makes me so mad that some nurses dont have the nerve to call a doctor on call when there is need for them or to update on a patients condition. I would have done exactly what you did, whether it be the group you called or the other group. Too much is thought "I might wake the Dr., he might get mad"....ect. WHO CARES????? He/she is there to do a job, just like we are, and if you call in error, for perhaps a trivial problem, it is much better to be safe than sorry, and a real Dr. won't be upset. They went to school for much longer than we did and believe me, as you know, they get paid adequately for the services they provide, whether on call or routine visit. Like I told a physician one time(and I really did this) - He was cussing me for calling him at 3am, well, he wasn't doing anything for this patient's pain, so I called him again, and again he was cursing me saying don't call me again , bla bla bla, well I said listen, if you didn't want to get bothered like this, you should have never went to medical school, and I NEED SOMETHING FOR THIS PT.!!!!!! Needless to say, he respects me more now and hasn't cursed me again. In this case, I would have definitely called with no second guessing, she could have been bleeding internally from the fall or had prolapsed cord or anything. YOU DID WONDERFUL! Don't worry about what your peers think, eventhough I know it is difficult, be an advocate for the patient and that alone! And when they are downing your former facility, stand up for it!!!
I would like some honest input from my peers. I live in an area that has only two major hospitals. I switched from the bigger of the two to the smaller hospital due to schedule changes - my former hospital did not offer evening shift, only 12's and I could no longer work night shift for various reasons. For the most part, I like my new job very much. The pace is a little slower most nights (a looooot slower) and I just love what I do, so i'm adjusting. It is hard at times because they do a lot of things differantly but I'm getting used to it. Oftentimes my new co-workers talk about my old place of employment in a very negative manner - basically that "they" are a bunch of idiots....I don't recall any of my old co-workers ever mentioning my current place of employment as we were usually to busy running our tails off....Last night I was working with one other nurse who is fairly new (6 months of experience). There are always two nurses per 3-11 and 11-7 shift. She is really quite good and a pleasure to work with. I got a call from the ER and they told me that we had a patient of Dr. _____'s coming in (this doc works at both hospitals so I know him.) They gave me the following info: Pt is 24 weeks, states her water broke, is having contractions, states she has the urge to push, is in a lot of pain. I tell my coworker to set up a room, to get IV supplies ready, I call the nursery to give them a heads' up. I page the Doc so I can give him a heads up as ER told me she would be arriving any minute and coming straight to me. There was a lot of confusion as to who was on call with the group that I called - there are three groups, the one that I called happens to be the only one that also worked at my old hospital, so the all know me, and I've never had a problem with them. Anyway, during the phone calls to get to the correct on-call doc, the patient is brought up via stretcher accompanied by the paramedics. She is screaming, crying, scared to death. I follow them into the room, help transfer her to the bed. Take off her pants, tell Marcy to establish IV access and to draw labs. Put oxygen via face mask on her, try to calm her down (she's crying and telling us that she's hurting and feels pressure). I note no bleeding -ask her if she thinks her water broke, she says she felt something come out earlier. She then says she fell. I palpate her abdomen and it feels moderately firm. Is she bleeding internally? I look at vital signs...fine for now. She looks about 24 weeks, but we have no prenatal records on her. Whole other story... Within minutes, we have labs drawn, an IV going, we've position her in left lat trend, oxygen per face mask, and thankfully get fetal heart tones that sound great. We establish a history. During all this I got word that the MD was on his way. As he walked into the room and recognized the patient. He privately told me that she has done this "act" before and hoped that was the case this time. He performs a pelvic exam with speculum, orders IV pain meds, performs ultrasound. Everything looks fine. He tells me, good job..at least my new nurse coworker will know what to do in case something happens for real. We'll watch her overnight. He was very pleasant and acted relieved that the patient was ok and left after about 10-15 minutes. Signed the orders and left. The new shift comes in and I give report. They tell me that I better be lucky that this patient didn't belong to the other group (the group that I don't have a lot of experience with) because they would have chewed my a--. They tried to make me feel like a complete idiot for calling the doc before the patient was in-house and I should have done a complete assessment on her before calling him. They say this isn't like my other hospital and we have a lot of "princesses" here. They say, "well, you know that group (the one I called) better then we do (the group i called rarely delivers at our hospital and prefers my old one. This new hospital is private by the way, the old one is not. Should I have not called the doc? Normally, I would always completely assess the patient, but she came up via ambulance and with what the ER was telling me I figured the doc would have to come in anyway....Did I over react? As I left, my new co-worker was very angry. She told me that she was proud of the way we handled the situation. I had tears in my eyes in the parking lot because they were so critical of my actions...what would you have done?
