Nurses have to be very special people. The amount of flexibility a nurse must display in one shift is incredible. Last night was one of those nights.
I was getting report from the previous nurse when my direct admission arrived. A direct admission is the most challenging of all. We have little or no information about a patient who is directly admitted. Basically, a direct admission tends to be more work for a nurse than a patient who came from the emergency department or another hospital or floor.
So, as soon as my shift started, I had to get this new patient settled in, see my other four patients who I’d never worked with before, and discharge one of them to home. < Read more…