I have a really disgusting job and wonder why more people don't want it..
My goodness!
Today was a horrible, awful, disgusting, stressful, long, and busy day.
All in all it wasn't too bad, or maybe, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
It all started yesterday. I was dialiyzing a pt in the CCU (coronary care unit.) There was a pt in the next room on a vent and not doing well. All of a sudden his sats and respirations dropped unbelieveably low, (sats at like 40% ona respirator! and his respirations were at 6/min, his B/P was 43/25) and he coded again.
The code team was called while the nurses worked on him, they are all very knowledgable and wonderful. The code team and nurses brought him back after about 10 minutes. All was well. The reason why he was on a vent in the fist place was because he had coded previously. About 15 minutes later, his sats and resp dropped again. The code team and staff tried again to resuscitate. This time he did not make it. It was surreal. They tried so hard. The worst part of this was that the pt's wife works for our hospital, but I do not know which dept. When I saw her come in, the pulmonologist met her in the hall. She looked so tired, so worn out. The woman didn't know her husband was dead. I studied her face while he told her the bad news. I saw her face just crumble, I saw the moment of inital grief. It really tore me up. I was near the man before he died and heard the vent make him breathe. The he is dead and his wife did not get to say goodbye until it was too late. God, it made me so sad. Could you imagine how that poor woman feels?
I certainly can not. I have never really lost anyone close to me. I tired to put myself in her shoes, but I couldn't. So that was yesterday.
Today I was one of the 2 nurses in the unit. we had 2 techs with us and that was all of the staff we had today. Techs cannot do meds or assessments of the patients, nurses have to. We were jam packed with patients. We have a unit that can hold up to 12 patients. These patients are not the stable dialysis patients. These pts are the unwell, unstable pts. We have both acute (hospital pts ) and chronic (every other day) pts. we are the sickest unit out of all the dialysis units Riverside has because we are at the hospital. So this means that everyone had 3 patients and I was responsible for one of the tech's assessments and med administrations.
I had the 2 isolation rooms and a chair. One of the iso rooms had a sick hospital pt who has VRSA and MRSA and was on contact precautions. She is also very crotchety and fat. She has a poor disposition and is very rude to nurses. I, of course, was the lucky one and had her today. She was just recently taken off the ventilator and moved to a regular floor and out of CCU.
I was very busy with everything and had a chance to do my charting on the PC when my coworker came up to me and told me Ms.___ wanted me. I asked him why and he told me she had a bowel movement on herself. I got my supplies together and went to clean her up. As I walked into her iso room, I freaked. I looked at her and she was on her side. There was bright red blood soaking the sheets on the bed. I got the other nurse and showed her. I was speechless. She lifted up the pt's gown and it appeared that the pt had pooped out her intestines! Oh my GOD!!!!!
I turned off the heparin (blood thinner) and immediately paged her nephrologist. I couldn't clean her up until he got down to the unit and examined her. Two nephrologists showed up to look at her and I was seriously grossed out. I almost threw up. They assessed her and decided that she has passed huge blood clots and that was it. She had a G I bleed. They then left me to clean her up. My tech came into the room to help me. I was gagging and breathing heavy. There was absolutely no feces, it was all clotted blood. It looked like a combination of intestines and after birth. GOD IT WAS AWFUL. The pt was very nonchalant about it all and didn't act like it was a big deal.. Sweet jeebus, it was awful. I was nauseous for the rest of the day. The pt ended up going back to the CCU for further evaluation.
That was my morning. After she left, it was hectic for the rest of the day. The intestinal afterbirth stuff was only the hilight.
I have such a gross job. I really needed to get that off my chest.
Never in my life have I or the other nurse seen blood clots that big.
I am so over this entry.
I am on call tomorrow and off thursday. Friday I work again and then am off for the weekend. yay me.
I am so sick to my stomach, go figure.
So how was you day?
Today was a horrible, awful, disgusting, stressful, long, and busy day.
All in all it wasn't too bad, or maybe, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
It all started yesterday. I was dialiyzing a pt in the CCU (coronary care unit.) There was a pt in the next room on a vent and not doing well. All of a sudden his sats and respirations dropped unbelieveably low, (sats at like 40% ona respirator! and his respirations were at 6/min, his B/P was 43/25) and he coded again.
The code team was called while the nurses worked on him, they are all very knowledgable and wonderful. The code team and nurses brought him back after about 10 minutes. All was well. The reason why he was on a vent in the fist place was because he had coded previously. About 15 minutes later, his sats and resp dropped again. The code team and staff tried again to resuscitate. This time he did not make it. It was surreal. They tried so hard. The worst part of this was that the pt's wife works for our hospital, but I do not know which dept. When I saw her come in, the pulmonologist met her in the hall. She looked so tired, so worn out. The woman didn't know her husband was dead. I studied her face while he told her the bad news. I saw her face just crumble, I saw the moment of inital grief. It really tore me up. I was near the man before he died and heard the vent make him breathe. The he is dead and his wife did not get to say goodbye until it was too late. God, it made me so sad. Could you imagine how that poor woman feels?
I certainly can not. I have never really lost anyone close to me. I tired to put myself in her shoes, but I couldn't. So that was yesterday.
Today I was one of the 2 nurses in the unit. we had 2 techs with us and that was all of the staff we had today. Techs cannot do meds or assessments of the patients, nurses have to. We were jam packed with patients. We have a unit that can hold up to 12 patients. These patients are not the stable dialysis patients. These pts are the unwell, unstable pts. We have both acute (hospital pts ) and chronic (every other day) pts. we are the sickest unit out of all the dialysis units Riverside has because we are at the hospital. So this means that everyone had 3 patients and I was responsible for one of the tech's assessments and med administrations.
I had the 2 isolation rooms and a chair. One of the iso rooms had a sick hospital pt who has VRSA and MRSA and was on contact precautions. She is also very crotchety and fat. She has a poor disposition and is very rude to nurses. I, of course, was the lucky one and had her today. She was just recently taken off the ventilator and moved to a regular floor and out of CCU.
I was very busy with everything and had a chance to do my charting on the PC when my coworker came up to me and told me Ms.___ wanted me. I asked him why and he told me she had a bowel movement on herself. I got my supplies together and went to clean her up. As I walked into her iso room, I freaked. I looked at her and she was on her side. There was bright red blood soaking the sheets on the bed. I got the other nurse and showed her. I was speechless. She lifted up the pt's gown and it appeared that the pt had pooped out her intestines! Oh my GOD!!!!!
I turned off the heparin (blood thinner) and immediately paged her nephrologist. I couldn't clean her up until he got down to the unit and examined her. Two nephrologists showed up to look at her and I was seriously grossed out. I almost threw up. They assessed her and decided that she has passed huge blood clots and that was it. She had a G I bleed. They then left me to clean her up. My tech came into the room to help me. I was gagging and breathing heavy. There was absolutely no feces, it was all clotted blood. It looked like a combination of intestines and after birth. GOD IT WAS AWFUL. The pt was very nonchalant about it all and didn't act like it was a big deal.. Sweet jeebus, it was awful. I was nauseous for the rest of the day. The pt ended up going back to the CCU for further evaluation.
That was my morning. After she left, it was hectic for the rest of the day. The intestinal afterbirth stuff was only the hilight.
I have such a gross job. I really needed to get that off my chest.
Never in my life have I or the other nurse seen blood clots that big.
I am so over this entry.
I am on call tomorrow and off thursday. Friday I work again and then am off for the weekend. yay me.
I am so sick to my stomach, go figure.
So how was you day?