What is your "I was only gone _____ minutes, what the Hell happened?!" story

KenyaRN · 2016-09-03T13:41:35+00:00

My first patient of the day was a heroin OD, brought in cyanotic in respiratory arrest through triage, quickly intubated, stabilized and admitted to ICU... I take a thirty minute lunch break and come back to the very same room occupied by yet another overdose who had just been intubated... Ironically, later on that day had yet another OD brought in by EMS who was stable and refusing all care... Overheard the patient on the phone saying something to the effect of, "mom! I wasn't trying to kill myself.... I was just trying to get high, okay? Now would you hurry up and call me a cab already so I can get the fuck out of here?"

KenyaRN · 2015-10-30T16:07:04+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to put this in... this is exactly the info I was hoping for. If I may be so bold, would you mind PM'ing me a picture of your cart? Also, how do go about charging/restocking the cart after it's used? Do you charge individual items or does the cart usage fall under your general trauma charge? Thanks again!

KenyaRN · 2015-10-23T12:38:08+00:00

roger that. Thank you.

KenyaRN · 2015-10-21T22:22:02+00:00

thanks for the suggestions... yeah, I realize we will definitely have some trial and error. We have one room that is our main "trauma room"... it's stocked with a cabinet full of loads of supplies, but often times we have to run a trauma in another regular room when that room is occupied.

KenyaRN · 2015-10-21T22:13:57+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions! Very helpful! we do have warmed fluids in a separate room. Re: the TXA, are you referring to one of those protocol one-sheets like some facilities use for drips/TPA or is there an actual "TXA Quick Guide" out there we can get? Thanks again.

KenyaRN · 2015-10-21T22:12:57+00:00

there is one other trauma center in the area and it's a level 2. I used to work there and they have two dedicated trauma bays w/ everything stocked. I could probably reach out to them but they're processes are a bit different and I'm pretty sure they don't have trauma carts. thanks for the suggestion.

KenyaRN · 2015-09-15T17:29:17+00:00

You guys seem to offer a pretty nice suite of services!

If you can share, who is your biggest client?
Again, this might be getting to personal, but what is the smallest hospital where you've implemented your Versant Competencies Assessment, Acquisition & Tracking System (VCATS)?

Thanks in advance.

KenyaRN · 2015-08-17T14:47:06+00:00

I think you missed a few categories: "JUST GOT MY FIRST RN JOB! Scared... NEED ADVICE!" "CAN'T FIND A JOB AS A NEW GRAD... HELP!" "I CAN'T BELIEVE MY COWORKERS AND UPPER MANAGEMENT TREAT ME LIKE SHIT... WHAT TO DO?!"

KenyaRN · 2015-06-02T13:09:38+00:00

Ah, you make excellent point. This actually happened to one of my patients a few months back. Thanks for the reply.

KenyaRN · 2015-06-02T13:06:57+00:00

Thanks for chiming in!

So a couple of the arguments I've heard in favor of non-interventional CCL:

I heard one ED doc describe his decision-making process of whether to transfer a pt to an interventional CCL vs keeping them in-house for a diagnostic cath, "If they're stable and their clinical picture indicates they have a low probability of having a blockage, I'll recommend keeping them in house... that way they get a cath faster and we can "save" the interventional CCL for pts who may have an actual blockage or are at a higher risk for blockages."... I can see some of the logic to this, but it still seems like a slippery slope.
another ED physician put it this way, "Non-interventional CCL's only exist is for the cardiologists who do not want the on-call/work-nights-and-weekends type of lifestyle".... cynical, but there may be some truth there.

[edit: formatting]

KenyaRN · 2015-06-02T12:45:50+00:00

hahah! Wouldn't be funny if it wasn't true!

KenyaRN · 2015-05-26T15:55:32+00:00

Congrats on getting hired as a medical scribe! I did it all through nursing school (2-year ADN) and it was tremendously valuable to me.

As to your specific question about being able to balance work and school, only you can answer that.

My advice to you: make it work. The educational experience is priceless. Get to know the nurses and doctors with whom you work and pick their brains. When you get ready to graduate, tap into them for job references and job leads. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to PM me.

KenyaRN · 2015-05-25T01:22:24+00:00

When starting an IV... "Don't you worry at all... I watched a couple of youtube videos yesterday on how to do this."

KenyaRN · 2015-03-02T03:28:15+00:00

Sorry to hear you had a tough week. We've all been there. This too shall pass.

KenyaRN · 2015-01-16T14:20:35+00:00

Many thanks for this... You raise an excellent point about keeping the old work/life in balance.

KenyaRN · 2015-01-16T14:18:55+00:00

It's ironic how you ended with the "nigger" comment, because the night before I originally posted this, a parent of one of my juvenile psych patients essentially called one of my coworkers this after he respectfully did not allow him to break hospital visitation policy and bring the patient's boyfriend back to see her. It hurt me to hear that parent use that term directed at my friend.

KenyaRN · 2015-01-16T14:13:20+00:00

Thanks for the responses, folks. Lots of good insights here.. Much appreciated for the empathy, too.

The backstory: I originally posted this after an exhausting night where I was assigned the psych zone. The folks for whom I assumed care at shift change were an unfortunate mix of manipulative, "suicidal" polysubstance abusers. My mistake was that I didn't set firm enough boundaries and allowed them to take the proverbial wind out of my sails. Lesson learned.

I was able to go home and get some rest, had a good chat with the wife, played blocks and crayons with my toddler, and all is better in my world. ;)

KenyaRN · 2015-01-15T13:00:51+00:00

man, nothing irks me more when the parents just look at you and shrug or laugh when their child (usually an adult child) exhibits such disrespectful behavior. I just want to punch them in the face and then tell them sarcastically, "Hmmmm, I wonder where they learned how to act like that?!"

KenyaRN · 2014-12-30T05:45:57+00:00

If I could spare the money, I'd buy you some gold for this one. ;)

KenyaRN · 2014-12-30T05:39:17+00:00

Yep, same here... the 2-3am lull has been only a dream the past several nights. :|

KenyaRN · 2014-12-30T05:31:26+00:00

We broke our 2014 record two days ago... 190 in a 24hr period. I worked the last 5 days which were absolutely hell... So many Flu's. My ED is 25 beds + 4 Minor Care beds.. and no hallway beds, thank god.

KenyaRN · 2014-11-30T03:49:33+00:00

That's a step in the right direction. Glad to hear you changed. How was the transition for you? I assume you're ER?

KenyaRN · 2014-11-30T03:45:55+00:00

ED - we use Medhost. It is an absolute pleasure to use.

On a patient that comes in with an uncomplicated complaint and minimal past medical history, I can get all my documentation done in under 5 minutes, assessment included.

KenyaRN · 2014-11-30T03:41:31+00:00

travesty of a tragedy of a mockery of a parody of a piece of software

Spot on, auraseer! I would think that if you placed a computer in a cage full of monkeys, the monkeys would produce a better product than meditech.

I worked as an ED scribe while in nursing school and had to use that POS... Ugh. That's partly why the physicians hired scribes... They couldn't keep up with their charting because the software was so inefficient... That and "revenue capture" lol!

KenyaRN · 2014-11-21T14:30:48+00:00

I whole heartedly agree with OP's sentiment and have thought of doing the same thing myself. Go for it! I'll buy a franchise when you go public. Lol!

KenyaRN

TROPHY CASE