By Second Law: Never ignore your gut feeling.
This is a hard one for new nurses to learn and for middle-aged (in terms of experience) nurses to remember. Old nurses have it down, which is what makes them different from the rest of us.
Gut feelings are rarely there without evidence to support them. You might not realize it at the time, but something has changed or certain numbers don’t look right or there are retractions in accessory muscles—whatever it is, it has triggered your gut. When that happens, take a step back and look at what’s going on. Don’t assume that just because the blood pressure or the oxygen sat on the finger probe is fine, you’re being paranoid.
