Kaitlin's Tales of the ER @kaitlinstales - Tumblr Blog

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theglowstickchronicles

when “leadership” asks me what I think of my unit

#nursing #nurblr #nursing humor #emergency room #Every day #Too true

copingnurse-deactivated20240217

Getting ready for 3/3

Me: Listen feet, I know you’re tired, but I need you to get in the shoes.

Feet:

#nurselife #emergency department #emergency nurse #Registered Nurse

#nursing humor #emergency department #winter is coming #flu season

adventuresintraumaland

There’s a pretty annoying situation going on at my work right now. The short version is we had an adverse outcome with a patient, an investigation was opened, a new policy was introduced in direct response to the situation, this new policy makes the nurse’s lives infinitely harder, our director of nursing is the one to make sure this new policy is being enforced, and she has decided to prove how important it is by coming to our unit and bullying, belittling and straight up telling us that we are incompetent nurses and she can’t believe nothing has happened to our patients before. (Well I guess that wasn’t really the short version… but.)

This has been going on for about 5 days but it came to a head yesterday when she came to the unit to berate and belittle my coworkers (I wasn’t working but heard accounts from two people who were). Yesterday, last night actually, I was fuming. Explosively irate about the whole situation. But I woke up this morning in a very different mood.

Today I am just tired. I’m tired of doing a job that takes more out of me than I have to give. I’m tired of charting so defensively that it consumes a large portion of my day because I’m worried about the constant possibility of being sued, having upper management audit my chart, or being written up for missing charting a spot where my patient got up to the restroom. I’m tired of leaving work 30 minutes after I’m supposed to. I’m tired of getting the “special” patients who need a little extra love (aka ass kissing) because I am nice and smiley and bubbly and I don’t complain much. I’m tired of no lunch breaks. Ever. Away from the desk, uninterrupted. Or some days there’s not even time to eat at the desk. I’m tired of doing my best and trying hard every day to give the patient the best possible experience they can have in our hospital and being told that we get reviews like, “The trash was overflowing in my room”. Or “The nurse didn’t take out my dirty lunch tray.” I’m tired of cleaning, fluffing, buffing, fetching drinks for you entire family, soothing, placating, promising, apologizing. I’m tired of feeling like a concierge at a five star resort. I’m tired of worrying and stressing over every potential complication that might be happening with my patient or someone else’s. I’m tired of that sick feeling in my stomach when we get a patient that is critically ill and seconds count in saving their life or their baby’s. It’s happening more and more frequently. I’m tired of upper management trying to turn me into a nurse robot who says exactly the same phrases to every patient, in exactly the same way the nurse before did. If I am told one more time to use the word “clean” to a patient and family I’m going to lose it. I’m tired of people who have no idea how our unit/job works making arbitrary decisions about staffing and how many nurses we’re “allowed” to have. I’m tired of my concerns about patient safety and needing more staff or a float nurse being met with, “That’s not in the budget”. I’m tired of being told when we bust our asses for 12 hour and do some amazing team work that we weren’t “productive” according to some dumb algorithm. As if our hard work counts for nothing.

I love my job. I love helping women through arguably one of the hardest things they will do, give birth to their child. I love helping women labor, offering coping and pain management tips. I love getting to see a family’s first glimpse of their newborn baby. I love the emotion in the room when the grandparents get to meet their grandchild for the first time. I love the reward of helping a woman through pushing and seeing the smile on their face when they tell me “Thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you.” I love connecting with patients and their family members in glorious and intimate ways. I love holding a fresh little baby and teaching dad how to swaddle his peanut for the first time.

I love my job, but I am so tired.

nursepastylady

Same thing in the ICUs

chiefcomplaint

Amen. Same thing in the ED.

kaitlinstales

Amen from the ED

copingnurse-deactivated20240217

Every nurse,doctor, & healthcare worker I know... Early: “I chose this field to help people.” A year in...

studentnursechorne-blog

100%

chiefcomplaint

No lie

kaitlinstales

Totes

#too true #nurselife #RN #emergency department

thethirdamell

When a popular blog reblogs your post and the notes pour in

sterileapparel

Standing in the doorway silently watching my orientee do a great job

boluscoffeestat-deactivated2020

Checking in on the residents inserting a chest tube/central line/miscellaneous bedside procedure where I'm not needed

#emergency room #nurblr #nursing #The residents are coming #July

copingnurse-deactivated20240217

Getting through a hard nursing day...

#nursing #nurses #everyday #RN #emergency nurse #emergency department

copingnurse-deactivated20240217

When it’s a terrible shift, but your coworkers are great...

#nursing humor #RN #Nurse

copingnurse-deactivated20240217

Every nurse,doctor, & healthcare worker I know... Early: “I chose this field to help people.” A year in...

#too true #Nursing #nurselife #emergency nursing #emergency department

copingnurse-deactivated20240217

Coworker : “Are you okay?”

What I think: I haven’t peed in hours. I am thirsty and hungry. I have tons of charting to do, one patient trying to die & one patient that makes ME want to die.

What I say:

Okay I gotta ask. What is your honest opinion about paramedics? Don't hold back

On one hand... They are amazing. Who else can get an IV, patient history, focused exam, give meds, and an EKG all while in a moving vehicle! Not to mention having to deal with the nasty homes and crazy families without any help. They can triage like it's no bodies business. And they do it all on minimal sleep.On the other hand... Sometimes there in an IV that is CLEARLY no where near a vein, a patient with low blood sugar and no replacements or meds, downgrading a patient that we immediately make a trauma...That being said... The good way way way out weighs the bad. The mishaps are few and far between. Mistakes happen. We're all human (and they've had 5 calls during the night without any sleep ...).As long as they don't develop a cocky attitude, we're golden and I love you for everything you do!!PS - my dad was a paramedic... So extra love!