My Nightmare

I am regretting the choice I have made, and also that while I had an interview for the ward that I interned on I did not get the job as I was second (to somebody who has been qualified longer as a staff nurse. Its nice but not much compensation).

I have been in Nursing in some form since 2005. Last night was beyond a shadow of a doubt the worst shift I have ever had to work. As I write this my gut feeling is to try and find another ward to work on as I seriously do not even want to go back.

Last night I was originally only going to have a normal "Day" team. I.e. One x6 bed bay and x2 side rooms. As the ward next door was short, the other staff nurse was sent next door, and I inherited all 16 patients. This was not a problem, what happened next was.

The main problem is that with a high number of dementia patients on the ward, there is one in particular who I am the nurse for. Unfortunately they are very confused and get very aggressive. I am bound by the code of conduct to maintain patient confidentiality and thus I will abide my that. However, what did culminate was the patient literally running off the ward, being found by the night sister in a different area, and being confused. I was running between a dying patient and somebody with SOB, while watching over my other 14 patients. Not a great start. I had already asked the SHO for advise re:sedation and was told that there was nothing they would be able to advise. By the time this happened, the night sister had the patient back on the ward. The end result with the whole incident was me, the doctor, the night sister and my HCA being hit by the patient, and having to forcefully inject sedatives for their own good.

I hate this job.