[JustaPatient]

Originally Posted by canoehead

" You like lighting alcohol swabs"

What the heck? My tech and I just went out back and tried this...nothing happened. We had a pretty good campfire, but without marshmallows what's the point?

When you go and try something you find on here that you had never done yet.

[TrickieTam]

Normal people wait on a sale at the mall for a new outfit, nurses wait on the sale at the uniform outlet across town.

Watch medical shows such as Greys Anatomy to get style ideas lol

Judge a shoe by how long it can withstand a 12 or 16 hour shift. Crocs and Birkenstock win!

[FutureNurseSaga]

I can't wail till I can relate to theses posts!!!!

[musicmaiden]

They look at you intensely (esp at the arms) for veins - i always do that!!

[Diary/Dairy]

YOu look at veins in the line at Walmart/Food Lion.

You assess the gait of complete strangers and wonder how they manage without assistive devices.

You see a critically ill person that you have 1:1, and think, "Oh Boy, it's going to be a FUN night." and mean it without sarcasm!

[jim1_12]

I do the one about assessing complete strangers veins for IVs all the time

[debanam]

I do the vein thing also. Even during tv shows.

I also do the apple vs. pear body type thing, the one that indicates diabetes. Just for amusement. Lots more apples than pears out there.

I catch myself staring at people trying to figure out whats wrong with them. Did this to a kid with a big head at Target today. My dtr asked what I was looking at.

Tell the kids to "walk it off" and "if no blood is spurting out and no bone is sticking out, it's not an emergency." Lots of my co-workers do this, too.

Laughed when the school nurse calls to say son ate eraser from pencil. School nurse got mad. Hey, this will pass. Call me if the above criteria are met. Or if lice are found in the classroom.

Have 10 pairs Crocs and wear them all the time. Dtr now wearing crocs. Get excited when crocs on sale.

Buys scrubs and sweats, sweats and scrubs. Wear indiscriminately. Have to purchase outfit when needed for special occasion. Literally have nothing to wear to nice event.

Get excited when scrub top is purchased for $1.50 at Kmart and other customers look at you like you need a nurse.

Use those little alcohol pads for everything. They work great on so many levels. Pockets full of them when you get home.

[peridotgirl]

Helo debanam. How r u? I have never heard of the pear vrs. apple "abd" thing. Does having an abd shaped like an pear indicate that you have diabetes or something? LOL! just wanted to clarify. thank you.

[debanam]

The apple shape - people who carry their weight above the hips. Big belly, big boobs (men too), no butt, slim legs. More at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The pear shape - people who carry their weight below the waist. Big butt, big legs, small above the waist - can be a whole size smaller. More at risk for arthritis related diseases.

My instructor in LPN school got me looking at people for this. I never thought of it before then. Now I do it all the time.

[grace90]

Originally Posted by debanam

Tell the kids to "walk it off" and "if no blood is spurting out and no bone is sticking out, it's not an emergency." Lots of my co-workers do this, too.

Laughed when the school nurse calls to say son ate eraser from pencil. School nurse got mad. Hey, this will pass. Call me if the above criteria are met. Or if lice are found in the classroom.

Use those little alcohol pads for everything. They work great on so many levels. Pockets full of them when you get home.

Yup, that's all me. My in-laws think I'm nuts cuz if I hear my girls fighting with each other or their cousins, instead of sticking my nose in I holler "call me if there's blood, a lot of it".

Alcohol pads are great for getting ink, paint and play tattoos off skin.

When your 4 yo niece runs up and yells that your daughter is "bleeding really bad" you ask if any bones are sticking out, and she looks horrified. When you finally see this alleged "severe bleeding" and discover it's a tiny cut and a couple drops of blood, you walk away telling your daughter she's fine, so she gets a bandaid from a sympathetic aunt.

We are in the process of moving, and the house we're moving to was owned by "hygienically challenged" individuals to say it nicely.
So it's taking A LOT of clean-up and disinfecting. I opened the cupboard under a bathroom sink and saw a red straight catheter in there, obviously used. I screamed and gagged, and my family ran in thinking it was a rat or huge spider, and ask me what in the world I was afraid of. When I told them what it was, they were grossed out too.