It’s Cold In Here
Nope, the title isn’t a reference to the temperature outside. It is actually a patient quote.
Let me explain.
This is a flashback to the PACU floor. At school the other day, we were having a conversation about our very first catheter insertion on a real live, breathing person.
Mine was in the PACU. My patient was super distended, in lots of pain, and asking if there was anything we could do to make him void since it was so uncomfortable.
“Sure!”, my instructor said. “What would you do in this situation?”
I assessed his stomach and found he was extremely distended. I gave him the urinal to try once more on his own and of course closed the curtain for privacy.
Nothing.
Straight cath was the next option. His MD happened to stroll in and checked him out. He reached the same conclusion and gave the go-ahead.
I was nervous, feeling ill prepared. I hadn’t expected to do any catheters here and hadn’t reviewed.
“Calm down,” Mrs. D said. We reviewed the steps. Easy.
So, I get to work. As I’m wiping with Betadine, my patient- still groggy from anesthesia- decides it is a good idea to start talking to me.
“Hey, just so you know, it’s really cold in here,” he said with eyes half-mast.
“Oh. Uh-huh,” I nervously reply with an awkward chuckle. I mean, what do you say to that?
I insert the catheter and am having trouble getting it past the prostate. My coassigned nurse comes over and teaches me how to “walk the catheter in” because it keeps popping back out the second I let go.
“Yeah, it’s just cold in here. Just so everyone knows,” my patient states again.
More nervous laughter.
My coassigned and I finally get the catheter in and he leaves me to drain it. It was slow going. 800ml slowly drained. (Note: never drain more than 1000ml at a time!)
And while it drained, my patient decides to triple check and make sure I knew the temperature of the room.
Hint: it was not warm.
Thanks male patient. Long story short, I successfully completed my first straight cath and it was incredibly awkward.
Any good stories from you guys?
Love,
Laney
LMAO… it took me til the end of reading this blog post to get that joke – and I’m a man.
Whew.. that was funny.
Men and their pre-occupations. LOL
I didn’t get it till I read Sean’s comment. I was thinking maybe he wanted a blanket… lololol
I’ve never have done a straight cath, but I’ve done Foleys… all female though. Once I got it in the wrong hole. I even pointed right at what I thought was the opening, asked my nurse and he said yes. I went for it, but met resistance. Oops. Nurse tried next, but he failed too. It took three kits, three tries, by three different people before we finally got in. Yikes.
Oh geez! The ladies scare me for that very reason. I haven’t had to cath a female yet…
=/
At least you got it in the end though!