So I'm back at work, back to my usual schedule. This week I started off with 6 shifts in a row. Monday and Tuesday were day shifts and the other 4 are evenings. And let me tell you something, I HATE DAY SHIFTS!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially Mondays!
So ya, monday mornings suck!!! I knew it would totally suck but I wasn't prepared for the suckiness of my shift! I had a trach pt who was due for a barrium swallow test, to check and see if she was swallowing properly and to see what thickness the fluid had to be to prevent aspiration. And in our hospital at least, ALL trach pt's MUST be accompanied by a nurse for the ENTIRE procedure/test. So I ended up being off the floor for 2 1/2 hrs - which put me behind like CRAAAAAAAAZY. I came back to the unit to find out that the nurse that I gave report to had done NOTHING for my other pt's. So when I get back I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. While I was gone one of my other pt's went for a liver biopsy and when she came back (just before I returned) and had to have vital signs done like she was a surgical pt (so Q30 min X4 then Q1hr X2 and so on) and of course the nurse hadn't done VS for her so I had to do that one. The nurse hadn't done my meds while I was gone either so I had to get those done, and answer the call bells that were continuously going off. My trach pt also had diarrhea so I was CONSTANTLY going in there. I just couldn't catch a break, and was getting NO help from my colleagues. I also didn't have my break so when things settle down a sec (at 1400hrs), I spoke with my two other nurses who were relieving each other for breaks, just to find out that neither of those two while I was gone went for a break - which they really should have! So here I am expected to NOT have a break... not a fat chance in hell let me tell ya!
So I finally got a hold of my charge nurse to explain things and she told me to try to find another nurse on the floor to relieve me... so of course THAT took more time... to find out that there wasn't a nurse who could cover me! By the time I had all that information and I talked to the charge nurse it was 15 min later (because I had to track down all the other nurses) who said that she would cover my patients so that I could go for break. Later I find out she gave my patients to one of the girls who wouldn't cover me (the two nurses in my area who didn't do their breaks while I was gone) and they didn't do ANYTHING for my pts while I was gone. Hell I didn't even sit down my entire shift except while on break, I didn't even get ANY charting done!
Therefore when I handed my pt load to the next nurse at 1530hrs she acted like I did NOTHING all day and just slacked off which is complete bullshit. The good thing is at least the charge nurse had my back and knew what my day was like. But the nurse's attitude totally affected me and when I was done my shift I had to stay and do my charting for the entire shift since I didn't get to and it took me TWO hours to get that all done because of all the crap I had to chart about. I started to cry while doing my shift because I was completely overwhelmed by the suckiness of my shift and the way the nurse treated me like I hadn't done anything and was leaving it all for her. Thankfully I talked to the charge nurse to explain what happened and she calmed me down, letting me know that I had done my best with what I had to deal with that shift.
The next day was better but still craziness and my evening shifts I have a completely different set of pts but they're just as demanding and draining..... ah the life of a nurse!!!
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