[sharann]

This older woman had just had some type of surgery and my co=worker decided that this poor soul needed some help in the beauty dept, so she proceeded to pluck out and trim with scissors the ladys voluminous white chin hairs.

[bigred]

This happened to a nursing friend years ago in a LTC facility. She and another RN were each feeding a resident. My friend noticed that the resident the other RN was feeding had his mouth wide open and the food was runnining out of his mouth. The other RN then said to my friend "I just don't understand why Mr. C. isn't eating." My friend said that she took a really hard look at this resident ... the man was dead. Very calmly, my friend asked the other RN if she thought this resident was any longer with us. The other RN looked at the resident again and exlaimed "omygosh, omygosh!!".

[misschelei]

I know this probably doesn't count cuz it was a nursing student but it's a good one. She was doing a burn dressing and the patient went asytole so she hit the code button. With 20 people in the room including doctors who came running from all over the hospital it was determined that she cut the lead wires when she was removing the dressing.

[canoehead]

Originally Posted by Cara

This was supposed to be funny? Sorry, I missed the hilarity there.

Cara

LOL There's one in every crowd. :hatparty:

[deedee30]

Originally Posted by Hoosiernurse

I was working 3-11, one other RN, on med surg. We were standing at the desk and my patients family came out to say that they didn't think Dad was breathing. The other nurse and I sent the visitors out and pulled the curtains. I stood on one side, she on the other. I was using my stethoscope listening for lung sounds and I assumed she was planning to feel for a carotid pulse. All of a sudden, she turned his head towards me ( I was bending over, inches from his face) and pulled down on his chin. In her best ventriloquist voice, she said, "hello". Unfortunately, it was my patient and I had to try to tell the loved ones that Dad had indeed ceased to breathe without losing my composure. When I got to the charting room I laughed till I PIMP!

This was supposed to be funny? Sorry, I missed the hilarity there.

Cara[/quote]

Cara are you still a student? As morbid as it seems, when you spend a long enough time in the trenches this type of humor is what keeps you going. It is human and yes it is irreverent but I assure you these nurses probably have as much respect for their patients as you or I do.
deedee

[SusanJean]

Originally Posted by deedee30

This was supposed to be funny? Sorry, I missed the hilarity there.

Cara

Cara are you still a student? As morbid as it seems, when you spend a long enough time in the trenches this type of humor is what keeps you going. It is human and yes it is irreverent but I assure you these nurses probably have as much respect for their patients as you or I do.
deedee [/quote]

We have some new nursing profs this semester - fresh from the trenches - and they are fantastic w/ their dark humor and tales from the OR/floor/ED, etc. I will admit, tho, that it leaves some of the class looking shocked and confused.

SJ

[anichols]

think i've worked with you cara. got myself reamed by a new nurse one night after losing multiple pts on the shift. we all stood around dazed before getting down to the paperwork and without thinking i quoted the "bring out your dead" line from monty python.
btw--no families bothered to come...don't ya love when you're making a call that you hate, sure you're about to ruin a loved one's life, and they just don't care?!?!

[idontdomondays]

I once worked an agency day in a local nursing home. Let's just say it was my first and last experience in such an unsafe setting. I was assigned to approximately 32 patients during a 3pm-11pm shift. Well, while doing medication rounds, I was becoming very overwhelmed because none of the residents had ID bracelets on, so I had to depend on nursing aides to assist in identifying the "right" patient. I approached a large room with four beds in it. The first 2 beds were empty, a gentleman was in the 3rd bed and a curtain was hiding the 4th bed with another gentleman in it. All I can remember is a voice yelling out: "I need some cream for my balls!" In my frantic search for this "cream" and wondering if it was humanly possible for me to finish my med. rounds in time, my mind became rushed. Well, I found the cream and went up to the man in bed number 3 where I thought this voice was coming from. He did not have an ID bracelet on and there was no picture of him shown on the MAR. Anyway, I asked: "What is your name?" He did not answer me, so I then asked: "Are you (name of the patient)?" He said: "Yes". I proceeded to place the cream on his privates and then put it away. As I walked out, I heard: "I need some cream for my balls!" The man that really needed the cream was in bed 4. I felt so bad and embarrassed. The man in bed 3 obviously was confused...or was he?

[desmodia]

Originally Posted by canoehead

LOL There's one in every crowd. :hatparty:

*********
ok, I agree that we use morbid humor to cope. God knows our job really sucks sometimes and it takes more than alittle FUNNY to tolerate it. HOWEVER, we have to remember that we should respect the dead. That dead man could have been YOUR dad, or grandad, or even husband, and how would you have felt if you sensed or God forbid...heard the nurses giggling and laughing??????? No, I am NOT "one of those", but I do try to rmember what we are here to do, and that is to give the BEST most PROFESSIONAL care to out patients and their families....

[Luv2BAnurse]

Originally Posted by idontdomondays

I once worked an agency day in a local nursing home. Let's just say it was my first and last experience in such an unsafe setting. I was assigned to approximately 32 patients during a 3pm-11pm shift. Well, while doing medication rounds, I was becoming very overwhelmed because none of the residents had ID bracelets on, so I had to depend on nursing aides to assist in identifying the "right" patient. I approached a large room with four beds in it. The first 2 beds were empty, a gentleman was in the 3rd bed and a curtain was hiding the 4th bed with another gentleman in it. All I can remember is a voice yelling out: "I need some cream for my balls!" In my frantic search for this "cream" and wondering if it was humanly possible for me to finish my med. rounds in time, my mind became rushed. Well, I found the cream and went up to the man in bed number 3 where I thought this voice was coming from. He did not have an ID bracelet on and there was no picture of him shown on the MAR. Anyway, I asked: "What is your name?" He did not answer me, so I then asked: "Are you (name of the patient)?" He said: "Yes". I proceeded to place the cream on his privates and then put it away. As I walked out, I heard: "I need some cream for my balls!" The man that really needed the cream was in bed 4. I felt so bad and embarrassed. The man in bed 3 obviously was confused...or was he?

heh