What have other nurses done that have freaked you out?

[texas_lvn]

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:

[goingnuts]

I worked night shift in pediatrics for over 10 years. We were always short staffed and the physical plant was huge so you ran miles all night. I worked with an older (60's) nurse who had come back to work after 35 years at home.

Her "technique" for keeping her assignment quiet was to tape their mouths shut! I'm not kidding, I'd find infants and toddlers with pink tape over their mouths, often keeping a pacifier in place. Yes, I talked to her/reported it to the management staff, etc. She was warned. She didn't do it anymore but always held it against me..."gee, what's your problem? It works!"...sigh.

Isn't that abuse? I don't understand why this wasn't reported to the board. I would have. Of course that doesn't mean anything will happen to stop it. I am being accused right now of something I didn't do by some weird wife of a pt. and I am worried about it. And now I hear about this. Hospice fired me right away and now they are doing a peer review which I am pretending not to know about. This is why nursing is the way it is. There are no real rules. Just do what you can and never report any mistake if it will never be discovered. I am sorry but that is the way I feel. Because you never know what will happen. It is just to arbitrary. If they really cared then things would be more fair.

[sungoddess]

:uhoh21: Here's one I was fairly new at a LTC facility I heard a patient screaming in her room, there was another LPN in the room, the screaming continued, I knocked and entered the room asked "can I help?".... The LPN stated " everything is ok I am taking out these staples on her hip and she is screaming..... I observed the LPN for a moment, and told her that you are removing the staples with scissors and NOT the staple remover..... The staples were NOT poped open, just pulled through the poor patients skin....OUCH!!! Bellaluna

[goingnuts]

While in nursing school I worked as a CNA part time. One night the LPN that was working over me asked if I wanted to watch her put in a foley because we were getting ready to do lab check offs on it in class. I was excited and went to watch her do this. I watched her as she carefully set up her sterile field, when she got to the lube she opened the foil package with her teeth, then squirted it all over the foley tip, which she was holding with her bare hand. After cleaning the lady with betodine she went to insert the foley. Even I could see the urethral opening, this lady had actually had fully inflated foleys pulled out before, so it was almost impossible to miss. She went to insert it, and she missed... went in the wrong hole. I was like well, I'll get you another foley, she was like no, it's ok. She made the same mistake 5 times, each time attempting to insert the dirty foley into the urethra. Finally she's like well I guess I'll get a new foley so she laid the dirty one on the lady's bed. She was almost out the door when she turned back around and is like, maybe i'll try it one more time. And she did, and she got it that time. I told the DON about this but nothing ever got done, and fyi the lady did get a raging uti and died of urosepsis.

Doesn't surprise me. Trust me you better get used to this kind of stuff as it only gets worse.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Why is it when things start getting really fun around here someone needs take something personal and derail the whole thing?

Ok, that would be me that did that.

Insulting someone's natural physical appearence because they aren't wearing makeup is rude and uncalled for. :stone

[jojotoo, RN]

I have worked with her for over 10 yrs

first I ever saw her with her makeup off

very scary

and here halloween is coming also

I've got to tell you, that when I wake up and before I take a shower and do my hair and out on my makeup - I've scared myself! I think that there were a couple of times that I even scared the cats!! (But I do clean up pretty good.)

[christymwinn]

I've got to tell you, that when I wake up and before I take a shower and do my hair and out on my makeup - I've scared myself! I think that there were a couple of times that I even scared the cats!! (But I do clean up pretty good.)

:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle

I have had those days myself!!!!

[grace90, LPN, LVN]

Oh, man! Next time I think I am having a bad day, I will remember this. At least you can laugh about it now!

This just happened to me yesterday.... Freaked me out...and then I laughed...

I went to assess my pt who was receiving Packed RBC's....The offgoing nurse told me that she had to put the unit of rbc's in a pressure bag, because he only had a 22g iv access and the previous bag took forever to infuse...he is a bad stick due previous hospitalizations for various gi problems requiring phenergan so his veins suck... she also told me the pt was a&ox3 and she did alot of pt education about the infusion process, why she put it in a pressure bag....etc...

well, apparently the gentleman wanted to go smoke very badly and she told him he could after the last unit infused.... Tells me all of this in report.... Soooo, after report, I go into his room to check the infusion and etc... just as the gentleman is squeezing the bladder on the pressure bag to infuse the blood quicker and....boom!!! the bag explodes and I am drenched in blood, I jump backwards and the meal tray table falls over, making a loud crash noise, my co-workers come running from hearing the commotion and they thought I had been shot in the head and chest....lol...I am grossed out and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror... I look like I am in a scene from the movie "carrie"... I walk out of the room.... a pt ambulating in the hall swoons at the sight of me, the PT aide catches her, I go to help her and I slip and fall from the urine of the lady who lost her bladder as she swooned....

I then had to go to the staff bathroom and shower and change into scrubs...

Luckily, the nurse Iwas releiving stayed and took care of my patients until i got cleaned up and she kept apologizing....totally not her fault... She is a nonsmoker and had no idea of the lengths a three pack a day smoker will go to when they are jones'ing for a cigerette.

So there you have it.... Just another day in paradise....

[geneann64]

u have to be kidding me tell me that every nurse knows this is crazy

[daisey_may]

Ok, that would be me that did that.

Insulting someone's natural physical appearence because they aren't wearing makeup is rude and uncalled for. :stone

Maybe it meant she was used to a different physical appearance on her, not necessarily insulting her.

i think what she said was meant to be a light joke...which others have joked about on here too (see post about scaring cats).

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Maybe it meant she was used to a different physical appearance on her, not necessarily insulting her.

i think what she said was meant to be a light joke...which others have joked about on here too (see post about scaring cats).

It wasnt an insult on that particular nurse she and I have worked together for almost 15 yrs, and were friends. She remembers that day also and jokes about it too.

Never seen without makeup since. Thank God.

[rnmommy23]

Ok, I've got a few

1. This grossed me out more than freaked me out but... CNA emptied foley bag into urinal and then dumped it down the sink, the toilet was about 2 feet away

2. Actively dying hospice pt on a morphine pump, resps slowing ect. Nurse decides she's overdosed on morphine and gives narcan and then she's all in pain again and he can't understand why the family would be upset

3. Nurse was talking to me before report and was preparing to give TB test to pt. When she was putting the cap back on she poked herself in the finger, so she set it aside and drew up another one. I went to wait in the report room while she gave the TB test. During report she says that she had just administered 2 TB tests. She used the needle she stuck herself with!

4. Flu clinic nurse decided that it would be ok to mix the flu vaccine with pneumonia so that she would only have to give one shot. Ended up with some nasty cases of cellulitis.

5. Orange juice IV for a low blood glucose.:smackingf Pt got really sick, but hey the blood sugar went up!

I'm sure I'll think of more later, but these are the ones that stick out.

[MarySunshine]

I think OJ IV may win.