I recently graduated from LPN school here in Connecticut, and I'll never forget the experience. I was one of 6 men who started the class, and one of 3 who graduated. Along the way, there were many hardships, trials, and funny moments. But the one moment I will always remember happened during our first clinical day.
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One of the guys was a very kind professional who wanted to become a nurse for all the right reasons. He really wanted to help people, not just make money. Unfortunately, he had never been in a hospital or convalescent home, had never worked as a nurses aide or anything to do with medicine.
The days leading up to our first clinical day was filled with fear and trepidation. Although we were only going to be doing the most basic of tasks, the thought of actually taking care of another person had him shaking in fear. As a veteran nurses aide, I tried to get him to relax. I can still remember saying to him "After all, what can happen?"
He gets his assignment, a little old woman with no current problems but with a heart condition being controlled by medication. She is an assistant of one and does most ADLs with only limited assistance. The perfect first patient for someone without any experience.
Well, here is the story as he tells it:
He woke the patient up and asked her if she wanted to go into the bathroom to get washed and changed. She said sure and told him what clothes she wanted to wear that day. Then, he executed a perfect move to get her from the bed into a sitting position. After waiting, as we were taught, he put the gait belt around her and assisted her to her feet.
It was then that he realized he had forgotten his belt in his haste that morning, and the gait belt was holding his pants up. Figuring he had plenty of time as it was only a few short steps to the bathroom, he thought he could move her along a little more quickly than she was used to.
About halfway to the bathroom, he realized his pants were slowly slipping down and tried to adjust. Just at that moment, the woman says she is getting really dizzy and starts to slump over. As he couldn't let the woman fall, he grabbed the gait belt with both hands. That caused his pants to fall completely down around his ankles.
Just then, the door flies open, and our nursing instructor, who is giving a tour to the director of the LPN program, enters the room!
It was a moment he would never live down... Arms around this little old lady, he
looking green and she looking pale, his pants around his ankles.... it was priceless!
Although he didn't make it through the program, he became a successful CNA and to this day laughs with us when we tease him about the day he was caught in nursing school with his pants down... literally!
