I've had episodes of atrial fibrillation now for about 13 years. They are usually no big deal, but combined with a Klebsiella sepsis, the last one was tough to shake off and required more intensive intervention. I was minding my own foolishness in the ER holding area, awaiting an inpatient bed to avail itself when all of a sudden it felt like there was a kettle drum pounding away in my chest. I was going to say that it felt like an elephant sitting on me, but my wife is right, I tend to exaggerate. The medical resident was close by so I told her that my chest was feeling "funny." I really don't like to disclose that I was a nurse to providers so I understate and use foolish vernacular to illustrate my plight. My nursing experiences are too dated to be relevant today.
She took a quick listen with a fancy electronic doodad festooned stethoscope and shrieked to a nearby nurse to put me on a monitor. The nurse hastily applied the electrodes, gazed at the monitor with that avian eyeball intensity and flipped out, shrieking to get the crash cart. I was doing just fine up to this point, but in all the ensuing drama, I felt panicked-not a good thing when you are in atrial fib.
The arrythmia was promptly converted to normal sinus, but I felt guilty for all the excitement my predicament caused. I was perusing some of the tips for novice nurses on atrial fib that Kati Kleber RN MSN had on her nurse education site, FRESHRN. One of her suggestions really hit home, "Put on your nurse face when caring for a patient in atrial fibrillation." From a patient's perspective, I offer up a hearty AMEN to that one!
For all you bright whippersnapperns out there take a gander at FRESHRN. I really admire Kati's fine work and it's a wonderful resource..
