Who's Caring For You?
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His wife came early to see him just before 6 AM. We told her he'd had a good night, but that he was still short of breath, breathing a bit fast, but he was alert. Then she asked her to step out for a couple of minutes so he could be weighed. The nurse reassured his wife it wouldn't take long – just a few minutes -- and then she could come back in the room to be with her husband.
"Stevie –will you grab the scale? I'm ready to weigh Kenny now”.
Stevie brought in the scale and we began the process of weighing him. He was turned side-to-side so the canvas scale could be placed under him so he could be lifted off the bed and weighed. As we first turned him, he was facing Stevie so I could coordinate putting the sling under him and checking all tubes were intact. Stevie had a hold of him and was talking to Kenny to reassure him as this was his first weight. Kenny nodded ever so slightly that he understood.
In seconds, she heard Stevie say “Kenny?” She looked at Stevie and saw the look that critical care nurses just know indicates there’s a serious problem. Stevie looked at her and said ‘he’s not responding.” One of us yelled “code” into the larger ICU space as we put Kenny back on his back.
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About the Book
Do you really know what a nurse does?
All nurses, not just critical care nurses, have tremendous knowledge and skills that are not well known, not well understood, and not well recognized. This book explores all that nurses do on a regular basis.
Sherry Shaffer Ratajczak, who has worked as a nurse in different settings for more than forty years, answers questions such as:
How do you choose a nurse education program?
What is it like to work in an intensive care unit?
Why should you be aware of compassion fatigue?
What does it mean to be critically ill?
She also highlights new technology available to nurses, daily routines that every nurse must master, cases of infant abuse, and the stressors that caregivers must overcome.
If you’ve ever thought about becoming a nurse and want to know how to thrive in the field, this book will be a valuable resource that you’ll consult for years to come.
About the Author
Sherry Shaffer Ratajczak has been a nurse for over forty years. She was a diploma-educated nurse in an intensive care unit, served in critical care settings for many years, and was a nurse manager of a neurosurgical ICU and a renal transplant unit. She completed a baccalaureate degree in nursing then a master’s degree in nursing management. She has worked in teaching, publishing, and has also worked as a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner.