Math Quiz For Er Nurses!

Specialties Emergency

Published

Specializes in M/S, Tele, Peds, ER.

alright... you've probably all read this one before, but i was getting my "nursing humor fix" and these for some reason cracked me up more than anything else! just the mental picture i think! lol... i love it! wanted to share.... enjoy! ac

math quiz for emergency department staff

[color=#ff0080]authorship is now authoritatively attributed: written by myka clark,

published in jen volume 21, number 4, august 1995

as verified by sue moore, rn, ms, ccrn, cen

1. you are assisting a primary nurse with charcoal administration down an orogastric tube. the room measures eight feet by twelve feet. the patient starts to retch before the tube is pulled. knowing that charcoal can spew out of a tube in a five foot radius (even with a thumb over the opening) and the stretcher is two feet wide, how many feet per second do you have to back up to get less charcoal on you than the primary nurse?

2. doctor a picks up a chart out of the rack. s/he finds that it is a repeat patient with abdominal pain. doctor a puts the chart back. doctor b picks up the chart five minutes later and also returns it to the rack. doctor a leaves the nurses' station heading south at three miles per hour. doctor b leaves the nurses station for the doctors' lounge at five miles per hour. how long before the patient is at equal distance from doctor a and doctor b?

3. you were assigned two large treatment rooms and the gynecologic room. by the end of the day you have cared for ten patients. four patients were female over the age of 80, all complaining of weakness. two patients were male, ages 72 and 50. the last four were female, between the ages of 24 and 40, all complaining of abdominal pain. it is 3:00 p.m. and time to restock the rooms. how many bedpans will you need?

4. you are the primary nurse for an elderly patient with congestive heart failure. the iv stick was exceptionally difficult, but you are able to start an 18 gauge catheter on the second attempt. you leave the room to check on another patient. a relative thinks that the iv has stopped dripping and opens the clamp. how much iv fluid will infuse before you return?

5. you are sent for your morning coffee break. you need to use the restroom but can't find one unoccupied and have to walk down to the lobby. the coffee pot is dry and you have to make more. when you get to the cafeteria, the line extends ten feet into the hallway. you can't remember exactly when your break began. how much time do you have left?

6. you are the primary nurse taking care of a particularly shy female in the gynecology room. her private physician arrives to see her, but you can see that he is not in a particularly good mood. after much coaxing, the patient agrees to a pelvic exam. how many people will open the door during the exam?

7. an elderly man arrives in the emergency department by rescue squad. twenty minutes later his wife arrives and registers him. she is shown the entrance to the department and slowly shuffles in. how many rooms will she walk into before she finds him?

8. you are assigned to the eent room. you have a patient to be checked for a peritonsillar abscess. the ent physician has been paged and expects to arrive in 45 minutes. three hours later, he arrives and is at the patient's side, asking for a flashlight. lightly jogging at 22 miles per hour, how many rooms will you have to search before you find one?

9. you have been asked to cover a coworker's rooms during her break. one of her patients is an elderly, confused male with an enlarged prostate. a catheter has been inserted and his physician is coming to see him. somehow he manages to get off the stretcher. the drainage bag is firmly hooked to the side rail. knowing that the catheter is 16 inches long and the drainage tubing is three feet long, will he be able to reach the door before pulling out the catheter?

10. a college student named muffy is brought to the emergency department with a sore throat. she has no relatives in the area. will there be enough chairs in the waiting room for deeply concerned significant others?

Specializes in Pediatrics.

Ahhh! I love this thanks! I'm going to e-mail to the teacher in our program who teaches drug calculations! Maybe some new test questions on here for her!

That is hilarious! I SOOO needed that...:chuckle

Specializes in Emergency Dept, ICU.

Ha I know the answer to number 10! Not enough.

