Wow! Guys, let me tell you a little about my day yesteday. Working at a big, busy hospital has its ups and downs. Well, yesterday, I experienced the downs.
I started off my day in Postpartum. For those of you out there who are lost on medical terminology, it is where the moms and babies go after delivery. I had 3 moms and 3 babies, all of whom were discharged by lunch. I got 1 new patient and after I assessed her, I gave her time to rest. 1 hour later, I received a call that she was bleeding. And I mean, bleeding! A small amount after birth is normal, but this gal apparently had been bleeding since a little after I left, and got in the shower to clean up, and stayed in there for over an hour! I got that situation under control, when I got a call from the Labor and Delivery charge RN saying she needed me on the other side, as a new pt. walked in and was moaning in the wheelchair. Great, just what I need as I am trying to process what just happened.
I walk into my new pts. room to indeed find her huffing and puffing. After getting her hooked up . and doing my initial assessing, I found her to be 3 cm dialated. Phew, I thought, I will have time to get a Dr. here before delivery. WRONG!!!!! Little did I know she was pushing with her contractions, causing the cervix to dialate fast, as this wasn’t her first baby. “Just break my water,” she stated, “I go fast when that happens!” I, an RN, am not going to break your water, I told her. It is not safe practice. The Dr. can do that on arrival. Well, just as I was getting the orders for admission, the call light went off.
“I have to push, my water just broke, Hurry!” was all I heard. I rushed in the room to find a screaming lady and a dad saying, “I think the baby is coming out!” Sure enough, the baby was delivering. Luckily, we have a very supportive unit, and all at once, I had several people in the room, all giving their assistance. However, the Dr. was on his way, and about 10 minutes later, he arrived. 3 doors done, another pt of the same Dr. was getting ready to deliver and was screaming as well. The poor Dr., he was doing his best to make it to both, his stress level was just increased. He did make it in time and let me tell you, he was exhausted as well. After yesterday, I am glad I have the day off today! In the end, it was a very productive day. Everything turned out all right, and mom and baby were resting when I left them to go home. Oh, did I mention that this was close to the end of my shift and I had to stay 1 hour past my time to get off to do all the charting!!!
Oh well, just another day in the life of an L&D RN…………
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I loved your story. It sounds like a very busy day and bet you were glad to go home.
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