Had a rubbish day at work today

[phleb]

I feel i have gone backwards a few days, i was so confident the last couple of weeks, and today i just did not feel any confidence at all. My mentor didnt help, she showed me a pick line onceon friday, and expected me to remember what it looked like (if patient has one then we dont take their bloods) so i didnt spot two pick lines today, but i did'nt take the bloods either, i just printed bottle labels and got snapped at for it. I really don't think i will last there if this carries on :'-( i enjoy the job, just hate it when staff that have been there longer have a go at you in front of staff and patients, when its not your fault..how am i supposed to remember what specific lines look like, i have only been there 2 weeks?

[China Doll]

We all have bad days, I've had quite a stressful one myself today but that was largely brought on by people being incompetent. Don't take it too personally, sometimes we have bad days and snap at someone else without thinking, and maybe that's what happened today. Not excusing, just trying to balance it up as it certainly doesn't sound worth quitting over. Keep an eye on it and if it gets bad have a chat with manager but otherwise put it down to a bad day and go in smiling tomorrow, if you start dreading the day and believing you're going to have a bad day then it will become a self fufiling prophecy. Chin up :c)

[dotty.]

Come on cheer up, the people who are training you must be bad at their job not you, on a lighter note and without wishing to be intentionally cruel and heartless, have you signed a contract that says if you think you can't do the job they have to pay you twice your annual salary if you volunteer to quit? :)

[bednobs]

it's a P.I.C.C. line (in case you see it written down and don't recognise it. It stands for peripherally inserted central catheter

[LazyGun]

You might find this article useful phleb

http://www.macmillan....esports/PICCline.aspx

As to the specific issue you have, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that you should ask your supervisor for some specific guidance on those areas that are problematic, such as how to recognise when a patient has a PICC line.

Not entirely clear what the problem is : Is it the case that if a patient has a PICC line it is the responsibility of the nursing staff to draw the blood from the PICC line, rather than the phlebotomist drawing blood from a venepuncture on the ward phlebotomy round?

[phleb]

No not signed a contract as yet for anything. I suppose i should just put it down to being just a bad day. Will smile again tomorrow. Voluntar redundancy is what Dotty is referring to? i dont want that, i only just started and want to fulfill my role as phlebotomist, unless im layed off.

[tonyav]

C'mon phleb, you'll pick it up, no one can expect you to learn the job in a couple of weeks.

[stokemaveric]

there really should be a code of conduct within the workplace concerning ''having a go'' it certainly should not be in front of other staff or patients especially if it is a superior..if not have a word with the offender in quiet about their manner towards you..they should be more professional..brush yourself off pleb,take a deep breath and go with more confidence...tomorrow is another day...

[sherrardk]

Maybe you were on a high when you started because you thought you wouldn't be able to take the job and now some of the sparkle has rubbed off. Keep your head up and if you feel you are being treated badly talk to someone about it before it gets out of hand (don't forget how you felt when you thought you wouldn't be able to take the job).

[dotty.]

no it's not what i am referring to phleb........i was referencing the obscene BBC payput to their ex-Director General.......

[phleb]

thanks bednobs, i didnt know it was smelt like that, you have been helpful. Yep lazygun, the nurses have to take the blood from the P.I.C.C line not us. But she told me this once on friday morning, and i had the weekend and went back today, forgetting entirely what a P.I.C.C line looks like. I feel stupid!:''((

[phleb]

*spelt
lazygun thanks for the info.

[LazyGun]

@phleb : Don't. It takes time to become acclimatised to the various different procedures wrt taking blood. Just ask your supervisor to revisit the area and offer some training and guidance on the issue.

[EcclesCake]

Dotty, why are you bringing your hobby horse of the day into this thread?

[Eve]

If it's something difficult to spot could you have a checklist to ask or look that you build into your routine (whether written down or in your head) when getting a new patient to take blood? Everyone has to learn.

[Eve]

You could also be proactive, maybe make a list of things you think you need more information or training on and talk it through with your mentor to make sure you get the extra training or information that you need.

[China Doll]

We all make mistakes, I've made some stonkers, way worse than yours and then had to deal with pretty peed off patients, including mistakenly booking a 9 hour procedure and not realising one of the consultants was away until the day before surgery, you can imagine how impressed the patient, my manager and the docs were! You do learn from them and it gets easier. I bet you don't do it again, I certainly didn't! ;o)

Bad form dressing someone down in front of people though, but as I said, maybe a thoughtless mistake, really don't take it to heart.

[dotty.]

relevence? topical?

[phleb]

China Doll i didnt make a mistake though, i just did not know the patient had a picc line and what it looked like. I followed procedure, and waiting for my mentor to come and checked with her....she told me off for printing the labels....i did not put anyone in an awkward position, or take uneccessary bloods, i just printed the damn labels, thats what makes me angry.

[LazyGun]

Not entirely sure why your mentor would feel the need to issue a public dressing down for simply printing off labels etc - seems an overreaction on their part.

Important thing is to identify those specific things that present you with a problem and take those specific issues to your supervisor for specific training or guidance.

Given the challenge that phlebotomy can represent, with un-co-operative or unconscious patients, or those with various lines or awkward veins, on a ward that is usually at best controlled mayhem, being able to retain your composure in the face of those issues is probably the single most important personal quality :)

[JonnyBoy12]

Who always has a rubbish day whatever the weather?


A dustman!