1. 250

2. 15 seconds

3. All of them

4. All of it

5. None. You are already late.

6. It will only be opened once- by the entire varsity soccer team , looking their buddy with the sprained ankle.

7. She won't. she will end up registered as a patient.

8. All of them. And then it will be out of batteries.

9. Yes. With his head. If he falls head first, his head will hit the door if it is closed, which it will be.

10. No, but who cares?

9309

1. you are assisting a primary nurse with charcoal administration down an orogastric tube. the room measures eight feet by twelve feet. the patient starts to retch before the tube is pulled. knowing that charcoal can spew out of a tube in a five foot radius (even with a thumb over the opening) and the stretcher is two feet wide, how many feet per second do you have to back up to get less charcoal on you than the primary nurse?

>>> 1 step back in 0.5 sec, just behind the primary nurse

2. doctor a picks up a chart out of the rack. s/he finds that it is a repeat patient with abdominal pain. doctor a puts the chart back. doctor b picks up the chart five minutes later and also returns it to the rack. doctor a leaves the nurses' station heading south at three miles per hour. doctor b leaves the nurses station for the doctors' lounge at five miles per hour. how long before the patient is at equal distance from doctor a and doctor b?

>> 5 minutes 30 sec

3. you were assigned two large treatment rooms and the gynecologic room. by the end of the day you have cared for ten patients. four patients were female over the age of 80, all complaining of weakness. two patients were male, ages 72 and 50. the last four were female, between the ages of 24 and 40, all complaining of abdominal pain. it is 3:00 p.m. and time to restock the rooms. how many bedpans will you need?

>> 10, for the incoming patients and those your co-workers will get from your area (or 0, just get the ones the other area haven't used)

4. you are the primary nurse for an elderly patient with congestive heart failure. the iv stick was exceptionally difficult, but you are able to start an 18 gauge catheter on the second attempt. you leave the room to check on another patient. a relative thinks that the iv has stopped dripping and opens the clamp. how much iv fluid will infuse before you return?

>> the entire bottle... and i'll be the one blamed because i should have put it up on a pump

5. you are sent for your morning coffee break. you need to use the restroom but can't find one unoccupied and have to walk down to the lobby. the coffee pot is dry and you have to make more. when you get to the cafeteria, the line extends ten feet into the hallway. you can't remember exactly when your break began. how much time do you have left?

>> just enough to walk back to your area

6. you are the primary nurse taking care of a particularly shy female in the gynecology room. her private physician arrives to see her, but you can see that he is not in a particularly good mood. after much coaxing, the patient agrees to a pelvic exam. how many people will open the door during the exam?

>> the entire staff, looking for a bedpan, the charge nurse, looking the empty room, 2 ems looking for sheets, 18 patients who thought it was bathroom

7. an elderly man arrives in the emergency department by rescue squad. twenty minutes later his wife arrives and registers him. she is shown the entrance to the department and slowly shuffles in. how many rooms will she walk into before she finds him?

>> (1), her own room... getting from point a to point be will cause her dyspnea and chest pain

8. you are assigned to the eent room. you have a patient to be checked for a peritonsillar abscess. the ent physician has been paged and expects to arrive in 45 minutes. three hours later, he arrives and is at the patient's side, asking for a flashlight. lightly jogging at 22 miles per hour, how many rooms will you have to search before you find one?

>> 15, but won't find it anywhere, because some other attending has it on his pocket... 18 people to ask before i see him

9. you have been asked to cover a coworker's rooms during her break. one of her patients is an elderly, confused male with an enlarged prostate. a catheter has been inserted and his physician is coming to see him. somehow he manages to get off the stretcher. the drainage bag is firmly hooked to the side rail. knowing that the catheter is 16 inches long and the drainage tubing is three feet long, will he be able to reach the door before pulling out the catheter?

>> no, he will fall flat on his face and (1) will be responsible to document the fall (me), (3) copies has to be furnished and (1) form of restraint will be ordered in (3) minutes getting himback to bed

10. a college student named muffy is brought to the emergency department with a sore throat. she has no relatives in the area. will there be enough chairs in the waiting room for deeply concerned significant others?

