Nurse Quirks

Jenni811, RN · Jan 4, 2013

I find myself dating EVERYTHING in my fridge. I have certain criteria when things should be eaten, if not i toss. I also have a temperature gauge in my fridge so i know things are being kept at the right temp. I never ever did this until i became a nurse and we were required to do this in our break room fridge.

Stcroix, ASN, PhD, RN · Jan 4, 2013

"The general bacterial load associated with living life as a human being is not the huge threat the advertisers of "sanitizing wipes" tell you. A good immune system doesn't happen by accident. Evidence-based practice ROCKS!"

You said a mouthful. An active immune system is a happy immune system. Sure, infection control measures have their place, but not for the healthy average individual walking around. Heck, my kids ate all kinds of nasty stuff (when I wasn't looking) and no ill effects.

NurseDirtyBird · Jan 4, 2013

I actually went from using bleach and Lysol all the time to plain soap and water. No superbugs in my house! I do wash my hands more frequently, but there's a happy medium. I don't wash like I do at work because I'm not coming into contact with the contamination that I do at work. It's my house, full of my germs that my immune system is accustomed too.

I'm more laid back. My son falls down, there's no blood, swelling, or deformity, he's fine. And small every day things are not really a big deal when you watched someone die yesterday.

AnonRNC · Jan 4, 2013

I'm mellow at home....actually my house is probably "dirty."

But I cannot cross a threshhold without looking for the sanitizer.

somenurse · Jan 4, 2013

I am not a germ phobe either,

but, i think being around so so many sick people, some to many of whom have made poor choices,

and don't fully seem to understand how they can participate in their own healthcare more than they do (it's not entirely up to us healthcare providers)

has maybe made me more aware and pro-active about eating right, exercising enough, etc.

but, i do think, while in nursing school, i briefly worried once or twice,

about "geez, do i have THAT disease?" for a while, ha ha, but, otherwise, i am not a hypochondriac, never

ever

get sick,

on zero meds, just very healthy person.

but, in the past,

when i was working E.R., and my kids were teens, i will readily admit, i think i was way more prone to fear about their ending up in a MVA, since hardly a week went by, when i wasn't holding some other momma whose life just changed forever, as a result of her teen ending up in an MVA. I really was a bit high-strung about my kids when they first started driving, more so than normal, i think,

cuz i did see young drivers in MVAs so so often, it was a very real possibility to me--to lose my kid to an MVA, as it was in my face so so often, not like some remote thing other people only occasionally hear about, it was part of my world, injured drivers, injured teenagers.

but, on bright side, i did get over that....okay, it took a few years, but, i learned how to relax while my kids were out there driving cars. ha.

When my kids were small,

i can recall a few cases i had, where i undressed, stripped down, out in the garage, bagged up the uniform, shoes and all, and ran straight to the shower, but, this is if i'd had some untreatable viral encephalitis patient, or some really mysterious, untreatable germ of some kind,

while i was raising small kids...........

not a real common behavior from me,

nope,

but, i recall doing that a few times when my kids were small.....our isolation techniques weren't not the greatest decades ago...and we had viruses and germs we had no cure for, at all. OKay, i also did that for head lice patients and scabies patients, too. ha ha, but

otherwise, not a germ phobe at all.

CloudySue · Jan 4, 2013

I'm not afraid of urine anymore. I used to regard it like it was filthy. Now I realize that it's sterile and won't hurt anyone, so if I get a bit on my hand in the bathroom I don't freak.

I don't oversanitize either. Oh who am I kidding. I seldom sanitize at all! My kids are very healthy. My neighbor cleans and sterilizes every day because her daughter gets sick so much. I am certain it's all the cleaning that makes her sick in the first place.

somenurse · Jan 4, 2013

I sleep more. And I'm on my fourth (probable) virus illness since December started. Those are about the only changes. Oh, and I eyeball veins wherever I go.

yes, i know what you mean,

i can't help but admire veins, too, ha ha!! It's almost reflex now, to scan for a good vein...ha ha!!

somenurse · Jan 4, 2013

I actually went from using bleach and Lysol all the time to plain soap and water. No superbugs in my house! I do wash my hands more frequently, but there's a happy medium. I don't wash like I do at work because I'm not coming into contact with the contamination that I do at work. It's my house, full of my germs that my immune system is accustomed too.
I'm more laid back. My son falls down, there's no blood, swelling, or deformity, he's fine. And small every day things are not really a big deal when you watched someone die yesterday.

oh yeah, good point,

this reminds me, lotsa times, everyone else is all freaked out about something, and since i am the nurse, they want me to come over and join in the group mini-hysteria about minor injuries,

but yeah, it's just NOT a big deal, lol.

PeepnBiscuitsRN · Jan 4, 2013

I triage any person who mentions anything ailing them. A friend says he has a bad headache on FB, I come back with: "would you call this the worst pain you've ever had? How would you rate the pain on a scale of 0-10? Any visual changes? Halos? Nausea/vomiting? How is your balance? Did you have any head trauma?"

"No. I just haven't had any coffee today."

I used to call the care line for anything going on with my kids until a nurse asked me why I was calling when I just answered all of the questions she was going to ask me before she even asked them. "Not too many mothers have listened to their child's breath sounds with a stethescope and know to tell me their child has scattered wheezes bilaterally in the mid lung fields and their respirations are 17/min with no retractions and the kid is afebrile...."

Oh, and I do neuro checks any time my kids bonk their heads....

Orion81RN · Jan 4, 2013

I have become more OCD. Its over the top I know but, when I use the washroom, I flush the toilet with a piece of toilet paper, immediately putting the seat down, and after I wash my hands, I turn the water off with my elbow and open the door with my hand in my shirt or the back of my wrist (its a lever type handle, not a twist knob.) I logically know that washing my hands would suffice, but I'm a little OCD.

Orion81RN · Jan 4, 2013

I have become more OCD. Its over the top I know but, when I use the washroom, I flush the toilet with a piece of toilet paper, immediately putting the seat down, and after I wash my hands, I turn the water off with my elbow and open the door with my hand in my shirt or the back of my wrist (its a lever type handle, not a twist knob.) I logically know that washing my hands would suffice, but I'm a little OCD.

Oh, I also dry my hands on the back part of the bathroom towel where no one else has touched.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2013

I'm very aware of the risks and all the germs involved. I provide care to 30 elderly, and I've seen some pretty disgusting things during some of my shifts. However, I don't obsess over cleanliness. Handwashing, clean and sterile techniques are very important, but I'm not overly concerned or thinking about germs every minute. I'd never get anything done, and any obsession can quickly become unhealthy. I'm sick less than once a year, so I must be doing something right.