I would like some honest input from my peers. I live in an area that has only two major hospitals. I switched from the bigger of the two to the smaller hospital due to schedule changes - my former hospital did not offer evening shift, only 12's and I could no longer work night shift for various reasons. For the most part, I like my new job very much. The pace is a little slower most nights (a looooot slower) and I just love what I do, so i'm adjusting. It is hard at times because they do a lot of things differantly but I'm getting used to it. Oftentimes my new co-workers talk about my old place of employment in a very negative manner - basically that "they" are a bunch of idiots....I don't recall any of my old co-workers ever mentioning my current place of employment as we were usually to busy running our tails off....Last night I was working with one other nurse who is fairly new (6 months of experience). There are always two nurses per 3-11 and 11-7 shift. She is really quite good and a pleasure to work with. I got a call from the ER and they told me that we had a patient of Dr. _____'s coming in (this doc works at both hospitals so I know him.) They gave me the following info: Pt is 24 weeks, states her water broke, is having contractions, states she has the urge to push, is in a lot of pain. I tell my coworker to set up a room, to get IV supplies ready, I call the nursery to give them a heads' up. I page the Doc so I can give him a heads up as ER told me she would be arriving any minute and coming straight to me. There was a lot of confusion as to who was on call with the group that I called - there are three groups, the one that I called happens to be the only one that also worked at my old hospital, so the all know me, and I've never had a problem with them. Anyway, during the phone calls to get to the correct on-call doc, the patient is brought up via stretcher accompanied by the paramedics. She is screaming, crying, scared to death. I follow them into the room, help transfer her to the bed. Take off her pants, tell Marcy to establish IV access and to draw labs. Put oxygen via face mask on her, try to calm her down (she's crying and telling us that she's hurting and feels pressure). I note no bleeding -ask her if she thinks her water broke, she says she felt something come out earlier. She then says she fell. I palpate her abdomen and it feels moderately firm. Is she bleeding internally? I look at vital signs...fine for now. She looks about 24 weeks, but we have no prenatal records on her. Whole other story... Within minutes, we have labs drawn, an IV going, we've position her in left lat trend, oxygen per face mask, and thankfully get fetal heart tones that sound great. We establish a history. During all this I got word that the MD was on his way. As he walked into the room and recognized the patient. He privately told me that she has done this "act" before and hoped that was the case this time. He performs a pelvic exam with speculum, orders IV pain meds, performs ultrasound. Everything looks fine. He tells me, good job..at least my new nurse coworker will know what to do in case something happens for real. We'll watch her overnight. He was very pleasant and acted relieved that the patient was ok and left after about 10-15 minutes. Signed the orders and left. The new shift comes in and I give report. They tell me that I better be lucky that this patient didn't belong to the other group (the group that I don't have a lot of experience with) because they would have chewed my a--. They tried to make me feel like a complete idiot for calling the doc before the patient was in-house and I should have done a complete assessment on her before calling him. They say this isn't like my other hospital and we have a lot of "princesses" here. They say, "well, you know that group (the one I called) better then we do (the group i called rarely delivers at our hospital and prefers my old one. This new hospital is private by the way, the old one is not. Should I have not called the doc? Normally, I would always completely assess the patient, but she came up via ambulance and with what the ER was telling me I figured the doc would have to come in anyway....Did I over react? As I left, my new co-worker was very angry. She told me that she was proud of the way we handled the situation. I had tears in my eyes in the parking lot because they were so critical of my actions...what would you have done?
