Them's fightin' words!

I had to follow you-know-who again last night, and this time, it was personal.

She flat-out refused to give her overdue meds.

Oh no she didn't!

The patient needed anti-epilepsy meds and Insulin at HS (you know, 2200). Well, I come in at 2300. The meds hadn't been given because they weren't there yet...the missing dose request hadn't been filled. Okay, that's fine. Pharmacy can take its sweet time quite often. Well, during report, the PO meds were delivered. (Or maybe it was right before report, when I was preparing my papers. Whatever.) She informed me that the insulin hadn't arrived. I told her that they couldn't send that through the tube system, so someone would need to hand deliver it, and that might be the hold up.

Fast forward to right after report. It was 2320, so I told Nurse Lazy McDumbass to give the PO meds and I would call pharmacy to ask if I could go and get the insulin pen. She agreed, and I called. The pharmacy tech told me it would be hand delivered to me shortly (after being on hold for a bit). I hung up the phone, and Nurse L.M. was standing there, med cup in hand.

"Oh," she pontificated. "What did they tell you?"

I explained it to her, and then she said, "well, you can do everything at once, then. He's sleeping, and I hate to wake him up."

"Uhh, I'll have to wake him up anyway."

"Yeah, you'll wake him up in five minutes, so what's the point in waking him up now and again in five minutes?" (gee...ya think meds to prevent seizures might be a good reason???)

"Actually, he'll be last, because he has a dressing change, so I'm going to see everyone else first."

She handed me the fucking cup. And got the hell out of dodge.

Now let's rewind for a tick.

Right after report, but before her refusal of cleaning up her shit, she went to clear her pump. (Saints be praised! This was truly a miracle!) And guess what...she realized she'd never scanned the damn IV bag in the first place, so she went in to scan it and learned...guess what...it was the wrong IV solution. And it had been infusing for five hours.

So, what did our wonderful healthcare professional do?

She told me what she did.

And attempted to leave the floor.

She didn't stop the IV pump. She didn't run to get a bag of the right stuff. She didn't apologize. She, of course, didn't complete a Safety First report. She told me "you'll have to put the right solution up." So she can not only make mistakes like a pro, she can give orders like one as well.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord...praise the LORD that she is not in tonight. I'd most likely be a news item: "Nurse murdered in cold blood by oncoming shift...strangled by IV tubing."

Until next time...