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:

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I believe the crushed percocet in IV story was written by a troll.........

Mmmm, no, it was written by one of the moderators...

[jaix]

one of the staff nurses made the patient gargle some betadine antiseptic solution...she thought that the betadine gargle solution was the same as the antiseptic solution...hehehehe...she didin't know that there's a separate product for gargling...

[MS._Jen_RN, ASN, RN]

One of my collegues gave a Female pt adhesive remover wipes to wipe with before a CCMS UA instead of the castile soap towlettes. The CNA caught it. Thank goodness, that wouldn't have felt too good. She's scary in other ways too, just can't think of specifics right now.

~Jen

[praeclarus]

one of the staff nurses made the patient gargle some betadine antiseptic solution...she thought that the betadine gargle solution was the same as the antiseptic solution...hehehehe...she didin't know that there's a separate product for gargling...

I was asked to gargle that antiseptic solution when I was in fifth grade..by a nurse, if I may add. hahah!!:rotfl:

[nursejohio, ASN, RN]

had an incident happen the other night at work - an "experienced" RN started workingthere - has been there a few weeks - he went to do an accu check - he poked the mans finger - promptly took the strip and gotthe blood ( minmd you strip was NOT in machine yet ) and procedded to put the strip in with the bloody end intothe machine- hmmmmmmm - then couldnt figure out why it wasnt reading - the CNAs began to tell him how to do it - he gets a new strip - asks the cnas if he has to poke the man again - they told him try the original site first to see if it was still viable ( it was) and he finally geta reading - and he reads it upside down!!! pretty damn scary when the CNAs are doing the nurses traing lol.

The machines we had at my old job were supposed to be used like that... get the blood on the strip and then put the bloody end into the machine. MUCH better than the ones at the hospital I'm at now, the strips have to be in the machine before getting the sample, which requires taking the strip (machine and all) into isolation rooms to do the Q1 accucheck. Until we got the new ones, the *insert bloody end first* type was the only machine I'd ever used, and that "pretty d**m scary" nurse could have been me... sheesh

[twotrees2]

Something that just happened to me here recent ...

I got in report a couple of residents had temps. The nightshift nurse had given them tylenol.

I went to assess the two, and one had a temp of 101 and the other 103. Both residents had lungs full. One had the lovely green snot crusted to the inside of her nose and hanging to her lap. So, i got the chest xrays ordered called the doc and family etc etc. Got antibiotics ordered and started from e-box. Got the results back right before the same nurse came in to relieve me. Both had infiltrates. Imagine that.

She actually looked at me and said, "Well, I gave them some Tylenol, and I didn't want to wake Dr. X up."

sounds a lot like our DAY shift- here i am close to office hours attemoting to set up stuff like that cause day shift ignores it - "thought we'd watch them" ummm yeah:trout:

[twotrees2]

The machines we had at my old job were supposed to be used like that... get the blood on the strip and then put the bloody end into the machine. MUCH better than the ones at the hospital I'm at now, the strips have to be in the machine before getting the sample, which requires taking the strip (machine and all) into isolation rooms to do the Q1 accucheck. Until we got the new ones, the *insert bloody end first* type was the only machine I'd ever used, and that "pretty d**m scary" nurse could have been me... sheesh

sorry i did not mean to offend anyone - i dont remeber any of that kind so it must have been long ago - ive been around about 13 or 14 yrs about - howeever i would like to apologize and clarify because i found out other things - this nurse was addresed to us as being a experienced and presently practicing working RN and it turns out he sells houses and hasnt worked in yrs as a nurse- he did not ask how to work something he wasnt familiar with ( and he wasnt he had commented hed never seen one like this) - honeslty i dont really blame him finding out his true story of being a house seller and just helping out for xmas monies and getting nmo orientation after being off so long - i blame management for giving him 2 days orienttion and expecting him to just do it - they are doing it to everyone they hire and its especially scary when its someone who hasnt been in field fora while ( when i was out for 4 yrs - i not only got 12 gauranteed weeks i asked for and got another 3 weeks cause iw as still uncomfortable with some changes i wasnt familiar with - thank god a place that willing to do that) its not the persons fault after thinking on it - they shouldnt expect new grads and ones who have been out for yrs to get on it right away. i apologize to you and to him cause i jumped to conclusions based on false facts - and i really DID apologize to jhim and offered him to ask any questions if he needed when i am there - im not mean and stupid :) honest - unexpereinced nurses are what is scary just the fact that they do not get the orientation ad help they deserve. sorry.

[lindseylpn]

One time a co-worker of mine at the nursing home I used to work at was doing med rounds and changing out the duragesic patches, instead of throwing the used patches away she was sticking them on her arm and kept going down the hallway. A cna saw her about fall over and goes to see if shes ok and she has like 10-15 used duragesics stuck to her arms and this nurse couldn't figure out what was wrong with this picture. She later went back to school for her RN and is now working at a childrens hospital. Poor kids!

Also, at the same nursing home, a CNA was caught in the act of taking of duragesic patches and chewing on them and then putting them back on the pt. I think she landed in jail.

[babynurselsa, RN]

:barf01: Ok that makes me want to gargle lysol just thinking about it.

[perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN]

First of all the OJ IV (several pages back) for low blood sugar... WHAT??? That is crazy!

And the pt who wanted a smoke and had PRBCs hanging... that is CLASSIC!

This whole thread just makes me laugh... and cringe...

Mine are not as funny but still WHAAAT??

A nurse gave 1gram of Vancomycin in a 60cc syringe pump (incase you don't give Vanc much it has to be diluted to 5mg/cc, in other words that dose must be in at LEAST 200 cc of fluid!). The pt lost her IV after that dose... hmm wonder WHY?

Another misread a 180 cc NS bolus on 8-9 mo. old babe and gave 1000 cc bolus!!! Babe was fine but... WHAT??

One nurse who laughs now... used Stoma-Hesive by mistake instead of ButtPaste on a kid w/rotavirus :-) no more diarrhea getting out of that kid!!

All of these ones with horrible sterile technique with caths, etc. and the poopy gloves attaching VENT tubing back to a TRACH are making me want to puke. I just don't understand!!!

[perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN]

oh and OUCH!! on the adhesive remover for a woman to use for clean-catch urine sample!!!

[perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN]

Oh yeah.. sorry to be writing so much but. I thought of another one.

A nurse informs the oncoming RN in report (which starts around 6:45-6:50, face-to-face verbal) that a pt called out for pain med around 6:30 I think, but she was busy charting at the time so told the pt they'd have to wait for the next nurse!! The oncoming nurse gets a page at about 7 (in the middle of report on this pt) that the pt is now crying in pain and NEEDS some pain meds. Oncoming nurse goes to give and finds 6pm med not signed off- wasn't given either. "Forgot" I think was the excuse... oncoming nurse handed the drawn-up pain med to offgoing nurse and had her give with the late 6pm meds! YIKES.

Same nurse an IV on one of her pts beeping... she goes in the room, sees blood backed up in the tubing... goes to the oncoming nurse who is still in report again and says "You might wanna check the IV in so-and-so's room before it clots off there's blood in the tubing...and I'm going home" ARGH! How long does it take to flush an IV??