I recently have completed part of my orientation process and have begun resourcing. In the PICU, resourcing is where I have my very own patient assignment but I have a "back-up" RN who sits at the medical receptionists desk area and is there to answer any questions I have or help me if I am too overwhelmed. Everyone that I had talked to said that the Charge Nurses were really great about easing the new orientees into our role as the official RN of the patient. So, I guess I had this idea that my first couple of nights on my own would be easy. Well boy was I wrong! My very first night on my own, I had a two patient assignment and one of my patients coded! My first thought was that I had 15 weeks of orientation to experience a code situation with a preceptor right beside me. Of course it didn't work out like that though. I was so scared, my adrenaline was through the roof and I remember saying to one of my friends, "I don't want to go in that room." My friend, a fellow RN, told me that I had to go in the room and said that she would get the emergency drugs and that I had to go be the nurse. At that moment, I was thinking "ok, ok I can do this." Even though I was scared out of my mind, I was not alone, which was incredibly comforting.
Looking back on that night, I learned a really valuable lesson. I learned that I should never for one second think that I will have an easy night. I need to be on my game every time I step in that hospital, because even though I will not be caring for the most critical patients right out of orientation, a patient at any time during their stay in the hospital can take a turn for the worst, and if I as the patient's nurse am not always on my game, I could potentially harm the patient. In the end, the patient survived. We had to intubate the patient and do compressions for about 10 seconds, but the patient survived. Throughout nursing school and starting my job, I have practiced mock code situations countless times. But I think until you truly experience a real life code situation, you are never really prepared. That was one of the scariest situations I have experienced so far in my career and I am sure there will be many more situations like that. However, I feel like I will be better prepared from here on out and I know I will not be alone.
Another lesson in your story is the value of colleagues in providing emotional support and keeping one focused in challenging situations. That value is one of the reasons that Civility, Respect, and Engagement at Work (CREW) is successful when it helps health care teams improve their working relationships.
www.workengagement.com/crew
Posted by: Michael Leiter | June 29, 2009 at 08:38 AM