I think every ER nurse has had an Ectopoopy moment, that moment when your gut just tells you that the patient that just walked into triage is the patient you need to address first. He might be looking sorta grey, sweating, clutching his chest, or maybe not at all. The female patient might just have very vague complaints like, sudden dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath or abdominal pain. We girls are stubborn and wait out our symptoms until its to late. I have always told my family that they will most likely step over me on the floor having my big MI because I was to stubborn to listen to my own body's symptoms. I can just hear them now, "Mommy" I'm hungry, get up off the floor.
An ER nurse's gut instincts are a gift from above, listen to your gut when it tells you to act on something. Anytime I have ignored my gut, my patient has suffered for it. No one should ever put you down for following your gut instincts as a patient advocate, we are nurses because we care for people, that's our job.
Have a great weekend and remember to smile at your fellow co-workers today!
Great point about listening to your gut. Nurses have to be advocates for their patients and get them the help they need when they need it.
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