You did the right thing. The docas are the ones getting the big bucks. They should have the responsibility, not you!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
You did the right thing. The docas are the ones getting the big bucks. They should have the responsibility, not you!
not to mention, it's out of our scope to make the decisions and diagnoses in cases like this-----not to call the doctor is to violate most Nurse practice Acts and EMTALA!!!!!! Remember that the next time your coworkers give you grief and tell them so! :angryfire
another case of .... hope if i am ever in the hospital you are the nurse...you always call the doctor!! hooray for you..what hospital it is shouldn't matter...and pre lable of "princesses" wow this is another reason malpractice is up hooray for the doctor too....patients first....
i would like some honest input from my peers. i live in an area that has only two major hospitals. i switched from the bigger of the two to the smaller hospital due to schedule changes - my former hospital did not offer evening shift, only 12's and i could no longer work night shift for various reasons. for the most part, i like my new job very much. the pace is a little slower most nights (a looooot slower) and i just love what i do, so i'm adjusting. it is hard at times because they do a lot of things differantly but i'm getting used to it. oftentimes my new co-workers talk about my old place of employment in a very negative manner - basically that "they" are a bunch of idiots....i don't recall any of my old co-workers ever mentioning my current place of employment as we were usually to busy running our tails off....last night i was working with one other nurse who is fairly new (6 months of experience). there are always two nurses per 3-11 and 11-7 shift. she is really quite good and a pleasure to work with. i got a call from the er and they told me that we had a patient of dr. _____'s coming in (this doc works at both hospitals so i know him.) they gave me the following info: pt is 24 weeks, states her water broke, is having contractions, states she has the urge to push, is in a lot of pain. i tell my coworker to set up a room, to get iv supplies ready, i call the nursery to give them a heads' up. i page the doc so i can give him a heads up as er told me she would be arriving any minute and coming straight to me. there was a lot of confusion as to who was on call with the group that i called - there are three groups, the one that i called happens to be the only one that also worked at my old hospital, so the all know me, and i've never had a problem with them. anyway, during the phone calls to get to the correct on-call doc, the patient is brought up via stretcher accompanied by the paramedics. she is screaming, crying, scared to death. i follow them into the room, help transfer her to the bed. take off her pants, tell marcy to establish iv access and to draw labs. put oxygen via face mask on her, try to calm her down (she's crying and telling us that she's hurting and feels pressure). i note no bleeding -ask her if she thinks her water broke, she says she felt something come out earlier. she then says she fell. i palpate her abdomen and it feels moderately firm. is she bleeding internally? i look at vital signs...fine for now. she looks about 24 weeks, but we have no prenatal records on her. whole other story... within minutes, we have labs drawn, an iv going, we've position her in left lat trend, oxygen per face mask, and thankfully get fetal heart tones that sound great. we establish a history. during all this i got word that the md was on his way. as he walked into the room and recognized the patient. he privately told me that she has done this "act" before and hoped that was the case this time. he performs a pelvic exam with speculum, orders iv pain meds, performs ultrasound. everything looks fine. he tells me, good job..at least my new nurse coworker will know what to do in case something happens for real. we'll watch her overnight. he was very pleasant and acted relieved that the patient was ok and left after about 10-15 minutes. signed the orders and left. the new shift comes in and i give report. they tell me that i better be lucky that this patient didn't belong to the other group (the group that i don't have a lot of experience with) because they would have chewed my a--. they tried to make me feel like a complete idiot for calling the doc before the patient was in-house and i should have done a complete assessment on her before calling him. they say this isn't like my other hospital and we have a lot of "princesses" here. they say, "well, you know that group (the one i called) better then we do (the group i called rarely delivers at our hospital and prefers my old one. this new hospital is private by the way, the old one is not. should i have not called the doc? normally, i would always completely assess the patient, but she came up via ambulance and with what the er was telling me i figured the doc would have to come in anyway....did i over react? as i left, my new co-worker was very angry. she told me that she was proud of the way we handled the situation. i had tears in my eyes in the parking lot because they were so critical of my actions...what would you have done?
