It was a cool foggy morning in Los Angeles, as I got out from work today. The sun was already peeking out from the cloudy skies and the weather seem clear today.
My night at work was smooth and uneventful. I was damn bored yet I found something to tuck in the unit. Filling up the IV and lab tray with necessary materials needed for such procedures. After seeing to it that my three patients went to sleep, I decided to check my Facebook account and made some unnecessary comments to some of my friends just to poke them for some funny things.
I was still bored so I decided to reread the book from the Twilight series, "New Moon", which I happened to keep in my locker long time ago after I finished reading it last year. I know the movie will come out soon, so in preparation for the movie I have to read the plot again and try to remember it until the movie comes out this summer so that I can compare them whether their similar in essence.
At five o'clock in the morning, the unit was still so freaking slow and I am already super bored. I already consumed three cups of creamed coffee but I am still hyperactive and can't sit in one place.
Admitting beeped us and confirmed that we're getting one admission and I volunteered to prepare the room and the patient admission necessities while my two companions started filling-up the care plans, chart, and the admission papers.
After an hour, the patient came with oxygen and no intravenous line. Even the laboratory blood draw were not done. Basically, emergency did not do anything and the patient appears short of breath and was wheezing badly and had difficulty breathing. We were misinformed by the people down in ER.
I have to call the in-house resident doctor and informed him about the distressed kid. I have to obtain a bronchodilator aerosol treatment because I think that the kid was clamping down and is super distressed. I also asked and order for blood to be drawn and also obtain an order for a corticosteroid to reduce the respiratory inflammation caused by the clamped airways. So an intravenous line is needed for it. My two nurse companions helped me set-up the intravenous insertion and the blood draw after the nebulization treatment was given and seeing to it that the bronchodilator kicked-in and made the kid a little bit comfortable for the impending invasive procedure.
It was ironic though, because emergency department should have done all those things to stabilize the patient rather than us making the stabilization process. What is emergency department called for if they cannot even stabilize the patient. What are they called for as the first line of prevention and stabilization in a health care facility if they can't even help the patient in the first place. I was so disappointed with the way our emergency department do their triage process. And this occasion was been happening not on one occasion only but several times already.
Had I not acted right away to obtain necessary actions to help the kid from clamping down and alleviating his distress may be his condition gone awry and serious. Had I not been equiped with the proper knowledge to assess the child may be he was dead right there and then.
Well, may be that was the price I have to pay for being too bored the whole night. Then voila I have something to be busy on. Sometimes, circumstances are unpredictable and we don't know what is in store for us on a certain occasion. Yet we have to be prepared for all that is happening to us despite what the odds are.
And despite what others weaknesses has we have to accept it and just use our own strengths to at least cover up the pitfall. We are there to take care of the patient and not to point fingers as to who is at fault. Just do what you can do and document what had happened to cover yourself so that proper disciplinary action will be granted to those who are at fault.
Well folks, this is not only an occasional circumstance that is happening in my facility but the usual thing and a habit of the emergency department. I mean as a professional you must know how to handle the situation and keep your cool.
Treat the situation first and document what had happened. I know I did the right thing to protect my customer and hopefully proper disciplinary action will be done when my documentation reached the proper authority who can point out the mistake.
With these actions, the patient will be properly protected and the facility will become a safe environment for the patients. But we have to bear in mind that we are just humans and after all noboby's perfect in everything they do. So I hope this will not be a good alibi to cover up this pitfall or mistake.
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