SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
Got a couple of raised eyebrows today in work.
It even made me chuckle for a while. (The reactions that is.)
I had a patient come in this afternoon. She is a repeat customer, I have taken care of her more than a couple of times. She came in today with an unrelenting cough, fevers and sweats at night as well as Radiation burns to an area you don't want any kind of burns.
Admitting brought her up and placed her in a semi-private room. (Obviously they didn't read the Doctors Orders. Her Doctor had oredered for her to be placed in a N.P. (Negative Pressure) Room while she was tested for T.B. (Highly unlikely but we do have to test for it because of her presentation.)
I didn't even bother walking into the room until I had grabbed her orders and looked them over. Then I walked in wearing a mask and holding another in my hands. Thankfully she was sitting in a chair, away from the beds and anything else. (They had dropped her off and left with the WheelChair.)
Now this young woman has undergone several very aggresive rounds of Chemo as well as the Radiation Therapy. She is weak, she would be hard pressed to walk more than fifty feet. She is also smart as a whip and more than a little unhappy. She knew why she was in the hospital and was upset that Admitting had just dumped her in the room. She didn't argue when she saw me walk in wearing a mask and carrying another. In fact she held out her hand and accepted her mask with a smile. She also listened in as I called the Unit Clerk and told her to move the patient to another room. (She knew the room, she had been in there before because of this.)
I looked at her and could see just how uncomfortable she was sitting. I didn't even need to look her over to know why, I could smell the burns. I could also see the superation on her very loose pants. Finding a Wheel Chair and making her sit in it as I wheeled her to her new room just wasn't something I was willing to do. (My decision was also determined by her size. She stands roughly five feet tall and has lost a lot of weight because of her treatments. She might weigh 100 pounds, if I rolled her in mud and it stuck.) I could also see how uncomfortable she was by the odors her body was creating. (Yes she smelled, and that is being polite.)
I told her I was going to move her to her new room, but that I was going to be slightly unconventional about it. She told me to do what I thought best, she trusted me. I told her to hang on for just a minute and ducked back out into the hall where I grabbed a blanket. With this in hand I helped her to stand and told her to hold onto my shoulders as I wrapped the blanket around her. (No one needed to see that her pants were wet and stained.) I made sure her mask was in place and as comfortable as it could be before I picked her up.
Yep I cradle held her and yes she did gasp in surprise before relaxing against me. We got more than a couple surprised looks as I walked through the unit with her in my arms. This was not the conventional way to transport a patient.
I got her to her new room and got her situated. I got her clothes off and a gown on her. I placed on her bed, at her request, several pads before placing her in the bed. I saw just how bad her raditaion burns were, and just where they were. I got her covered up and comfortable.
As I was leaving the room I was greeted by my supervisor and the patients R.N. My Boss wanted to have a word with me but I told her she would have to wait while I gave the R.N. a quick report. (She didn't like that but did understand it.) I told the R.N. what I had observed and talked with her a bit about what we could do to minimize the patients discomfort. She agreed with everything I had done and recomended. It was only ten that I looked for and found my boss.
Oh my boss wanted to give me hell for my unconventional way of transporting my patient. I hadn't broken the rules but it was highly unusual. A couple of my co-workers had commented that the only reason I was carrying my patient that way was to get a feel or two. (That got me a bit angry, my boss at least should know me better than that by now.) I had to bite my tongue. I did however mention to my boss that she should take a look at the Doctors Orders as well as the Progress Notes that came with the patient. Then she should maybe talk to the R.N. after she did her assessment. I told her that if after doing these things she still felt I was in the wrong then she should feel free to write me up, but that if she felt I was justified then she should at the very least once again council my co-workers on their sexist attitudes.
Not surprisingly I didn't hear anything more about this from her, although I did get a Thanks from my patients Doc. (Also not surprisingly she didn't say anything to those who complained to her.)
Cat
It even made me chuckle for a while. (The reactions that is.)
I had a patient come in this afternoon. She is a repeat customer, I have taken care of her more than a couple of times. She came in today with an unrelenting cough, fevers and sweats at night as well as Radiation burns to an area you don't want any kind of burns.
Admitting brought her up and placed her in a semi-private room. (Obviously they didn't read the Doctors Orders. Her Doctor had oredered for her to be placed in a N.P. (Negative Pressure) Room while she was tested for T.B. (Highly unlikely but we do have to test for it because of her presentation.)
I didn't even bother walking into the room until I had grabbed her orders and looked them over. Then I walked in wearing a mask and holding another in my hands. Thankfully she was sitting in a chair, away from the beds and anything else. (They had dropped her off and left with the WheelChair.)
Now this young woman has undergone several very aggresive rounds of Chemo as well as the Radiation Therapy. She is weak, she would be hard pressed to walk more than fifty feet. She is also smart as a whip and more than a little unhappy. She knew why she was in the hospital and was upset that Admitting had just dumped her in the room. She didn't argue when she saw me walk in wearing a mask and carrying another. In fact she held out her hand and accepted her mask with a smile. She also listened in as I called the Unit Clerk and told her to move the patient to another room. (She knew the room, she had been in there before because of this.)
I looked at her and could see just how uncomfortable she was sitting. I didn't even need to look her over to know why, I could smell the burns. I could also see the superation on her very loose pants. Finding a Wheel Chair and making her sit in it as I wheeled her to her new room just wasn't something I was willing to do. (My decision was also determined by her size. She stands roughly five feet tall and has lost a lot of weight because of her treatments. She might weigh 100 pounds, if I rolled her in mud and it stuck.) I could also see how uncomfortable she was by the odors her body was creating. (Yes she smelled, and that is being polite.)
I told her I was going to move her to her new room, but that I was going to be slightly unconventional about it. She told me to do what I thought best, she trusted me. I told her to hang on for just a minute and ducked back out into the hall where I grabbed a blanket. With this in hand I helped her to stand and told her to hold onto my shoulders as I wrapped the blanket around her. (No one needed to see that her pants were wet and stained.) I made sure her mask was in place and as comfortable as it could be before I picked her up.
Yep I cradle held her and yes she did gasp in surprise before relaxing against me. We got more than a couple surprised looks as I walked through the unit with her in my arms. This was not the conventional way to transport a patient.
I got her to her new room and got her situated. I got her clothes off and a gown on her. I placed on her bed, at her request, several pads before placing her in the bed. I saw just how bad her raditaion burns were, and just where they were. I got her covered up and comfortable.
As I was leaving the room I was greeted by my supervisor and the patients R.N. My Boss wanted to have a word with me but I told her she would have to wait while I gave the R.N. a quick report. (She didn't like that but did understand it.) I told the R.N. what I had observed and talked with her a bit about what we could do to minimize the patients discomfort. She agreed with everything I had done and recomended. It was only ten that I looked for and found my boss.
Oh my boss wanted to give me hell for my unconventional way of transporting my patient. I hadn't broken the rules but it was highly unusual. A couple of my co-workers had commented that the only reason I was carrying my patient that way was to get a feel or two. (That got me a bit angry, my boss at least should know me better than that by now.) I had to bite my tongue. I did however mention to my boss that she should take a look at the Doctors Orders as well as the Progress Notes that came with the patient. Then she should maybe talk to the R.N. after she did her assessment. I told her that if after doing these things she still felt I was in the wrong then she should feel free to write me up, but that if she felt I was justified then she should at the very least once again council my co-workers on their sexist attitudes.
Not surprisingly I didn't hear anything more about this from her, although I did get a Thanks from my patients Doc. (Also not surprisingly she didn't say anything to those who complained to her.)
Cat
