What have other nurses done that have freaked you out?

Nurses General Nursing

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What have other peers done intentional/unintentional to freak you out? Good or bad. Happy or sad.

On my FIRST day as an LVN, (LTC) a res was screaming in her room as I was walking out to leave. I went in to see what was going on. She was having an anxiety attack and severe pain (post stroke). I pulled the call light, and no one came. Uggg.

So I peeked out the door and saw my CNA walking down the hall, and told him to come sit with res. I went down to get her a Xanax and a pain pill, well relief nurse was in the restroom, and relief CNA (with call light still going off) was sitting behind nurses station reading a newspaper. I told CNA to tell the nurse to get a Xanax and pain pill for res. She said OK. I go to relieve my CNA. Said goodbye to him, and stayed with res. after 10 minutes, CNA COMES INTO ROOM WITH XANAX AND MORPHINE PILL. She is soooooo shocked to see me still there, she hands me the pills and RUNS to the relief nurse. I could NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!!!!

(I did immediately call DON and tell what happened. Luckily, my CNA was still checking on another res, and saw the whole thing.--------they got a slap on the wrist! that was it!!!):madface: :madface: :madface: :madface:

You people are raising my blood pressure.

Okay, well there was the aide who wanted to wash everyone in the morning using the same pail of water (she had an old icecream pail that she had found under the sink). Word was she had once been an RN.

then there was the nurse who came in to work with me and forgot her reading glasses who ignored my requests to go home and get them and kept holding pills up to me and asking me what they were.....

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First, I'll start with something I did as a new nurse. I had to give a young patient an enema because he was having an organ transplant the next day. I prepared my equipment and inserted the tube. Couldn't get the solution in. Kept repositioning the tube... still wouldn't flow. Finally, I removed the tube and noticed that I had left the cap on the tube :imbar Thank goodness it didn't get 'lost' in the patient's rectum.

I have been a nurse for 20 years and have seen a lot of mistakes. One that sticks out in my mind is a patient that I took over from a new nurse. He had a triple-lumen sublavian catheter. In report, the nurse told me she had discontinued his IV fluids as ordered. When I did my assessment on the patient, I checked his TLC site. I was shocked to find a small amount of blood and an open hub where she had apparently 'discontinued' his IV tubing and left the line completely open to air! Thank goodness it clotted off.

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Specializes in ub-Acute/LTC, Home Health, L&D, Peds.

:smackingf i was working part time in ltc and this day i happened to be the med nurse. i went up to the floor at the beginning of my shift and listened to report. the day and evening charge nurses were both new nurses and i had been a nurse about 10 years at the time. i heard that one of the patients was unresponsive with a bs of 39. as med nurse i had to go back downstairs to count with the other nurse and bring up the med cart. so, as i was downstairs i got a call from one of the charge nurses upstairs that i had just listened to in report. she told me to bring up diabeta (a tab for po admin. by the way:uhoh3: not to mention not what you would give for a low bs), she said she just called the md about so & so with the bs 39 and being unresponsive and she said the md's nurse asked what we had in our e-kit and our charge nurse told her diabeta and the md's nurse said to go ahead and give that then:trout:!!???? anyway i brought up glucogon instead and told them to get the order changed stat!!!!!!!! i tell ya scares me to death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:madface: :madface: :madface:

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
:smackingf i was working part time in ltc and this day i happened to be the med nurse. i went up to the floor at the beginning of my shift and listened to report. the day and evening charge nurses were both new nurses and i had been a nurse about 10 years at the time. i heard that one of the patients was unresponsive with a bs of 39. as med nurse i had to go back downstairs to count with the other nurse and bring up the med cart. so, as i was downstairs i got a call from one of the charge nurses upstairs that i had just listened to in report. she told me to bring up diabeta (a tab for po admin. by the way:uhoh3: not to mention not what you would give for a low bs), she said she just called the md about so & so with the bs 39 and being unresponsive and she said the md's nurse asked what we had in our e-kit and our charge nurse told her diabeta and the md's nurse said to go ahead and give that then:trout:!!???? anyway i brought up glucogon instead and told them to get the order changed stat!!!!!!!! i tell ya scares me to death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:madface: :madface: :madface:

i work in a diabetic clinic, and i insisted that they order glucagon to have in their medication cabinet. while we have not had an incident that required the use of it, i was appauled that after just graduating from college, and hearing so much about having glucagon on hand, that there would be absolutely none stored in our diabetes center of excellence!!! thank goodness we did, because i got to see how it has to be reconsituted before administering it, and would have hated to have learned at the last minute while a patient is in crisis...

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
You people are raising my blood pressure.

Okay, well there was the aide who wanted to wash everyone in the morning using the same pail of water (she had an old icecream pail that she had found under the sink). Word was she had once been an RN.

then there was the nurse who came in to work with me and forgot her reading glasses who ignored my requests to go home and get them and kept holding pills up to me and asking me what they were.....

OLD WASHPAIL????? Where does it end....???? And to continue to ask you what medication she is pouring?? My goodness!!

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I remember once a about 10 years ago we had a bad flu outbreak leaving the hospital very short staffed and a call went out for nurses still registered but not working to help out. One retired nurse offered to help out and was assigned a ward and had to give one of the patients insulin sliding scale and when she went to get it checked with another RN she had drawn 20 units up as 2 units "didn't seem a lot to give" :eek:

Oh, my....it gets worse..."it didn't seem to be enough to give, so let me just kill him quickly..." My head is literally spinning.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Oh, my....it gets worse..."it didn't seem to be enough to give, so let me just kill him quickly..." My head is literally spinning.

Very frightening, not sure what else she got up to but they did retire her ASAP

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
Very frightening, not sure what else she got up to but they did retire her ASAP

FINALLY!

A story where the dumb nurse got what she deserved! No wonder people are afraid to come to the hospital now. Between poorly trained (and poorly thinking) nurses, and infection risk, and HMOs dictating care.....never mind good nurses being overworked and underpaid!

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Specializes in cardiac med-surg.

oh my neuro rach you are one tough cookie!

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My mom has a cerebral aneurysm and several years ago had a repair attempted by coiling. Afterwards she was taken to PACU and my dad and I saw her briefly before going to get something to eat; we were supposed to be able to take her home that evening. When we got back the nurse told me Mom had started vomiting blood. After talking to me the nurse disappeared. Literally. They were full and busy, I appreciate that, but somebody had told the staff I was a nurse (not me!) and they deserted me. I was holding my mom up, holding the basin for her to puke in, and suctioning out her mouth, all the while trying to reassure her that she was not going to die (I wasn't sure at the time) and trying to keep my dad calm. I kept asking passing staff for help and the nurse finally came back and said "You're a nurse, you can help," and disappeared again.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.

:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire THAT IS AWFUL. I would be soooooooo very mad!:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

My mom has a cerebral aneurysm and several years ago had a repair attempted by coiling. Afterwards she was taken to PACU and my dad and I saw her briefly before going to get something to eat; we were supposed to be able to take her home that evening. When we got back the nurse told me Mom had started vomiting blood. After talking to me the nurse disappeared. Literally. They were full and busy, I appreciate that, but somebody had told the staff I was a nurse (not me!) and they deserted me. I was holding my mom up, holding the basin for her to puke in, and suctioning out her mouth, all the while trying to reassure her that she was not going to die (I wasn't sure at the time) and trying to keep my dad calm. I kept asking passing staff for help and the nurse finally came back and said "You're a nurse, you can help," and disappeared again.
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Specializes in cardiac.
You people are raising my blood pressure.

Okay, well there was the aide who wanted to wash everyone in the morning using the same pail of water (she had an old icecream pail that she had found under the sink). Word was she had once been an RN.

then there was the nurse who came in to work with me and forgot her reading glasses who ignored my requests to go home and get them and kept holding pills up to me and asking me what they were.....

LOL LOL LOL

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