>> none, and they have to wait at least a shif to be seen

1. you are assisting a primary nurse with charcoal administration down an orogastric tube. the room measures eight feet by twelve feet. the patient starts to retch before the tube is pulled. knowing that charcoal can spew out of a tube in a five foot radius (even with a thumb over the opening) and the stretcher is two feet wide, how many feet per second do you have to back up to get less charcoal on you than the primary nurse?

>>> 1 step back in 0.5 sec, just behind the primary nurse

2. doctor a picks up a chart out of the rack. s/he finds that it is a repeat patient with abdominal pain. doctor a puts the chart back. doctor b picks up the chart five minutes later and also returns it to the rack. doctor a leaves the nurses' station heading south at three miles per hour. doctor b leaves the nurses station for the doctors' lounge at five miles per hour. how long before the patient is at equal distance from doctor a and doctor b?

>> 5 minutes 30 sec

3. you were assigned two large treatment rooms and the gynecologic room. by the end of the day you have cared for ten patients. four patients were female over the age of 80, all complaining of weakness. two patients were male, ages 72 and 50. the last four were female, between the ages of 24 and 40, all complaining of abdominal pain. it is 3:00 p.m. and time to restock the rooms. how many bedpans will you need?

>> 10, for the incoming patients and those your co-workers will get from your area (or 0, just get the ones the other area haven't used)

4. you are the primary nurse for an elderly patient with congestive heart failure. the iv stick was exceptionally difficult, but you are able to start an 18 gauge catheter on the second attempt. you leave the room to check on another patient. a relative thinks that the iv has stopped dripping and opens the clamp. how much iv fluid will infuse before you return?

>> the entire bottle... and i'll be the one blamed because i should have put it up on a pump

5. you are sent for your morning coffee break. you need to use the restroom but can't find one unoccupied and have to walk down to the lobby. the coffee pot is dry and you have to make more. when you get to the cafeteria, the line extends ten feet into the hallway. you can't remember exactly when your break began. how much time do you have left?

>> just enough to walk back to your area

6. you are the primary nurse taking care of a particularly shy female in the gynecology room. her private physician arrives to see her, but you can see that he is not in a particularly good mood. after much coaxing, the patient agrees to a pelvic exam. how many people will open the door during the exam?

>> the entire staff, looking for a bedpan, the charge nurse, looking the empty room, 2 ems looking for sheets, 18 patients who thought it was bathroom

7. an elderly man arrives in the emergency department by rescue squad. twenty minutes later his wife arrives and registers him. she is shown the entrance to the department and slowly shuffles in. how many rooms will she walk into before she finds him?

>> (1), her own room... getting from point a to point be will cause her dyspnea and chest pain

8. you are assigned to the eent room. you have a patient to be checked for a peritonsillar abscess. the ent physician has been paged and expects to arrive in 45 minutes. three hours later, he arrives and is at the patient's side, asking for a flashlight. lightly jogging at 22 miles per hour, how many rooms will you have to search before you find one?

>> 15, but won't find it anywhere, because some other attending has it on his pocket... 18 people to ask before i see him

9. you have been asked to cover a coworker's rooms during her break. one of her patients is an elderly, confused male with an enlarged prostate. a catheter has been inserted and his physician is coming to see him. somehow he manages to get off the stretcher. the drainage bag is firmly hooked to the side rail. knowing that the catheter is 16 inches long and the drainage tubing is three feet long, will he be able to reach the door before pulling out the catheter?

>> no, he will fall flat on his face and (1) will be responsible to document the fall (me), (3) copies has to be furnished and (1) form of restraint will be ordered in (3) minutes getting himback to bed

10. a college student named muffy is brought to the emergency department with a sore throat. she has no relatives in the area. will there be enough chairs in the waiting room for deeply concerned significant others?

>> none, and they have to wait at least a shift to be seen

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