RTs vs. RNs: A True Story
So how do you handle it when there's that one nurse that takes the whole mile when you offer her an inch? We have one in particular that is the queen of taking more than you can give and then wanting more.
We were having maybe the craziest night ever when she decided that even though I was insanely busy, I was her personal RT. Never mind that my room was more than enough. Never mind that the RT she did have was in the middle of a retaping bonanza. Never mind that she has a terrible opinion about RTs unless she needs one.
I was flagged down the first time by her waving and yelling: "RT! RT! We need you NOW!" Keep in mind, this is down a hallway that connects four modules. She was two modules away. Thinking it must be emergent for her to shout like that, I ran back there. It was nothing more emergent than a routine chest X-ray. A little irritated, I nonetheless verified the tube position while the film was taken. I even got the little one settled in and comfy again before leaving the room.
I sat down and tried again to work on my charting. I got one more vent round in the computer before I could hear the same nurse shouting at me again. "RT, RT! You, there! RT! We need you NOW!"
It is just in my nature to run when summoned to do so at work. I don't want to be strolling along if I'm truly needed. It is a little bothersome to be called "RT" when I have a name and she knows it. We've been working together for several years now. I never call her "Nurse!" If you're going to call me "RT," at least call me "RRT." I worked hard for that credential.
I bolted for the room ... for a rate change. A simple rate change that was not emergent by any means. Her first comment was, "Well, it took you long enough!" The fellow, who was writing the order for the change, glanced up and said: "I'd say she moves pretty fast. She even did it with a smile on her face." This fellow is not normally someone that I would think would come to my defense. So HAH.
The nurse didn't even notice that great save. She started on a litany of how RTs were so unreliable, they always were busy elsewhere, she could never find one when she needed one (she found me, didn't she?), we were lazy and had a slacker job ... and so on and so on. I barely managed to keep my annoyance in check. The fellow just walked away, rolling her eyes. She even had the nerve to tell me that it was my fault the baby had desatted 10 minutes after I left from the X-ray. How is that my fault?
Usually, when I come across this issue of "RT ignorance," I believe that education is the key. I teach them how much we truly do and how we are just as important as they are. It almost always works ... but never with this nurse. Maybe one day she'll actually listen to my education sessions out of my sheer persistence.
Until that glorious day, I guess I'll just keep heeding the call and attempting to educate her each time. Wish me luck. I think I'll need it!
Stephanie