[MichaelLooney]

Okay, this actually happened to my grandmother while I was in Jr High.
She was in teh hospital after having cancer surgery, and the monitor they had her hooked up to suddenly quit taking readings. The staff, assuming she'd had a heart attack, started 'pounding' on her chest, which scared the crap out of her b/c she'd been asleep by that point, which scared the nurse. My grandmother swore she almost DID have a heart attack b/c of that.

[Bluewombat]

I remember one of our orderlies who was young and would always come into work after a huge night out hung over....Well this particular morning after the night before was no exception....One of our nurses knew this and set him up a beauty!!! the nurse strategically placed an oyster into a new sputum cup and placed it beside a patients bed...( the patient was in on the joke too). When the orderly walked into the room, the nurse said "hey Trent look at this..." Being young a gulliable Trent looked into the sputum cup....when he took the look, he just turned all the shades of green...but when the nurse up ended the cup and swallowed the oyster, that was the end of our poor orderly for the rest of the day....be bolted out of the room and made bee line for the slop hopper and then took himself off home......we laughed for days about it....and even more so when the nurse 'fessed" up to the prank. The Charge nurse thought it was just brilliant!!!!!

[Mommy2Katiebaby]

Originally Posted by elizabells

They still use the sandbox beds in NY, at least. Oddly enough, we were taking care of a paraplegic guy on one of the sand beds who inexplicably passed really excessive gas and diarrhea every time you rolled him onto his side. Aaaaaand he had a stage IV decub on his ischium. So we rolled him (this was before we knew what the consequences would be) to assess. Thank god I was on the front side supporting his shoulder and hip - my partner leaned over to check the wound, and got a huuuuuuuge liquid stool about three inches from her face for her troubles. Then her steth fell in the puddle. :hatparty: and that's how we learned that a stage IV can turn into a rectal fistula if you're not careful...she couldn't figure out how the stool was coming out of two holes...

EEEEEEEEWWWWW!! This sounds exactly like the guy we had! I haven't seen one of those beds in years, but you'd think they'd design them to be poo-proof... that bottom sheet is hard to get off, but far from impossible!

[Mommy2Katiebaby]

Didn't you ever have a totally inappropriate thought or impulse, get the giggles, and not be able to quit? I can see that happening to myself in the ventriloquist story... NOT the best way to handle someone's deceased Daddy, but if it ever did happen I think I'd have to be picked up off the floor.

[CrunchRN]

I think this is our safe place to decompress and not have to worry about being perfect. I respect Cara's caring and respect for the dead, but also the need for humor that at times is totally politically incorrect. This is our safe place though so bring it on - these are hilarious.

[gauge14iv]

Originally Posted by MarySunshine

Oh, I have one! This baby....

Ok another preemie story....

One particular nurse was very fixated on her tiny patient's stools. In babies - almost always runny or very soft and yellow to light brown. One day when she wasn't looking, someone filled her little patient's diaper with milk duds. The look on her face when she opened it up was priceless!

[MissJoRN]

Originally Posted by Lacaza3

Ok this isnt a story about a nurse but its a funny story about the Dr and we nurses got to see..The Plastic surgeon was working in the OR suite and yelled out to the Fellow Dr hey get some scrubs on and you can finish up on closing this patient..The Fellow Dr came out and said well I dont have scrubs here but a borrow the other Drs..he had scrubs on and shoes that were 3 sizes too big..
He scrubed in and proceeded...Everything was fine and we hear OPPSSS.
We said whats wrong DR... he said my scrub bottoms just fell to the floor ...
Sure enough there he was pants down to his ankles..He couldn't reach down because he would break sterilzation..He said would one of you reach down please and pull my briches up<he was a very cute and single dr>His face was so red
All the nurses busted out laughing ...When it got quite I said really loud.
Well a big Merry Christmas to us....< it was christmas time I thought that was a very nice present to see him in his cute underpants...HE HE..
Donna

I once had a surgeon ask me for a hemostat immediatly after I got his gloves on- I thought he'd gone nuts- we weren't even draped, but I gave it to him. He used it to clamp his pants to his shirt right through his gown. "D*** things almost fell off!"
Of course, it has actually happened to nurses, techs, and MDs many times

[icyounurse]

Originally Posted by apaisRN

I think the ventriloquist trick was inappropriate, but I can see how it would be funny during a long stressful shift where you had to look death in the eye more than once. It's a way to cope, although probably not the best one.

i am not saying its the most appropriate either, but you know i think if i was having that kind of night, i would probably not help but to laugh[once i was safely away from family]. you really have to laugh sometimes, you know?

[gr8rnpjt]

Originally Posted by super_rn

O come on Cara, everyone knows dead patients are really the funniest.

I think as nurses we have a morbid sense of humor that helps us deal with stressful situations. It makes horrible situations easier to cope with.
:hatparty:[/quote]

Thank you Supr-rn for coming to my defense. Of course, It wasn't the nicest thing, but it was my first (death) maybe I should have added that. But it was pretty unnerving for me, and the other nurse was trying to make it easier for me. It did help, and I was able to get through it.

[gr8rnpjt]

Originally Posted by desmodia

*********
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....

Believe me no one heard me laughing either. I think I did say that I went into the charting room to laugh. And I did have to tell them that he had died and believe me I was not laughing or smiling. Thanks for taking a funny thread and flaming me.