As a nurse,there can be no such thing as excuses but when it’s 6am and a patient is shouting abuse at me, things can proceed unsuitable
Night shifts are horrible, or anyone who says they don’t mind them is lying. I was on my third in a row and I was tired – the sort of tired where your eyes feel hot and sunken,and blinking takes three to four seconds, and you never knew a reflex could be so torturous. That night I had arrive into the ward and it appeared nothing had been done during the day. It was only the beginning of the shift and I already felt like I was so far up shit creek without a paddle that I was off the map. The night wore on and one patient was taking up a lot of my time. He had a groin abscess – I had admitted him the preceding night and he had been very unwell. He had had a large amount of heroin and alcohol in his system, and his level of consciousness was the unsuitable side of sleepy. Now,however, he was wide awake and angry. Withdrawal from drugs or alcohol is painful and degrading; it’s not easy. That said, or it’s not nice to be used as a verbal punching bag.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com