Crazy stuff can happen

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Tell me your story, or something you did or experienced that was either a no-no, an uh-oh, or just downright unusual! on the nrsg unit!:uhoh3: ;)

Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
(this user has read the first page of the thread and thought it better to continue when finished eating)

I've been eating while reading all four pages. Read about the gangrenous member while eating a chili dog. I'm a sick, sick person.

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
As a new grad, I worked on a unit and was doing 6:30 AM rounds and pulled the covers down and a man's gangrenous member fell off in the covers. Talk about wondering why I became a nurse!!!!!!

OMG, you HAVE to be making that up.

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
how about a pca giving you a bp not once but 3 times. you get an order for vasotech IV hang the med and one hour later the pca says that's not the pt with the high bp!!!!f but it's ok I put it in the computer under the right pt (which was not my pt at all) Wait it' gets worse (pt was fine) :banghead: but I totally flipped out and cursed her out at the top of my lungs screaming profanities in front of my manger (after she lied and said that she told me it was the other pt who was again not my pt! :flamesonb

Uhhh, not cool. #1, good idea to double check a pt's vitals for yourself before hanging something like vasotec, and #2, good idea NOT to curse out a coworker , and certainly not in front of others. So unprofessional...

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Okay, here's one from me:

When I first started working as a PCA, I was trying to teach this guy, about middle-aged, how to use his incentive spirometer. This guy was an alcoholic and definately not "all there".

Anyway, I came back to his room later that night to check on him... and uh, found that he had URINATED into his incentive spirometer.

I guess it really isn't hard to mistake that little tiny hole that you inhale through, for your urinal, eh?

I have a good one...from today as a matter of fact. One of my patients, who is a parapalegic called me in to tell me he thinks his Foley is clogged and needs to be flushed. His urine cx just came back with >100,000 Proteus and the urine in the bag looks like eggnog...sorry, for lack of a better description. Very purulent and sludgy...very gross!!! I checked the puter to see when the Foley was last changed and saw that it was changed on 6/3. So, I decide to just flush it. I tried and tried and couldn't get it unclogged, so I said "unfortunately, I'm going to need to change this again." So, I get set up to put in a new Foley, everything is within my reach, I deflate the balloon...and then thought about grabbing some extra chucks...only 3 feet away. I step away to get the chux, and I hear him go "OOOOHHHH!!!" There was so much pressure in his bladder, that it blew the Foley out of his member, sending sludgy, smelly urine EVERYWHERE!!!

After 18 years in nursing, it's hard to come up with just one or two crazy things that have happened. I had a patient once whose member fell off during his bed bath. I let out a gasp when i saw it had fallen off. The patient asked, "what's wrong?" I didn't know what to say. I just moved the covers a bit so he could see what had happened. The guy actually laughed and said, "OH! Figured that would happen sooner or later, It's not like I've used it in years anyway -- adds a new meaning to 'use it or lose it' don't ya think?"

Second one is still embarassing and happened nearly 10 years ago. I was working night shift in a nursing home. There were only 3 staff in the building, 2 CNA's and myself. The CNA's were down the halls getting patients up and dressed for the day. The med room had a second supply room off the back of it where we kept the overflow meds. The med room door and this supply room door were about 10 feet apart. Both doors locked automatically when closed. I was wearing a pair of baggy cargo pants. I had gone into the back supply room in the process of restocking the med cart. I had my keys in side pocket of my cargo pants. When i left the room, I turned and walked out, the door closed behind me and as I tried to step away I realized my keys were caught on the other side of the door but still in my pocket! I couldn't reach the door to the main med room to open it and call for help! I ended up having to slip out of my pants and leave them hanging in the door! I had to go to the nurses station without my pants to call for the locksmith to come unlock the back supply room. When the locksmith arrived, he took one look at my pants hanging in the door and just laughed his head off! Anytime I see past co-workers from that place, they still tease me about it. No more baggy cargo pants for me!

I think I could handle a member falling off... But a toe??? EWWWWWW :lol2:

Specializes in CVICU, CCU, MICU, SICU, Transplant.

Chronic patient who was trach'd, on a vent, had 2 chest tubes, but was totally awake and with it. She had a visit from her BF one day. Fellow nurse came into the room and discovered the patient hanging off the side of the bed, chest tubes flopping at her side, vent alarming like crazy... pt was having sex with her significant other!!! The nurse didn't know what to do, so she just spun around and left the room totally shocked/embarrassed.

Specializes in CVICU, CCU, MICU, SICU, Transplant.

Heard stories a few years ago of a nurse who would give Wexcide douches to female patients with yeast infections (Wexcide = the stuff that housekeeping at my hospital uses to clean rooms and equipment). OUCH.

Apparently he no longer works there... Can't imagine why

Also, a nurse once pushed Zantac through an epidural instead of the IV. Nothing happened, fortunately, but nobody knew what to expect.

Man with definite psych issues came in complaining of abd pain, stated he hadn't had a BM in days and begged for an enema. Had a woman in the other room bleeding out after an SAB so she was my priority. Everytime I came out of her room the man was grabbing my arm and begging for help. Finally got my lady stabilized and went in to the man's room. He was standing at the bedside with feces all over one hand and on the sheet where he had wiped it, and feces on the floor. He had disimpacted himself because he got tired of waiting. Got the bedside commode for him, figuring if he got the plug out, then he could probably go.

By the time he was done the bucket was brim-ful, I kid you not, and he had vagaled out several times.

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

Second one is still embarassing and happened nearly 10 years ago. I was working night shift in a nursing home. There were only 3 staff in the building, 2 CNA's and myself. The CNA's were down the halls getting patients up and dressed for the day. The med room had a second supply room off the back of it where we kept the overflow meds. The med room door and this supply room door were about 10 feet apart. Both doors locked automatically when closed. I was wearing a pair of baggy cargo pants. I had gone into the back supply room in the process of restocking the med cart. I had my keys in side pocket of my cargo pants. When i left the room, I turned and walked out, the door closed behind me and as I tried to step away I realized my keys were caught on the other side of the door but still in my pocket! I couldn't reach the door to the main med room to open it and call for help! I ended up having to slip out of my pants and leave them hanging in the door! I had to go to the nurses station without my pants to call for the locksmith to come unlock the back supply room. When the locksmith arrived, he took one look at my pants hanging in the door and just laughed his head off! Anytime I see past co-workers from that place, they still tease me about it. No more baggy cargo pants for me!

That one deserves some kind of prize! At least, write it up and send it in to Reader's Digest!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

Parent of a pediatric chemotherapy patient did this at home- put meds meant for the G-Tube into the child's central line! Luckily, the child was OK, but she had to be admitted for prophylactic antibiotics.

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