You did a great job. I'd rather be yelled at for being cautious and my patient and baby being fine than be yelled at and have to deal with a sick patient and/or bad baby.
Your new coworkers will eventually calm down, don't let them scare you, make you unsure of yourself or make you feel inadequate. You're a good nurse and you should always do what you think is right.
I would like some honest input from my peers. I live in an area that has only two major hospitals. I switched from the bigger of the two to the smaller hospital due to schedule changes - my former hospital did not offer evening shift, only 12's and I could no longer work night shift for various reasons. For the most part, I like my new job very much. The pace is a little slower most nights (a looooot slower) and I just love what I do, so i'm adjusting. It is hard at times because they do a lot of things differantly but I'm getting used to it. Oftentimes my new co-workers talk about my old place of employment in a very negative manner - basically that "they" are a bunch of idiots....I don't recall any of my old co-workers ever mentioning my current place of employment as we were usually to busy running our tails off....Last night I was working with one other nurse who is fairly new (6 months of experience). There are always two nurses per 3-11 and 11-7 shift. She is really quite good and a pleasure to work with. I got a call from the ER and they told me that we had a patient of Dr. _____'s coming in (this doc works at both hospitals so I know him.) They gave me the following info: Pt is 24 weeks, states her water broke, is having contractions, states she has the urge to push, is in a lot of pain. I tell my coworker to set up a room, to get IV supplies ready, I call the nursery to give them a heads' up. I page the Doc so I can give him a heads up as ER told me she would be arriving any minute and coming straight to me. There was a lot of confusion as to who was on call with the group that I called - there are three groups, the one that I called happens to be the only one that also worked at my old hospital, so the all know me, and I've never had a problem with them. Anyway, during the phone calls to get to the correct on-call doc, the patient is brought up via stretcher accompanied by the paramedics. She is screaming, crying, scared to death. I follow them into the room, help transfer her to the bed. Take off her pants, tell Marcy to establish IV access and to draw labs. Put oxygen via face mask on her, try to calm her down (she's crying and telling us that she's hurting and feels pressure). I note no bleeding -ask her if she thinks her water broke, she says she felt something come out earlier. She then says she fell. I palpate her abdomen and it feels moderately firm. Is she bleeding internally? I look at vital signs...fine for now. She looks about 24 weeks, but we have no prenatal records on her. Whole other story... Within minutes, we have labs drawn, an IV going, we've position her in left lat trend, oxygen per face mask, and thankfully get fetal heart tones that sound great. We establish a history. During all this I got word that the MD was on his way. As he walked into the room and recognized the patient. He privately told me that she has done this "act" before and hoped that was the case this time. He performs a pelvic exam with speculum, orders IV pain meds, performs ultrasound. Everything looks fine. He tells me, good job..at least my new nurse coworker will know what to do in case something happens for real. We'll watch her overnight. He was very pleasant and acted relieved that the patient was ok and left after about 10-15 minutes. Signed the orders and left. The new shift comes in and I give report. They tell me that I better be lucky that this patient didn't belong to the other group (the group that I don't have a lot of experience with) because they would have chewed my a--. They tried to make me feel like a complete idiot for calling the doc before the patient was in-house and I should have done a complete assessment on her before calling him. They say this isn't like my other hospital and we have a lot of "princesses" here. They say, "well, you know that group (the one I called) better then we do (the group i called rarely delivers at our hospital and prefers my old one. This new hospital is private by the way, the old one is not. Should I have not called the doc? Normally, I would always completely assess the patient, but she came up via ambulance and with what the ER was telling me I figured the doc would have to come in anyway....Did I over react? As I left, my new co-worker was very angry. She told me that she was proud of the way we handled the situation. I had tears in my eyes in the parking lot because they were so critical of my actions...what would you have done?
You absolutely did the right thing in calling the doctor. Your judgement was excellent. I do not understand the oncoming shifts problem with what you did. Unfortunately, that's nursing for you. This stuff does happen. Please do not let them make you doubt yourself. You always err on the side of following your nursing instincts. You should have let them know this, in a non combative or defensive way. Simply state your rationale for making your decision, and that you prefer to err on the side of caution, especially when it comes the patients' welfare. Good for you for using good judgement.
