Saturday, March 06, 2004 :::
heart rhythm monitor for all patients
bedrest is the norm - you're a lucky patient if you get to use the bedside commode. most patients get a bedpan and bed baths.
cameras in all the rooms
2 patients per nurse during the day; 3, sometimes 4 at night
ventilators and balloon pumps are accepted
all drips are accepted
very sick patients; this is where other floors ship you off to when you've taken a turn for the worst
Cardiac Telemetry:
portable heart monitors for all patients
most patients are ambulatory with bathroom and shower priveledges
no cameras. nurses have pagers.
4 patients per nurse during the day; 4, 5, or 6 patients per nurse at night
only stable ventilators accepted. no ballooon pumps.
most, but not all, drips accepted
not medsurg, but not too far from it
I got pulled to E4 tonight. It's a tele floor, and they sure do things different here.
We had a code tonight. On S4 when someone codes I make a few calls - our respiratory therapist for the night and the respiratory supervisor on call, the house supervisor, the chaplain, the attending doctor and then usually a consult, medical records if the old chart isn't already on the floor, and family. Only I don't usually call the family. Usually by the time I've made it all the way through to medical records the chaplain's already on the floor and he or she will call the family.
So for the code tonight all I had to do was call the operator to announce the code overhead, and then call the attending doc. So I ended up calling the family myself. It's never fun to have to call someone's home at 0400 to tell them their loved one has made a turn for the worst.
We coded this person for about an hour, and then shipped her off to H4. H4 is ICCU - intensive coronary care unit. Really there are 3 CCU's - there's S4 (CCU), H4 (ICCU), and S8E (CICU). Then there are 2 tele floors - E4 (CTL) and S8W (CTM). We're all part of the inpatient cardiac unit.
So anyway... my friend Lus is here so I'm gonna talk w/ him for a bit.
... if this f---ing call ever stops beeping. that's another difference, btw. On S4 our monitor techs answer call lights. on E4 the unit sec does.
*grr*
::: posted by tinafish at 5:17 AM :::