What is the funniest or most embarrassing nursing experience you've had

sharpeimom · Nov 25, 2013

I had been a nurse for all of two whole weeks and my patient needed an icepack. This was in the late seventies, when ziplock bags were still fairly new. Icebags were reusable back then and there were none in the utility room. I was busy and I knew that the trip to Central Supply would take at least 20 minutes that I did not have. So... I triple bagged ice in three ziplock bags, wrapped it in a towel and placed it on my patient.

As the ice began to melt, the bag grew heavier and heavier and.... and began to leak big time. The patient was an attending who had had his appendix removed. He thought my idea had been clever, but his wife was absolutely livid! Oh well...

When I worked at the state psych hospital, I was walking from the parking lot to the building and saw a patient who asked me if I had any papers proving that I was sane? I said I didn't and he answered that had had them, but since his "crazy hearing" he hadn't because "that ^&*$ old judge canceled them."

0.adamantite · Nov 25, 2013

We had a dementia patient that would follow us around the hallways in her wheelchair saying "MISS! MISS!" I can still hear her voice. She would refuse to eat at meal times. Well one time I stopped and I heard her calling out to me. She wheeled up to me and said, "Miss, can you spare a can of soup?" My heart melted. We used to give her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sit her at the desk with us while we charted.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Nov 25, 2013

I was a brand-new-to-the-hospital house supervisor, and I got a call from one of the more senior nurses on the med-surg floor.

"We need to show you something and get your opinion before we call the doctor."

I got to the floor and there was a bedside commode sitting in the hallway outside a patient's room. They indicated that what they needed an opinion on was in the commode. I lifted the lid and there was the most perfectly round mound of poop you've ever seen.

The nurse had VERY CAREFULLY dropped peanut M&Ms onto it to make a smiley face!

It turns out that this was probably the LEAST inappropriate thing they did in the years I worked with them.

SleeepyRN · Nov 25, 2013

We had a dementia patient that would follow us around the hallways in her wheelchair saying "MISS! MISS!" I can still hear her voice. She would refuse to eat at meal times. Well one time I stopped and I heard her calling out to me. She wheeled up to me and said "Miss, can you spare a can of soup?" My heart melted. We used to give her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sit her at the desk with us while we charted.[/quote']
Aww, that sounds like a fond memory.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2013

After a particularly bad night, and several Code Blues....we had one on the top floor right at shift change. As I was leaving, after a long unsuccessful resuscitation effort, I went past a room of a little old lady, about 80lbs dripping wet, who looked as sweet as she could be, who clearly had a bad night herself for she was in 4 point soft restraints (when we used them) with her abductor pillow (this huge triangle shaped hard pillow placed between the legs for ALL hip replacements) in place, foley and IV tubing placed out of reach...spread eagle in the bed...who was calling out sweetly, Blue hair and all..."Excuse me! Excused me! Hey you Blondie! Could you please help me?" Exhausted, I stopped, smiled (for I never walk past a call for help), and asked her what could I do for her.

In all seriousness she asked..."Could I trouble you for a pair of scissors or perhaps a knife I seem to be stuck!" As I fought with every ounce of my self control to burst out laughing as her nurse, sporting a black eye, said...."Over my dead body is she getting loose until I leave....the sweet angelic face called the police that we were burglars, beat us with her call light and has a mean right hook...she might look sweet now but she had the devil in her last night!" At first I was stunned and then we both burst out laughing.

I told the patient that I was sorry and she would have to remain stuck until the doctor came...she let loose with a stream of the most foul language I have ever heard (up until that point anyways) from a Little old lady and referred to us as female dogs.....then hocked up, and spit accurately, the largest lugie I had ever seen!!!

Lesson here...looks can be deceiving.