I would like some honest input from my peers. I live in an area that has only two major hospitals. I switched from the bigger of the two to the smaller hospital due to schedule changes - my former hospital did not offer evening shift, only 12's and I could no longer work night shift for various reasons. For the most part, I like my new job very much. The pace is a little slower most nights (a looooot slower) and I just love what I do, so i'm adjusting. It is hard at times because they do a lot of things differantly but I'm getting used to it. Oftentimes my new co-workers talk about my old place of employment in a very negative manner - basically that "they" are a bunch of idiots....I don't recall any of my old co-workers ever mentioning my current place of employment as we were usually to busy running our tails off....Last night I was working with one other nurse who is fairly new (6 months of experience). There are always two nurses per 3-11 and 11-7 shift. She is really quite good and a pleasure to work with. I got a call from the ER and they told me that we had a patient of Dr. _____'s coming in (this doc works at both hospitals so I know him.) They gave me the following info: Pt is 24 weeks, states her water broke, is having contractions, states she has the urge to push, is in a lot of pain. I tell my coworker to set up a room, to get IV supplies ready, I call the nursery to give them a heads' up. I page the Doc so I can give him a heads up as ER told me she would be arriving any minute and coming straight to me. There was a lot of confusion as to who was on call with the group that I called - there are three groups, the one that I called happens to be the only one that also worked at my old hospital, so the all know me, and I've never had a problem with them. Anyway, during the phone calls to get to the correct on-call doc, the patient is brought up via stretcher accompanied by the paramedics. She is screaming, crying, scared to death. I follow them into the room, help transfer her to the bed. Take off her pants, tell Marcy to establish IV access and to draw labs. Put oxygen via face mask on her, try to calm her down (she's crying and telling us that she's hurting and feels pressure). I note no bleeding -ask her if she thinks her water broke, she says she felt something come out earlier. She then says she fell. I palpate her abdomen and it feels moderately firm. Is she bleeding internally? I look at vital signs...fine for now. She looks about 24 weeks, but we have no prenatal records on her. Whole other story... Within minutes, we have labs drawn, an IV going, we've position her in left lat trend, oxygen per face mask, and thankfully get fetal heart tones that sound great. We establish a history. During all this I got word that the MD was on his way. As he walked into the room and recognized the patient. He privately told me that she has done this "act" before and hoped that was the case this time. He performs a pelvic exam with speculum, orders IV pain meds, performs ultrasound. Everything looks fine. He tells me, good job..at least my new nurse coworker will know what to do in case something happens for real. We'll watch her overnight. He was very pleasant and acted relieved that the patient was ok and left after about 10-15 minutes. Signed the orders and left. The new shift comes in and I give report. They tell me that I better be lucky that this patient didn't belong to the other group (the group that I don't have a lot of experience with) because they would have chewed my a--. They tried to make me feel like a complete idiot for calling the doc before the patient was in-house and I should have done a complete assessment on her before calling him. They say this isn't like my other hospital and we have a lot of "princesses" here. They say, "well, you know that group (the one I called) better then we do (the group i called rarely delivers at our hospital and prefers my old one. This new hospital is private by the way, the old one is not. Should I have not called the doc? Normally, I would always completely assess the patient, but she came up via ambulance and with what the ER was telling me I figured the doc would have to come in anyway....Did I over react? As I left, my new co-worker was very angry. She told me that she was proud of the way we handled the situation. I had tears in my eyes in the parking lot because they were so critical of my actions...what would you have done?
I would have called the doctor, too. Just a thought - why is it that the docs in that group prefer the other hospital? Could it be that the nurses at your current hospital are hesitant to call the doc and are potentially placing the patients at risk?
