And the moral of the story is....

Scene on the unit the other day...

TextbookDoc coming to desk after evaluating 37 wk antepartum patient on L&D for past two days after c/o "back pain and ctxs", diagnosed with pyelonephritis.

TextbookDoc to L&D RN: "Geesh what is it with that patient in there? She really is a strange agent isn't she? She keeps grunting and sighing when she is talking, you ask her if she is in pain and she says she is okay but she keeps carrying on as if something is not quite right. She has a very strange affect...

L&D RN to TextbookDoc: "I know, she really is sounding kind of funny. She is constantly grunting and sighing the whole time she is talking, like she is in pain or something... (starting to get up from the desk) ...Do you want me to put on a pulse ox?"

TextbookDoc: "No, no... (waving hands in the air) she is fine, there is nothing there... just a strange agent..."


::: TextbookDoc leaves unit, still chuckling about "strange agent patient":::


L&D RN to other L&D RNs at desk: "I don't know, she does sound funny but maybe because she is hurting still, she says her back is still sore... (getting up suddenly from desk) ...I'm just going to go check on her..." (disappears into room).

L&D RN runs out to desk and grabs stethescope: "Would you please page TextbookDoc? Her sats are 57% and hr is correlating, I'm getting O2s on her now."

::: Fast forward through stat abgs, foley, lasix, chest x-rays, blood test after blood test, ekgs, echocardiograms, cardiologist consults with probable diagnosis of cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology and superimposed congestive heart failure with pneumonia, to emergent c-section under general anesthesia with deteriorating maternal status. :::

TextbookDoc to Pulmonologist in OR: "... and the moral of the story is... ALWAYS listen to your L&D nurse"

Nurses rock!!