Things You Don't Want To Hear

T'here are some (many) things we RTs do not want to hear. Here are some examples. 

1. "Please come to critical care stat. The oxygen is low." And you get there to learn the sat is 89%. 

2. "The patients CO2 is high. I'm ordering Q4 breathing treatments." 

3.  "224 is short of breath. Can you give her a breathing treatment?" Well, I will come assess her to determine if there is a need for the treatment. 

4.  "The patient is coughing up blood. I called the doctor and requested breathing treatments, EKG, ABG, and tons of other stuff. None of it has been ordered yet. But I need you to come and check on the patient." And you check on the patient to learn the sat is 92% and the patient is not short of breath. The patient says, "Get that nurse out of here. She's driving me nuts. 

5. "STAT treatment post op." And you drop what you are doing, rush to do the treatment, and learn the patient is not wheezing: the patient is snoring away. 

6.  "The patient's sats are 89%. We need a stat ABG."

7.  "I looked into the patient's room and heard an audible wheeze. So I thought, 'If I didn't order breathing treatments I'd be a horrible doctor." Said the doctor you thought was smart. And you think: "If a patient is having bronchospasm type wheezes, they are deep in the lungs are would not be audible. But, oh well. You give the treatments anyway and just DC later on per protocol. 

These are some things I could think of at this sitting. I'm sure as the day goes on I'll think of some more. Actually, I really don't need to think much about this as I just write things down here as they happen in real time. If you have some to add to this list please do so in the comments below.