Change of Shift Expiration

Well yes I am an RN and yes I have been one for a long time, but I have not done bedside nursing in many years, and had to go back to it after my great clinic job went under. So I am now a Medical/Surgical Nurse. I had no idea or could ever remember how hard this job can be. Well, anyways, since I have not been doing it long I am lucky to have not had any one die on my shift. We all know the saying "Not on my shift", well I get report that I have a "comfort care" guy who has just come to us from an outside nursing home and has been with us maybe 2 hours. I am told he is a no code and to keep him comfortable. Well, I ask the day nurse "is he going to die on me?" and she says "I don't think so". That makes me happy. Well, I believe that when a patient is there to pass they ought to be very comfy so I give out the goodies as often and as much as allowed. The day nurse says she has given him some morphine around 1 pm and he can have it every 3 hours. I must say that I did check him as my first patient and he was breathing. At 4 pm I decide it is time to give him his goodies. I go in there, say a few words and give it and say a few words and leave. I finally figured it out about an hour later that he was gone when I was talking to him, and giving him the morphine. I think he passed on a minute or so after I saw him at about 3:15. Does this make me a bad nurse?

A Night In the Emergency Dept

I was just going about my business one evening, and out of nowhere comes this huge stomach pain. I think I must have food poisioning as I do not suffer from abdominal pain ever. So after spending 3 hours with the porcalain goddess it goes away. Dehydrated, I go back to bed and of course go to work in the morning. Nurses are tough. The next evening it starts again. After feeling like a cartoon character with my insides turned inside out, there is nothing left inside of me to barf up. But the pain is relentless and I finally (duh a dumb nurse who takes care of all but herself) decides it is time to go to the Emergency Dept. I just don't want to wake my husband and almost decide to drive myself but I came to my senses and had him drive me. Upon arrival, I could not believe all the questions. How can anyone ask so many questions to someone who feels like they are ready to die? Now, I have not been in an Emergency Dept. as a patient since breaking an arm at age 11. How they find a vein is a wonder as I am so dehydrated I feel like a camel. They push fluids in at 500/hr (is that possible I think, is my vein going to explode?) But I don't care at this point. They then give me 6 mg of Morphine which causes my abdominal pain to go thr the roof. It makes me worse and they do not believe me. How can morphine make anyone feel worse? I don't care, it just does. My first mistake....I ask for some phenergan which they give and it takes the vomitting away. Yippie I am now not attached to a toilet. Then I ask for Toradol. I get the "stare" from the ER doc as he says, "I can't imagine you wanting that". Well hey, they are doing NOTHING and I am asking for something, anything. But asking for medicine in the Emergency Dept. I guess is not a good thing. Well, the toradol did help but not much. So now here is where my troubles start. I ask "please can I have some demerol". That was the wrong question. The ER doc, a macho Italian with big muscles says " mmmm, demerol". I ask "please can I have some" He says "no because it is addicting". Well who can argue with that stupid remark. I wanted to say "it is only addicting if you keep giving it to me" but I am so sick with pain I say not a word. After an ultra sound and very off the chart lab work, this doc says to one of the nurses there "give her 50mg IV demeral". In less than 3 minutes I am pain free. I ended up spending 6 nights in the hospital with surgery, ERCP, etc. This note is for ANY doctor who thinks that EVERY patient is drug seeking. I did notify the director of the Emergency Dept and did get a phone call from him but of course he sort of sided with the doc, but getting the phone call and telling him what I thought of this doc was good enough for me. This may not sound so awful, but being humiliated and not being able to do anything about it is awful.