Pillow v/s Shield

So, as usual, we have new nurses. It takes a good four to six weeks to learn your residents. The pictures in the treatment books are nice, but sometimes it can be difficult to tell one from another. Especially if there has been a great physical change in a resident since the photo was taken.

Well, Nurse Noob tries to administer a breathing treatment to Resident A. Unfortunately, the breathing treatment was for Resident B. Resident A is cognitive and doesn't have a nebulizer anyway, so the error was caught before it went too far.

Can I say that I got an earful? Can I also say that Resident A is deaf and speaks loudly? And furthermore, Nurse Noob is in the hallway, just a door down, probably dying of embarrassment.

I probably should have said something in her defense. Instead, I decided that my responsibility was to the resident. So, I nodded and agreed and listened sympathetically. I don't remember if I went so far as to apologize for Nurse Noob. I may have. In any event, I figured I'm paid to be a pillow for the residents, not a shield for the nurses. I may come to regret this course of action. But I'm confident she'll eventually get her resident's straight and Resident A will eventually forgive and forget her error. Eventually, all will be well.