Riled up!

Wednesday night was NOT fun at work.

When I walked into the room, there were 5 very experienced nurses and the neonatologist all standing around the bed of the baby I'm supposed to be taking care of. My mind started racing "Uh Oh. What is tonight going to be like?" I know the baby well, so I know her quirks, but this wasn't a normal quirk.

Turns out the baby is fine, she just had a really high temperature which caused her heart to race and move into a different rhythm. Not dangerous in the short term, but nerve-racking when all the "quick-fix" nursing maneuvers are not working. In the end, a tylenol suppository did the trick.

Because this 'episode' began before my shift started and I didn't really know what was going on, I stayed out of the way, just fetching things as needed. Oddly enough, the nurse who had been caring for her was also staying away from the baby, just hanging around in the background. So I went ahead and got an abbreviated report, checked off medications, and turned back to the baby to get caught up to speed on the current situation. When I turned back around to ask the evening shift nurse a question, SHE WAS GONE!

She walked out in the middle of an episode! Even though the situation was technically under control and I had assumed care, this did not mean that her job was done. Oh no. There is TONS of charting to be done after an episode like thus, and I did not feel comfortable doing it.

I talked to a prior preceptor about my situation as she had been at the bedside helping with the baby, and she was livid about this so-called "abandonment." Luckily, the evening nurse was scheduled to come back the next day so she could chart then, but good grief! It was a really rough start to the night. I was 2 hours behind until about 5 am when I finally got caught up. Luckily, I don't think I skimped on the care I gave to my other 2 babies and that definately made me feel much better.