Some People Call it Job Security
The past three nights (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday) at work have been extremely busy. Sunday started off pretty laid back, but the night became much busier after I admitted a patient around midnight. And from there, each night of work has increased in intensity, culminating with by far the most intense night I've had so far on my current unit.
What am I trying to say? I guess just that I seriously worked my ass off last night and I am still totally exhausted to the max. It took me until about 10:30 this morning to wind down from it all and then I was literally physically and mentally unable to peel myself from my comfy bed until about 6pm. Uggh. I feel like every joint, bone, and muscle in my body, and not to mention my brain, have been reduced to a pile of half-melted jello. I feel weak like I have the flu, but I don't have any other symptoms. This is what night shift, especially a busy night shift, does to you. (And by busy night shift I mean, 12+ hours on your feet and a dinner break that is reduced to chugging orange juice and scarfing down a few graham crackers only because you are a shaking nervous wreck that can't think clearly due to a low blood sugar.)
Last night I took care of a 34 year old patient with spina bifida who came in with a severe blood infection on Monday. She is also a dialysis patient, and she developed this really bad infection from her permanent dialysis catheter. Apparently, she wasn't feeling good on Friday and was acting "a little confused." Her mental status declined over the weekend to the point of unresponsiveness Monday morning. However, she was not brought to the hospital by her mother until that evening. What?! Excuse me? Your daughter was not responding to you at all on Monday morning and you still waited until the evening to bring her in? Your daughter, who has a history of seizures and brain swelling, was unresponsive and you didn't bring her in right away? Anyone else think this is weird??
Anyway, this poor woman, who is apparently at her mother's mercy, was very very sick when I was taking care of her on Tuesday night. So sick that she almost stopped breathing before the "let's wait and see how she does" ICU resident finally decided that we could put her on the ventilator. But that was only after I called her 3 times in a 2 hour period to let her know that her patient's fingers were blue and that her breathing was agonal (breathing the way someone does just before they stop breathing.)
I'll spare you of all the details of everything that went on overnight, but basically, I've been reduced to a pile of sludge thanks to this idiot lady who wouldn't just bring her daughter to the hospital when she first noticed that she wasn't acting right. She even admitted that she noticed the green drainage coming from around her daughter's dialysis catheter. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out something should probably be done about that. I guess she was too busy with more important matters, like taking her half-conscious daughter to have her 2 inch fake nails done. And guess what the mother said after I brought her back in the room and explained about the tubes we had to put in her daughter to keep her alive? "Can I have a blanket?" And without another word, or a hint of concern, she went back out to the waiting room to sleep.
Here's yer sign.
What am I trying to say? I guess just that I seriously worked my ass off last night and I am still totally exhausted to the max. It took me until about 10:30 this morning to wind down from it all and then I was literally physically and mentally unable to peel myself from my comfy bed until about 6pm. Uggh. I feel like every joint, bone, and muscle in my body, and not to mention my brain, have been reduced to a pile of half-melted jello. I feel weak like I have the flu, but I don't have any other symptoms. This is what night shift, especially a busy night shift, does to you. (And by busy night shift I mean, 12+ hours on your feet and a dinner break that is reduced to chugging orange juice and scarfing down a few graham crackers only because you are a shaking nervous wreck that can't think clearly due to a low blood sugar.)
Last night I took care of a 34 year old patient with spina bifida who came in with a severe blood infection on Monday. She is also a dialysis patient, and she developed this really bad infection from her permanent dialysis catheter. Apparently, she wasn't feeling good on Friday and was acting "a little confused." Her mental status declined over the weekend to the point of unresponsiveness Monday morning. However, she was not brought to the hospital by her mother until that evening. What?! Excuse me? Your daughter was not responding to you at all on Monday morning and you still waited until the evening to bring her in? Your daughter, who has a history of seizures and brain swelling, was unresponsive and you didn't bring her in right away? Anyone else think this is weird??
Anyway, this poor woman, who is apparently at her mother's mercy, was very very sick when I was taking care of her on Tuesday night. So sick that she almost stopped breathing before the "let's wait and see how she does" ICU resident finally decided that we could put her on the ventilator. But that was only after I called her 3 times in a 2 hour period to let her know that her patient's fingers were blue and that her breathing was agonal (breathing the way someone does just before they stop breathing.)
I'll spare you of all the details of everything that went on overnight, but basically, I've been reduced to a pile of sludge thanks to this idiot lady who wouldn't just bring her daughter to the hospital when she first noticed that she wasn't acting right. She even admitted that she noticed the green drainage coming from around her daughter's dialysis catheter. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out something should probably be done about that. I guess she was too busy with more important matters, like taking her half-conscious daughter to have her 2 inch fake nails done. And guess what the mother said after I brought her back in the room and explained about the tubes we had to put in her daughter to keep her alive? "Can I have a blanket?" And without another word, or a hint of concern, she went back out to the waiting room to sleep.
Here's yer sign.
posted by Bean at
11:53 PM
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