I dun understand why some nurses can be so irrational!
Dun get me wrong, majority of nurses are fantastic. They know what they are doing, they care for their patients and understand the politics in hospital.
Yesterday, I was bleeped by a nurse from a ward at about 4.30 pm. She asked me to admit a patient, who was just transferred from A&E. I told her that I was in the middle of a meeting, and I would be unlikely to make it there by 5pm to clerk the patient. She repeated herself to me. Again, stating that there is a new patient that needed to be clerked in. So, I told her again, I understood what she was telling me. but I am unlikely to be able to make it there by 5pm. And told her that, it is probably best to get the on-call team to clerk the patient.
She put down the phone.
I finished my meeting at about 5.10 pm. Suddenly, I was fast-paged by the same ward again. Fast-paging is only used if there is a clinical emergency. So I answered the call. It was the same nurse again, and this time she said, " I'm calling about the same patient. She is now vomiting, and you still havent clerked her in."
I replied, "Is she unstable? Is she vomiting profusely for the past 20 minutes? Are her vital signs unstable?" She said,"I just wanted someone to write her up for an anti-emetic." I was like it is now past 5 pm, and I still have hundred things to sort out, why didn't she think of asking the on-call team to sort the patient out? and the fact that she has misused the fast-page just boiled me!
Anyhow, I told her nicely that it was probably best to get the on-call team to get her to prescribe the medication, and even gave her the page number. She was annoyed, and wanted my name, to file a complaint against me.
Now, I personally do not think I was doing anything wrong. The patient was not critically ill. The patient just needed some symptomatic relief. I do not see why she could not get the on-call team to sort it out. Moreoever, we all have to try our best to adhere to the EWT directive. I felt rather pissed off actually. It wasn't like I was sitting down drinking cups of tea, and ignoring my work! sheesh.
3 comments:
Why were you in a meeting when you were on-call?
My advice to you: Always put the patients first.
So you should just go and write up the antiemetic. Yes...the patient wasn't critically ill. But he/she needed your intervention at that time.
Try putting yourself in the patient's shoe. Vomiting like hell, and all the doctor knew was to "try our best to adhere to the EWT directive".
You were pissed by the irrational nurse. But never forget your duty to your patient.
Point taken.
First of all, I was not on call.
Even if I were not trying to adhere to the EWT, she should still know better to call the on-call team. Otherwise, what is the point in employing and paying the oncall team to be on-site?
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