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Nov 25, 2013

After a particularly bad night, and several Code Blues....we had one on the top floor right at shift change. As I was leaving, after a long unsuccessful resuscitation effort, I went past a room of a little old lady, about 80lbs dripping wet, who looked as sweet as she could be, who clearly had a bad night herself for she was in 4 point soft restraints (when we used them) with her abductor pillow (this huge triangle shaped hard pillow placed between the legs for ALL hip replacements) in place, foley and IV tubing placed out of reach...spread eagle in the bed...who was calling out sweetly, Blue hair and all..."Excuse me! Excused me! Hey you Blondie! Could you please help me?" Exhausted, I stopped, smiled (for I never walk past a call for help), and asked her what could I do for her.
In all seriousness she asked..."Could I trouble you for a pair of scissors or perhaps a knife I seem to be stuck!" As I fought with every ounce of my self control to burst out laughing as her nurse, sporting a black eye, said...."Over my dead body is she getting loose until I leave....the sweet angelic face called the police that we were burglars, beat us with her call light and has a mean right hook...she might look sweet now but she had the devil in her last night!" At first I was stunned and then we both burst out laughing.
I told the patient that I was sorry and she would have to remain stuck until the doctor came...she let loose with a stream of the most foul language I have ever heard (up until that point anyways) from a Little old lady and referred to us as female dogs.....then hocked up, and spit accurately, the largest lugie I had ever seen!!!
Lesson here...looks can be deceiving.

:roflmao: I don't know how long that has been but I can assure you that she is still alive and well unless she has a COUPLE of twins!!! I had a right-sided bruised rib cage to prove it!! :blackeye:

jaad · Nov 25, 2013

I was a brand-new-to-the-hospital house supervisor, and I got a call from one of the more senior nurses on the med-surg floor.
"We need to show you something and get your opinion before we call the doctor."
I got to the floor and there was a bedside commode sitting in the hallway outside a patient's room. They indicated that what they needed an opinion on was in the commode. I lifted the lid and there was the most perfectly round mound of poop you've ever seen.
The nurse had VERY CAREFULLY dropped peanut M&Ms onto it to make a smiley face!
It turns out that this was probably the LEAST inappropriate thing they did in the years I worked with them.

I am laughing so hard I am nearly Poopin myself!!!

monkeybug · Nov 25, 2013

We had a post op hysterectomy who was a retired nurse, and that just guarantees absolute insanity, doesn't it? There were mirrors over the sinks, across from the beds. She drove us nuts all shift, asking who that "ugly" nosy old woman was, why didn't we have a curtain over that window, I demand privacy, etc. etc. The lower the sun got, the worse our shift got. She took the bread knife off her tray and put it in her pillowcase "for protection." Every time someone would answer her calls on the call light we'd have a twenty minute whispered, tearful speech about wiretapping. Of course the two greenhorns on the unit were sent in to deal with her, and I think we did a pretty good job. We'd finally gotten her calm and in the bed (without a knife) when the charge nurse walked in with a syringe full of valium in full view. Cue ear-splitting shrieks and windmilling arms, and two newbie nurses fleeing the room like Satan himself was on our tails. Thank God for shift change. I felt so bad for that dear old thing. She was clearly in distress, and when she was at herself she was quite delightful. When the fear gripped her, though, stand back.

Future FNP 14 · Nov 26, 2013

I was fairly new working in assisted living-dementia there were two friends always together. It was dinner time and I saw them sitting upstairs I informed them it was dinner time and they are serving downstairs well Gigi responded Ruth said they are charging 8 dollars for the steak. This was untrue as everything is paid monthly. I couldn't convince her that she didn't have to pay, so I asked the charge nurse to help me so the charge nurse said no it's free today it's on the house go ahead we will be downstairs lol and with that she was convinced. I miss working there.names we're changed .

CrossCountryRN2008 · Nov 26, 2013

When working with psych pts a pts wife asked if sex toys would help her husbands anxiety and anger since her hands hurt too much to do hands jobs anymore and she hated oral and her heart wasn't healthy enough for sex. They were elderly but very active. I honestly just redirected her question to their pcp for a joint visit as a couple

iwanna · Nov 26, 2013

I can recall a night when most of our unit geri patients had a case of "code brown". I don't know what it was, but we cleaned one up, then another patient had an explosion. And, the last patient we had cleaned up at the end of our shift took three tries. We thought we were all done - washed him up, changed his bedding, gown, put him back in bed, then he had another mess. Then cleaned him up, putting another brief on him, and he had another mess. This last time, right after we cleaned him up, he went again. All we did that night was clean up poop, change bedding the whole shift. Funny thing is that we had a good time that night. It sure stunk, but we could not help but laugh. It was just unbelievable!