SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
On my unit today we had a patient that was more than a bit combatative. She was a younger woman who has lived on the streets for some time and is well known in the hospital. (She comes in either when she gets beat up by her Johns or when she runs out of drugs.)
This time she came in for a rather nasty wound infection. SHe had been found wandering the streest and "Baker Acted".
When she came up to my unit she was absolutely filthy, you could smell her stench lingering in the hallway five minutes after she had been wheeled past.
She was shifted to her bed and immediatly started demanding pain medications. She refused the efforts of the Aide to take her Vital Signs as well as to get her cleaned up. She struck the Aide and scratched the R.N. on the arm with her long fingernails. Even the Unit Supervisor, my boss, was rebuffed by her. (She damn near cold cocked my boss, I would have paid to see that one.) Finally I was called.
My Boss walked into the room with me and then gave me a report on the patient as well as my instructions as I stood there with my eyes watering from her stench. According to my boss the patient was to be stripped of her clothing, bathed, her Vital Signs taken and then Catheterised. The patient lay in her bed listening to this while looking at me and cursing us. I informed my boss I understood all of this and things would be taken care of, but she had to remain in the room and witness everything so I couldn't be charged with Sexual Assault. (I made sure to say this loud enough for the patient to hear it.) My boss agreed to this and waited at the door as I gathered everything I would need.
The patient was cursing a blue streak when I finally stepped up to the foot of the bed and raised the bed to a level I would be comfortable with. She cursed me even more as I stepped around the bed without saying a word to her or my boss. When I got close enough she tried to swipe me with her claws which did nothing more than give me a chance to safely grab her arm. Without saying a word I easily flipped her over in the bed and pinned her face down on the bed with one hand. I then gave her a lesson in how an E.M.T. removes a patients clothing in an emergency. In about a minute her clothing had been split in half from ankles to shoulders and then removed from her body.
The patient was held down and bathed as foamed at the mouth into her pillow. When her back was done I grabbed her hands in one of mine then flipped her over once again. Once again she was bathed from head to foot. Now my eyes weren't watering from her stench. Now she learned why I had extra towels with me and a roll of tape. Each arm was wrapped in a bight of towel which was taped closed. The loose end of each towel was then wrapped arounf a side rail and taped in place. She was effectivley restrained. The same thing was done to her ankles. (We don't carry four way restraints on my unit.)
Once she was restrained I finished the jobs assigned me by inserting the Urinary Catheter. (Yes she screamed and tried to fight but to no avail.) (Yes I used appropriate Sterile Field practices.)
When I finished my work she was catheterised, clean and dressed in a gown. I removed her restraints. Up to this point I had not spoken a single word to her. Now I looked down at her laying in her bed cursing me out and told her that she was going to behave.
If she needed to use the bathroom she would call the desk and wait until help arrived to walk her to the bathroom. She would allow the staff to do what they had to do including put in an I.V. without fighting them. She would eat what was sent to her by the kitchen, when it was sent. She would not bite, scratch, hit or kick the staff and she would keep a civil toungue. If she didn't then I would return. She just lay there looking up at me with wide open eyes and nodded her agreement.
That was at 0900 this morning. By the time I left at 1900 this evening she had been behaving nicely, much unlike her previous admisions to the hospital.
I think I cured her of some of her problems, I think she finally realises that when she is on my unit at least she is not in charge and she will behave. (I don't think it is fear that did this, I think it is the fact that someone isn't afraid of her.)
Oh my boss did thank me for my work, she informed me that she couldn't have done it.
Cat
This time she came in for a rather nasty wound infection. SHe had been found wandering the streest and "Baker Acted".
When she came up to my unit she was absolutely filthy, you could smell her stench lingering in the hallway five minutes after she had been wheeled past.
She was shifted to her bed and immediatly started demanding pain medications. She refused the efforts of the Aide to take her Vital Signs as well as to get her cleaned up. She struck the Aide and scratched the R.N. on the arm with her long fingernails. Even the Unit Supervisor, my boss, was rebuffed by her. (She damn near cold cocked my boss, I would have paid to see that one.) Finally I was called.
My Boss walked into the room with me and then gave me a report on the patient as well as my instructions as I stood there with my eyes watering from her stench. According to my boss the patient was to be stripped of her clothing, bathed, her Vital Signs taken and then Catheterised. The patient lay in her bed listening to this while looking at me and cursing us. I informed my boss I understood all of this and things would be taken care of, but she had to remain in the room and witness everything so I couldn't be charged with Sexual Assault. (I made sure to say this loud enough for the patient to hear it.) My boss agreed to this and waited at the door as I gathered everything I would need.
The patient was cursing a blue streak when I finally stepped up to the foot of the bed and raised the bed to a level I would be comfortable with. She cursed me even more as I stepped around the bed without saying a word to her or my boss. When I got close enough she tried to swipe me with her claws which did nothing more than give me a chance to safely grab her arm. Without saying a word I easily flipped her over in the bed and pinned her face down on the bed with one hand. I then gave her a lesson in how an E.M.T. removes a patients clothing in an emergency. In about a minute her clothing had been split in half from ankles to shoulders and then removed from her body.
The patient was held down and bathed as foamed at the mouth into her pillow. When her back was done I grabbed her hands in one of mine then flipped her over once again. Once again she was bathed from head to foot. Now my eyes weren't watering from her stench. Now she learned why I had extra towels with me and a roll of tape. Each arm was wrapped in a bight of towel which was taped closed. The loose end of each towel was then wrapped arounf a side rail and taped in place. She was effectivley restrained. The same thing was done to her ankles. (We don't carry four way restraints on my unit.)
Once she was restrained I finished the jobs assigned me by inserting the Urinary Catheter. (Yes she screamed and tried to fight but to no avail.) (Yes I used appropriate Sterile Field practices.)
When I finished my work she was catheterised, clean and dressed in a gown. I removed her restraints. Up to this point I had not spoken a single word to her. Now I looked down at her laying in her bed cursing me out and told her that she was going to behave.
If she needed to use the bathroom she would call the desk and wait until help arrived to walk her to the bathroom. She would allow the staff to do what they had to do including put in an I.V. without fighting them. She would eat what was sent to her by the kitchen, when it was sent. She would not bite, scratch, hit or kick the staff and she would keep a civil toungue. If she didn't then I would return. She just lay there looking up at me with wide open eyes and nodded her agreement.
That was at 0900 this morning. By the time I left at 1900 this evening she had been behaving nicely, much unlike her previous admisions to the hospital.
I think I cured her of some of her problems, I think she finally realises that when she is on my unit at least she is not in charge and she will behave. (I don't think it is fear that did this, I think it is the fact that someone isn't afraid of her.)
Oh my boss did thank me for my work, she informed me that she couldn't have done it.
Cat
