As you step into the nursing profession, you must be aware of one thing. You are going to face lots of emergencies. It is a part of your job to stay on your toes for any time that an unexpected situation may surface. Such times can be taxing on mental health as well if there is no moral support available.
Given the severe nature of the job, nurses should have counselors to keep them motivated, positive, and mentally healthy. However, we know that nurses have to work long hours with emergencies coming in any minute. They do not get the opportunity to visit counselors or meditation sessions.
You, being a new nurse, will have to learn to manage yourself through these situations wisely. In this article, we will be discussing the six for new nurses handling patients in emergencies.
Six Tips to Keep Yourself Calm During an Emergency
1. Plan Strategically
As a nurse, the first thing you need to work on is staying calm. It would be best if you always plan what you are going to do in case of an emergency instead of going haywire. Any step that you take must have a strategy behind it. And again, you need to think on your feet and make significant decisions.
Make sure you pay attention to what the patient needs first and foremost. For instance, if they have breathing issues, or their airway is choking, you can not stand and think about what to do. In such circumstances, your thought process and decisions have to work like the speed of light.
Remember, these aren’t demos anymore. You have a life at risk, at the discretion of your actions.
2. Listen Carefully
Knowing what your patient needs at a particular moment is excellent. However, it doesn’t have to guesswork. You don’t have to have telepathic powers to understand what your patient needs. The solution is more straightforward than one can think of, i.e., to listen.
Talk to your patient if they are in the condition. Sometimes, the patients can provide you with the most crucial information. And in case they are not conscious or stable enough to communicate, you may look for their attendant.
Having any information that can help you understand the cause, trigger, or the underlying problems can be a breakthrough at such moments.
3. Request a Helping Hand
You are a new nurse. Although you may have been trained and educated regarding such times, it is still possible to face a situation you can not figure out. In such circumstances, do not hesitate to ask for help.
Your hesitation can be life-threatening for the patient, and their survival should be your highest priority. Look around and call your colleagues for help. Nurses are supposed to work as a team that looks out for each other. Because at the end of the day, they are helping each other save lives.
The main goal for a nurse is to serve, rescue, and be of help. And it is okay for helpers to ask for help. There should be no shame in that since that’s how you learn.
4. Look for Crucial Signs
If your patient is not stable or conscious, and an attendant is absent. You may find it hard to understand what’s going on. If you face such a situation, start monitoring the vital information that can guide you with what’s happening.
However, you only have that much time on your hands when the patient is not at immediate risk. You must take all the crucial details and note it down so the doctors can have much information as they need for a diagnosis or treatment.
5. Know the Red Flags
Whether you get any information from the patient, their family, or the attendant or the vital signs, you need to know the red flags. Diagnosis of a patient’s actual problem during an emergency can feel like a detective’s job. All you get are clues and loads of information from all sources, from which you pick what doesn’t seem right.
You should learn the list of red flags during the online nursing training or read on it from the reference books. Ask your tutor to teach you those red flags in particular.
6. Keep Calm and Stay Wise
As the emergency is handled, and the patient is out of danger, you need to calm yourself down. This may be your first encounter with an emergency, but keep in mind that this is just the start. It will become a part of your routine.
Therefore, you need to find ways to stay calm during and after such contingencies as these can be emotionally and mentally taxing. You can look for an excellent online nursing counseling support program that can help you stay motivated and positive.
Conclusion
New nurses who face an emergency the first time may feel panicked. However, knowing what to do in such situations can help them handle the patients wisely. The tips provided above serve that very purpose. If new nurses observe, communicate, and plan strategically, they can even outperform the experienced ones.
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