Alone again

That's my quote for the week. My goodness, between my co workers and the patients and the patients families...it was a soap opera week. Starting with a coworker who had some drama on her early (8 am) morning break with her significant other, she called us to say she was having some trouble and would be back soon. At 930 when I went to get some coffee I saw here in the managers office with the Phoenix police. Needless to say, she did not return to work and left us short. The week before I was working with another female who is pregnant and spent the whole weekend sitting in the break room and telling me what she could not do because she was sick. I know it sounds cold but, come on people...leave your problems at the door.

If you wake up and don't feel well call in sick...don't try make it...most of the time it doesn't work. Monday morning I walked into my patients room, she was on the phone, as I stood at the end of her bed she says into the phone, "Ok, I have to go, I have to unload on these people." That's a good way to start your day. She was unhappy about her entire stay and felt the need to tell me all of it before I could even introduce myself. She showed me her arm where she had had blood drawn and "someone" had taken the tape off and also removed her skin. She wanted me to call the doctor to see what I could do for it. I wanted to laugh, was she serious, call a doctor at 8 am on a Monday morning and tell him his patient has a tape burn and wants something for it. Can you imagine that conversation? I told her we usually don't apply anything to a tape burn...well, that was the wrong thing to say, she was livid that I said that to her. Then I asked her what she wanted me to put on the tape burn. I thought she was going to explode right in front of me, "You are supposed to be taking care of me. How is it that you don't know what to do? Why don't you just go call the doctor and come back when you have some answers?" So, I left the room. My poor extern was standing right by my side the whole time. I composed myself and called the doctor's PA, all I had to do was mention who I was calling about and he chuckled and asked what she wanted now. I got her neosporin and she wanted Benedryl cream so, I got her that too. I had my extern take it to her and basically take care of her for most of the day. Her heart rate dipped to 39 so I went to check on her, her husband was there as well. She was fine and proceeded to tell me about the nurse who was in that morning and gave her major attitude and how she gave it right back...then, I told her it was me. Usually I would let it go and be glad that she didn't remember our earlier encounter, but she was so blatantly mean to me I couldn't let it go. I ended up discharging her after much delay and irritation on both parts. It was a week.

I had a patient who lives 2 hours away and was brought by helicopter for a heart cath, she ended up in the ICU and then came to tele, her husband didn't visit the whole time she was there. She could press her call light but couldn't press the buttons on the bed to raise the head of the bed, ya gotta love that. It was sad, she was lonely I'm sure, but the odd thing was that she didn't want to go back to the city she lived in for her rehabilitation. I told her she would be closer to her husband but she said he wouldn't visit her anyway that he was busy. I had another patient who lived in another part of the state who's wife would call me 3 and 4 times a day. She didn't want to talk to the patient she wanted to talk to me and tell me how she couldn't come and visit and how she had bills to pay and on and on and on. These are the things that slow me down and keep me from my patients. That's why I say save the drama for your mama. I want to go to work and care for my patients and do my job. I know we need to take care of the whole person but I think they need to be an active participant in their care. A lot of people just come to the hospital and expect us to fix them without them having to do anything or change any of their ways. And when the return in a week or so with the same problem because they went home and continued to do the same things they did that got them into trouble in the first place. Just frustrating.

So, my extern is gone, he had a great time and I think he learned a lot. He won't be working in tele, it's just too busy for him. At least he got to see what it's like. Sorry for all the complaining but, I had to let it out. Remember first do no harm.