Monday, February 4, 2013

Straws

I'm pretty sure when I dropped my patient off in the ICU this morning, as soon as I left they were just like

[credit to #whatshouldwecallnursing for the ICU-inspired gif]

Sorry, guys. I really didn't mean to be a dick about that. Just...some days are worse than others. And some patients are way worse than others. And sometimes I just reach the end of my rope and call it a night.

My breaking point was probably somewhere in the patients' kayexalate explosion and subsequent fingerpainting, ER vs Admitting doc literally screaming at each other over requests that could not be accomplished until one of them acquiesced to common sense, me being caught in the middle of the ridiculous arguments via constant conflicting orders, the requiring of four-point restraints for behavioral reasons, the admitting doc losing the chart and all the restraint documentation, family members cussing me on the phone because I wouldn't let them come visit the patient during the shitsplosion, discovering that the patient had given a fake name to the police resulting in a completely incorrect chart history, and the realization that somehow I had gotten poo on my scrub pants even with the protective gown firmly in place.

So, my apologies for not doing the one order that you think should have been done in the ER. It didn't have STAT written next to it and thusly I was like NOPE. 


4 comments:

Hazelbroom said...

Oh man. *hands you a beer*

hoodnurse said...

Whatevs. If it's not stat or lifesaving they can go piss up a rope. Hi, is the patient alive? Sorry, do you have 4 others? No? Then STFU.

Gelfling said...

Amen. Sometimes the OCD ICU nurse will roll her eyes at this ADD ER nurse and ask, "you gave HOW many liters of saline?!" and I'm like, "as many as we had to in order to get their pressure above 80 and keep them alive, now take them away please." Sometimes they just don't get it.

Susan said...

I am an Endoscopy/Surgical services nurse and a new blogger visiting other sites for fun. Love your writing style and sorry, stealing the "shitsplosion" for my next Endo work day. It's just too good and remember, imitation is the best form of flattery!

If you have time, although it's new, give me your thoughts...dontcursethenurse.wordpress.com