I'm a staff nurse in an intensive care unit - ask me anything!

[Nurse15]

Let the questions commence (though I'm not sure if anyone will be interested!!)

[strongswans]

Thank you for doing an amazing job! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for an ICU. Do you get many patients who are aware? Just because when I was in ICU, after the initial part I wasn't sedated, I was groggy from the drugs, but pretty aware. Sometimes it felt like the nurses forgot I could hear with the things they'd say. Nothing nasty of course, I just got the feeling for the most part the patients are sedated? ICU have also very recently saved my Father so I am so appreciative of all you do!

[justcontemplatingsomething]

Do you stay quite detached or do you ever get attached to some patients?

My dad was in ICU a couple of years ago, after a few days we were told his organs were failing and to probably expect a call during the night with bad news. The phone rang the next morning and my heart sank. Only to be told that dad was sitting out in a chair and communicating (completely confused though but that passed within a week or two). A couple of years on and he's still with us and doing great, but at that time mum and me were seriously thinking we were about to be planning a funeral.

I'll always remember the jolly ICU nurse. Amazing at her job, she kept me and my mum's spirits up as best she could but still was realistic. She was there for all our meetings with the consultant and always made sure we understood what he had said. But at the same time she joked with dad while he was in a coma, I'm sure he would have been chuckling if he could have heard her, and she kept our spirits up massively. I'll always remember her, there's a huge personal element to being an ICU nurse I think, on top of the important bit of such important nursing.

[UniversallyUnchallenged]

Thank you (and the lady at the freeman, she saved my mam), I think about her on and off, I doubt she even remembers. Her words, actions and presence are something that left an imprint that changed and shaped me. You do that, will do that to others.

[Nurse15]

dontdrink I think 3 - your day sounds bad!!

[Nurse15]

esker we love our job and so pictures and cards are all we want! That totally makes our day. We love donations of nice teabags and coffee and of course cake. We will always take cake thank you for thinking of us, you must be so busy with your son!

[Nurse15]

eddie nurses rarely report anything to police. Paramedics usually involve police at scene and they are therefore aware of the patient and circumstances. Doctor's would then liase with police about patients condition etc but not the place of the nurse. Clinical governance department would often take over liasing when clinical team have done updating as it's way out of our remit. We are there for the patient not for the police.

[Nurse15]

franksbobot ring before visit and ensure you will be allowed in - strict policy about visitors outside family etc. Nursing staff will only be able to tell next of kin any medical info so don't be offended if you won't get told anything! If friend is still sedated chat away anyway - your voice will be familiar and that is often welcome. I wouldn't bring anything other than some toiletries maybe. Keeps visits light as the patient will be tired and just chat normally for now. Good luck and let me know how you get on. Will be thinking about your friend.

[DontDrinkDontSmoke]

What's the most people you've had die in a shift?

(I didn't work in ICU but all 6 patients in the ICU in the hospital I worked in died in one day once).

[Nurse15]

deux I'm not sure of the exact figures but somewhere around 25% of patients don't make it i think - lots of families pass through for different reasons, patients can be transferred within the hospital or to another hospital for a different treatment that hospital doesn't offer so not always a death. So lovely to hear your story!

[Nurse15]

crunchy mum lots and lots of inco pads and multiple rolls and repositions and sheet changes in a day - if the person is having type 7 stools where it's pure water then we can use a faecal management system - I'll let you all Google that or imagine the delights 😊

[Nurse15]

wowzel I wish we had time to think about it!! No such luck - most days the ward is so busy we don't have time to do everything that needs done nevermind the stuff we'd like to do that isn't essential

[Esker]

Thank you a million times for what you do 🙏 My son is a frequent flyer in PICU, unfortunately (ex Prem). What I'd like to ask is what is the best/ most impactful way to say thank you? We always send cards with photos of our son when recovered, and after the last admission I sent a long thank you email to PALS asking for it to be sent to PICU and also to the chief exec of the hospital. I sometimes want to send thank you cards to individual nurses and doctors, but then I feel bad in case I forget someone! My son was in over last Christmas and also for his birthday and we were so touched that he was given all sorts of presents, so I think this year I'll send some donations of toys and so on.
But any ideas you have or nice things you have experienced by way of a thank you, I'm all ears!!

[Nurse15]

tits we always have doctor's within a 2 minute call away in theory - however if they where with multiple critical patients in resuscitation or maternity we would have to call for someone from outside. This has never happened to my knowledge and so I don't panic. I'm a pretty chilled person!! Most of the nurses are very laid back.

[Nurse15]

crunchy mum officially we have 8 beds - we often spill over into theatres and recovery when we need extra capacity and so we are nearly always running above capacity unfortunately. We work 13 hour long days and 12 hour night duties - 4 weeks of days and 2 weeks of nights on rotation. The deaths I'm not sure of our exact figure but the last time I looked at the UK standard I think around 25% of patients passed away. I'm not sure how long ago that number was calculated though.

[Nurse15]

tara it really depends on the patient's condition and sedation given, however if patients hear it at the time they rarely remember anything after it so they may offer some comfort

[Nurse15]

Thank you to everyone commenting to say thanks - it's amazing to hear and means the world!

Jelly good question, we do a full body check on admission and would check for a string etc, however if sepsis and no source can be found then gynae do vaginal swabs and an examination so would be found then. We have found a few forgotten coils when this happens (don't do it - sepsis is no fun!)

[Nurse15]

moustache we have lovely stories all the time. The best ones are the ones that stay ages and are told they are unlikely to survive and do well and get home. One patient we had stayed 4 months over Christmas one year, wasnt expected to survive however did really well and went home. She came back to visit and that was amazing to see. You get a gut feeling when someone comes in how well they'll do but it's by no means always right!! Unfortunately it's usually the really sick ones you suspect won't do well and you're usually right. All our drugs are double checked by two nurses so unlikely to be wrong!!

[EddieVeddersfoxymop]

My sister was in ITU after a double suicide attempt. What would the nurses have reported to the police? We were not allowed into her house to feed her cat until the nurses spoke to the police. We couldn't get in for 3 days.....thankfully a lovely local policewoman took pity on us and went in to feed her for us.

[FranksBobot]

I've just found out this evening a very dear friend of mine is in icu after an attempted overdose.

I don't live nearby anymore but have made arrangements to visit in the next few days.

What shall I do whilst there? Do I take anything? What do I say to them?

Friend is currently being kept in an induced coma.

Seeing this thread this evening has been quite spooky if I'm honest.

[Deux]

What % of patients die in ICU? Reason I ask is my DH spent 9 weeks in ICU.

It took me a while to realise that the relatives I’d been chatting to in the waiting room and then I suddenly didn’t see again was because the patient died.

The nurses cried when my DH went back to visit them after he could walk again. It was a very emotionally charged moment.

[SoftSheen]

Place marking- interesting thread!

[Crunchymum]

Also not a poo troll but how do you deal with the poo issue?

[Wowzel]

Do you shave their armpit and leg hair if they have been in a long time and came in well groomed?

[Nurse15]

There are targets for icu readmissions so the doctor's tend to be overcautious and keep patients a tiny bit extra - until the SHTF and we need the bed for another patient anyway. Unfortunately bed pressures have been bad over the past year and so patients may be sent out sooner than the doctor's would like - sometimes they end up readmitted but actually not very often.

[Crunchymum]

How many patients do you have room for?

Are you usually at capacity?

What are your shifts?

How often do you have a patient die?