Life as A Nurse~Part 7


The Quiet Room


In most hospital emergency rooms there is a place set aside for families
 
to gather and mourn the passing of a loved one. Thankfully, it doesn't
 
have to be used that often in the hospital I am now employed at. The
 
room is set up to look like a living room with a couch, chair, table
 
and a phone for family members to use. On one very hectic day last year,
 
the quiet room was empty and there were no patients who were climbing the

stairway to heaven. Every room was full, including the hallways. We even
 
brought in extra chairs to exam minor sore throats and colds in an effort

to expedite the flow of patients through the ER. In other words, you
 
could honestly say we were slammed!


Case in Point:


That day could only be described as total chaos. I had people in the
 
halls on extra beds who needed to have private rooms for exams but there
 
was no where to put them. My assignment that day was  hallway 1-5. I
 
despise this assignment as I feel patients deserve their privacy and
 
dignity. I'm also realistic, there just was no where to perform the exams
 
that needed to be done. I had two females that day in the hallway beds,
 
both were suffering from abdominal pain. The standard of care for any
 
female of child bearing years who present to the ER with lower abdominal
 
pain is a full pelvic exam. This was not going to happen on my shift. No
 
matter how many rolling curtains they brought in, I was going to have no
 
part of undressing and possibly exposing my patients to anyone who may
 
walk by. I stood on my soapbox and  flat refused! Then, I got this wild
 
idea. The quiet room was empty and with some furniture moving, it could
 
be used to perform the exams, collect our specimens and then return each
 
patient back to their hallway bed to await the results. Now, this made
 
total sense to me. The quiet room even had a lock on the door for added
 
privacy. I went to each one of the young ladies and explained my dilemma
 
and my solution. Rather then waiting an undetermined length of time for
 
a real room to open up, they both agreed. I grabbed one of our newer
 
technicians and explained to her what I needed done. I opened the quiet
 
room, and it was much bigger then I had thought. I pushed the sofa
 
against the wall, stacked it with the chairs and found there was just
 
enough room to fit a full size exam bed with room to spare. I then asked
 
the tech to set up for a pelvic exam and told her exactly what was needed.
 
As I went through the list of required items, she nodded in agreement
 
and I made the mistake of believing she understood me. I told her we
 
needed the pelvic kit, culture tubes and a pelvic light. The pelvic
 
light fits snugly inside a speculum and allows the doctor to see the
 
inside of the female anatomy. I then moved the first patient into the
 
room, locked the door and had her undress from the waist down. My tech
 
was collecting the items I requested, but something just didn't sit
 
right with me, I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was amiss.
 
The young tech came to me and told me all was ready for the first exam.
 
Fantastic I thought, as I ran to grab the doctor. With the ER doctor in
 
tow, we made our way to the quiet room. When I walked in, I found my
 
patient had followed instructions to the letter and was in the correct
 
position for the exam. Next to her was a pelvic kit. There was even a
 
stool for the doctor to sit on to perform his exam. Now I was thinking
 
that this wasn't such a bad idea. As we went to insert the speculum, I
 
looked to the left, the right, the floor, No pelvic light was in sight.
 
Instead of the little light that is used, my naive tech had set up the
 
full sized lamp, complete with the large shade that was a part of the
 
furniture normally used for real function of this room. I suddenly had
 
this image in my head of me, holding this large lamp on its side so the
 
doctor could complete his exam. As they say, it was not to be. The doctor

had to leave the room until things were properly set up. I excused myself

from my patient and went hunting for my prey, also known as my tech.
 
When I found her, she was at the desk in deep conversation with
 
some paramedic. I pulled her aside and asked her if she understood all
 
the instructions I had given her. She replied that she had. I had to
 
ask, "How was the doctor supposed to use the lamp you set up to perform
 
his exam?" She snapped her gum at me, and said, "All you asked for was a
 
pelvic light, I  figured that lamp was as good as anything." I  have a
 
line in the sand, and when you cross it, you will know it. She had just
 
crossed that line. I didn't know whether to smack her or just do the
 
mothers' thing and show her step by step. I took her to the supply area
 
and carefully explained to her what and how to use the pelvic light. She
 
just gave me one of those side way's puppy dog looks, and said, "Oh,
 
that's what that funny light is used for?" A glance at the clock said it
 
was 17:00, I dragged  my tech with me to watch how the exam was
 
performed  so in the future she would not make the same error. About an
 
hour later, both exams were completed and the patients were contented.
 
Still seething from the first exam, I asked the charge nurse if we
 
actually interview these girls  before we hire them, or do we just get
 
them from the internet like on one of those dating services. We
 
found out later that it wasn't her first day and she had been totally
 
trained in all procedures. She was more interested in getting a Saturday
 
night date then her task at hand.  I  hate to sound harsh, but that day
 
I felt as if I was babysitting and not getting paid for it. She didn't
 
last long in our department and I  wish her well. Someday when she has
 
to have her first exam as a grown-up woman, I secretly wish that a gum
 
chewing teenager sets her up with a huge lamp and shade!  Pay backs are
 
a bitch!