Sounds like you did exactly the right thing for the pateints' safety and the correct thing in terms of the law
Its ALWAYS better to be prewarned abt potentially fragile patients and if this patient had the EMS crew "fooled" and had been seen in your ER as well....even taht doesnt matter......you did what I would have,indeed have done.....at a basic level we have to act as the patient advocate and part of that is preparation.....its always a team effort and if the doccie doesnt like getting out of bed let him become a traffic cop instead:rotfl:
You did the right thing. You covered your butt no matter what the other people say. I would have called the doctor too! Obviously the other people you work with aren't very good at what they do or are they very professional. Keep up the good work!
Specializes in Emergency nursing, critical care nursing..
ohhhhh YAH I would of called the doc.
I don't understand, why didn't they assess and establish IV's in the ER before going to a floor? that is odd to me.
but since the circumstances on how it went and admitted the pt. directly, then you did the right thing. They usually have a doc. that accepts the admit anyway. If the pt. was playing a game and went to the wrong hosp., then she will get charged later.
You did fine, and your co-worker is ONLY 6 months out of nursing school. She is probably taking sides with the majority because she is worried about what they think. "marcy" is one nurse who is more worried about what others think than to do the right thing. That is what seperates the "experienced nurse" from the "in-experienced". I like to work with the experienced kinds!
you had no history or idea that the pt likes to fake ER visits.
always put your pts. and their safety first. because in court, that is what matters.
write up an incident report and keep a copy on the reactions and crap you got. it might proove valuable later.
First off thing to consider...is what is the policy in that hospital??? Do the MD's have standing orders????
IMO Policy and Orders should have been taken into account...now if the patient was critical, meaning altering VS, signs of internal bleeding, external noted bleeding...then yes you must do what you can do to save the person's life and baby's life.
However from the scenerio sounds as if this patient was presenting with subjective symptoms, meaning all comming from her...I didn't read any objective symptoms of a critical state.
Taking the above into account, I would have prepared the pt for the worse, hooking up to monitoring machines, starting an IV..however I would not have ordered labs or anything of the sort unless I seriously knew the doctor and knew for sure he was the one responsible for that pt at that time. I have worked with doctors who knew my knowledge in a field and trusted my judgement when it came to things such as labs. However I have worked with doctors who didn't trust anyone or who didn't know me well enough.
Looking from a legal stand point, a fine line without policy and standing orders, however nothing you did harmed the patient or the fetus..so in that I congragulate you for your outstanding thinking ahead and knowledge to do all you can do for your patient.
In conclusion, I think the staff were warning you of what could take place, however I believe they did it in a very poor way and should be much nice to you in the future.
I think you performed outstanding did what we nurses are being called to do, is think ahead for the doctors, lol
But for future reference...def. know your policy and follow your standing orders to protect your patients, your doctors and yourself.
another case of .... hope if i am ever in the hospital you are the nurse...you always call the doctor!! hooray for you..what hospital it is shouldn't matter...and pre lable of "princesses" wow this is another reason malpractice is up hooray for the doctor too....patients first....
nicenurse911121
52 Posts
:angryfire It makes me so mad that some nurses dont have the nerve to call a doctor on call when there is need for them or to update on a patients condition. I would have done exactly what you did, whether it be the group you called or the other group. Too much is thought "I might wake the Dr., he might get mad"....ect. WHO CARES????? He/she is there to do a job, just like we are, and if you call in error, for perhaps a trivial problem, it is much better to be safe than sorry, and a real Dr. won't be upset. They went to school for much longer than we did and believe me, as you know, they get paid adequately for the services they provide, whether on call or routine visit. Like I told a physician one time(and I really did this) - He was cussing me for calling him at 3am, well, he wasn't doing anything for this patient's pain, so I called him again, and again he was cursing me saying don't call me again , bla bla bla, well I said listen, if you didn't want to get bothered like this, you should have never went to medical school, and I NEED SOMETHING FOR THIS PT.!!!!!! Needless to say, he respects me more now and hasn't cursed me again. In this case, I would have definitely called with no second guessing, she could have been bleeding internally from the fall or had prolapsed cord or anything. YOU DID WONDERFUL! Don't worry about what your peers think, eventhough I know it is difficult, be an advocate for the patient and that alone! And when they are downing your former facility, stand up for it!!!
