A Big Pain In The Bladder

A new nurse needed to remove a Foley catheter. This is a type of catheter that is held in place in the bladder by a small balloon that is inflated after insertion. It is removed by using a syringe to withdraw fluid from a port which causes the balloon to collapse. The new nurse didn't know this and didn't ask anyone how to do it. Pretending that she knew what to do, she just began yanking on the catheter while the patient howled. Finally asking for help, another nurse did it the correct way. The patient's going to have bloody urine for the next few days. It's a wonder that we don't get sued more often than we do.

Today, I also found the bedpans of two of my patients nesting one inside of the other. The bedpans had been used and would have been used again had I not thrown them out. What is wrong with nurses who do that? How would they feel if they had to use a bedpan that had been resting inside of someone else's dirty bedpan? I find that several times a week. I'll also sometimes find bedpans in the bathroom that have not been labeled, so who knows which bedpan belongs to which patient? My hunch is that some nurses don't care and just grab a bedpan at random. No wonder infections are running rampant.