Almost lost my job!!

[Deeznutz]

Well, I thought I'd share what happened to me the other night. This is from my FB post. A write up for workplace violence would have made my lose this cush job in a small ER.

The child had refractory asthma. It's a rebound attack that is worse than the first attack. Yeah, the child had me very worried and I do not normally get worried about a patient. Funny, how me sticking up for the patient and "being confrontational" is what got me in trouble. The focus was more on the confrontation. It was a pure power trip. "I am above you, you listen to what I say, even if it goes against tradition care....because I am above you". MF'er, this is not the military. "If this patient goes south on us, how am I going to explain to the lawyers that I did not follow the standard of practice?". You know damn well, this it was a verbal order to hold the IV, if something happens, the PA can just say under oath..."There was no such order in the chart". Which is true. Plus the PA wanted oral steroids, I wanted IV steroids and an IV started.

This goes to show retaliation does exist in the workplace. As an agency Nurse, I am in a position to take abuse if I want to work. I can get bombarded with shitty patients that the other nurses do not want. My rooms can always be full, when looking at the screen, the other nurses have empty rooms. I make about $13-15/hr more so that is their justification....."let him work for his money". I just deal with it.

-Frank

***************DRAMA, LIFE IN THE ER.******************
PLEASE READ. GOOD STUFF HERE!!!!
Well today I was almost written up for arguing. This tends to happen when I work out and work back to back days. Today was day 5. Child comes in with ARD, acute resp. distress. I was told to wait to do the IV and blood draw. As a Nurse this is the first thing you do "gain IV access". Kids are different than adults. They ride the ride (Compensate) to the cliff and then fall off. I wasn't going to wait and see how the kid responds to the breathing treatment. Not with those vitals!
That's about all I can say about what happened. This is FB and I rather not get into the details due to HIPPA, but my Charge Nurse was told to write me up for arguing with the P.A at the Nurses Station and being confrontational. As I was "Stepping up to him" I said "Look man, it's day 5, I'm tired and you're REALLY starting to piss me off" blah, blah, blah. The Doctor and PA both wanted me written up for that.
Well, my Charge Nurse came to the rescue and I wasn't expecting it to be honest. PURE F**KIN' LEVERAGE!!!!! I could not believe it. "Fine I will write Frank up, but I will also write the PA up for failure to do standard practice. The kid was in acute distress. You don't wait". I walked into the tail end of the conversation between the Charge Nurse and the Doctor. His reply "I'll think about it". WOW, she did that for me. The doc failed to see the patient and let the PA handle the care. If I am that concerned and upset...... the doc should have assessed the patient.
The ER manager caught wind of the situation and said "You have strong skills, you're fighting for the patient. I trust your judgement. Not going to question it. You did the right thing, but don't do it at the Nurses Station next time. I'll back you up this time. but no arguing. You can easily lose this gig that way". Contrary to what you may thing of me and my thoughts of Nurses and patients....you know who you are,.........What can I say, I LOVE MY JOB, I know what needs to be done, let me F**KIN do it!
Later the PA confronted me and we hashed it out. "Next time , I won't order the IV to avoid a problem like this". "Dude, honestly, if someone is in distress, I don't give a shit about an order, the patient is getting an IV with or without an order!". I stood my ground on this. F**K THAT. At the end we shook hands. Basically he wanted to make amends so he doesn;t get written up. lol.
In school we learned "Do rIght For the patient". You can be optimistic, fine, but don't jeopardize the care of the patient to prove your point!!!!!!!!
Rant over.
-Frank

[bcpballer64]

I take it the pt came in POV? Hell round these parts the kid would have at least one, maybe two ivs before the dr or pa's ass even left the seat lol. You did the right thing standing your ground. Was it a new PA or what? That seems to me like they dropped the ball. Everyone knows in emergency medicine that kids compensate until they dont. And if the kid looked bad enough to have you worried it sounds like he was nearing the cliff.

Dr/PA big dick problem aside, how did the kid do?

[SkarredSierra]

Something needs to be done about that dude. What happens next time when your not there to stand up to him? His attitude and incompetence could cost someone there life.

[hershy314]

Dude you did the right thing. Sure arguing in the nurses station wasn't the best idea, but still I applaud what you did. Kids need to taken care of differently than adults like you said, the charge nurse should of known this. It's nice to see people like you in the medical field, who don't give a damn and will do what it takes to make sure someone is taken care of.

[79 cutty]

Cool story bro! (Someone had to say it!)

On a serious note, usually not worth reading a post like that on the internet, but very cool to hear someone speak up for someone who couldn't do so for themselves.

[Deeznutz]

The child did recover and was admitted. I was called in to work 10-7p. I thought it was a counseling session. Nope, I just worked. Didn't hear much about it. I thanked the charge nurse for sticking up for me.

Some of you also talk about your jobs on here so I wanted to share my experience. I know sooner or later you guys will visit the ER with a loved one. Make sure to ask questions about what we are doing for you, how long it's going to take, and what to expect. Feel free to google what we tell you so you have a better understanding of what we are saying.

What that PA did was outright stupid.

I do appreciate the time you guys took to read this stuff.

-Frank

[yurvalentine]

Props for trying to do the right thing man, and I'm glad to hear it worked out alright.