Published
You know it's a bad night when...
You leave an hour late and as you walk out the back door you see a heorifice with the back door open on it....
...You come onto the unit and can't find anyone because the entire crew is either at the Rapid Response or the Code Blue, both called within three minutes of shift change.
...When you come onto the unit and the Charge nurse and half the staff look like they've been crying and the assignments haven't been made out yet.
...When you get your assignment and you're met at the door to two patients' rooms, one of whom is screaming that he needs to be discharged NOW (no doc's order), and another has a family member smelling of beer standing in the middle of the hall screaming that the patient needs pain relief NOW (patient is asleep and no doc's order).
...When the CNA assigned to your group, which is the heaviest on the unit, decides that he's too sick to continue the shift, and has to go home right this minute, and nothing, not one blessed thing, has been done for any of the patients. No vitals, nothing. Because said CNA has been in the bathroom puking for the past two hours. And oh, by the way, you have an admission and a transfer on the way.
...when it's raining on the way in, or the moon is full on the way in. (I work postpartum.)
...when some patient's family member asks, "There haven't been many babies born today, have there?" Well, ya jinxed the rest of my night, thanks a lot, pal.
...when I get off the elevator and the family waiting area is standing room only.
...when I have not yet put my bag down nor even gotten report and somebody walks out of the room and says, "Can you come look at my [wife, sister, friend], I think she's bleeding a lot."
...when my antepartum patient who never calls for anything calls & says, "Uh, I feel a lot of pressure 'down there'." OH CRAP!
Every single piece of fire apparatus/ambulances in a 50 mile radius is lit up and parked on your apron (well, the fact that you could see the glow from 5 blocks away was your first clue!).
That we have three helos on the ground - 2 on the pad and one secured in the adjacent field.
And you get to pull over to allow the LEO's running hot to pass you - so they can hurry to the ED too.
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Also, anytime you show up for work and a police officer escorts you behind a vehicle as his fellow officers have drawn down on a armed man at the entrance to the ED.
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The presence of that pesky yellow "CRIME SCENE" tape anywhere on the hospital campus!
Stay SAFE!
When you hear two level one traumas and a cardiac alert being paged overhead within a half an hour of each other.
...or when a patients family member says "It has been really quiet in here tonight"
...and like other people have said, when you walk into the unit and you don't see any day shift staff at the nurses station, but you do see a crowd of people standing around a room and the "bad alarm" going off and you hear someone say "oh, by they way that is going to be your patient, have fun!"
When all your pts have PRN IV pain meds q3hrs
When your alcohol dtx pts have nothing ordered for agitation
None of your Pts's 1800 meds were given out
All your pts are under contact isolation precautions for either C-Diff or MRSA
When you have 2 admissions that have been on the floor since 1730 and NONE of the work has been done
When it's Friday the 13th and also a Full moon out
ICRN2008, BSN, RN
897 Posts
I was just going to say this! Another one is "Oh, you're getting her? You'll have a fun night (voice dripping with sarcasm)"