What are your "I'm a nurse, I can do this (totally unrelated)" things?

Nurses General Nursing

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Okay, something a little more lighthearted....

There have always been things in my life where I think to myself "If I can handle being a nurse, I can handle XYZ."

I can start an IV on a morbidly obese patient with weeping edema in their arms while they are seizing...I should be able to do anything, right?

Apparently not....

Due to the fickle nature of cars, both of ours are out of commission. A family member just got a new car, we are borrowing his old one. But...it's a stick shift. I can't drive a stick. Well, I guess now I can say I can drive a stick, just not very well, and I'm sure more than one person behind me at a stop light has cursed vehemently at me as I killed it trying to go from stopped to moving. My hubby was supposed to teach me how to drive it, but it was more like a lesson in relaxation exercises for him...he just kept closing his eyes and deep breathing. I keep repeating to myself "I can code a patient, therefore I can operate a manual transmission." But it seems like coding a patient is far easier!

So, what are your "I'm a nurse, I can do this" things?

Specializes in Making the Pt laugh..
I am very skilled at things such as IV starts, blood draws and other nursing things, but I can't sew.

I have even taken sewing lessons, and I still can't do it. I will always have to pay others to sew for me.

I can suture, very nicely if must say so, (modesty is not my strong suit), but cannot sew to save my life.

As for cars I have broken down the internal combustion engine into easily understood parts, carburettor = lungs, distributer = SA node, gearbox = muscle bundles, etc.

Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.

Mine used to be, "You can't scare me, I work psych!"

But I'll be danged if I can do more than check the oil level in my car. If y'all ever see my car on the side of the road and see my feet sticking out from in under it, please, God, call an ambulance, cause something BAD has happened.

Specializes in CCU MICU Rapid Response.

I can look at wounds, sores, blood, intestines, tendons, vomit, phlegm and god only knows. I can run codes, see something funky on the monitor from across the room and keep it cool in the sweatiest of situations. My stomach doesnt budge

I CANNOT look at any kind of scrape, cut, hangnail or similar injury on my huband or either one of my children without my stomach flip flopping roller coaster style. I dont know why.

Ivanna

Specializes in Psychiatric.

As a nurse, I am pretty good at IVs, nasty gory wounds, or anything else (except eyeballs and lungs but that's another thread LOL)...I am also a dead-on shot with a bow and arrow and can field-dress an elk, deer, or bear in no time...I feel pretty confident that I can survive alone in the wilderness if I had to, because I can grow and/or hunt my own food, make my own shelter, and do what I need to do.

Just don't ask me to SEW! THAT would be the only reason I wouldn't make it in the wilderness!! lolol:chuckle

Specializes in Tele.

I can clean up pts with c-diff, constant diarrhea, etc. I can do enemas, deal with impactions, etc. I have no prob with blood, stage 4 pressure ulcers, wounds, drains, etc. I can talk about it all when I'm eating too.

I can't clean the cat's litterbox. It makes me gag.

Specializes in ER/Trauma.

When I was in the Army, I learned how to cook, sew, wash, clean, do the laundry and tidy up (a buddy once joked that 'Man, would you make some woman a good wife' :p Don't flame please - it was a joke!)

I have always driven manual transmission - in fact, even today; I prefer manual transmission for my cars and motorcycles.

Then I became a nurse and now I can do all sorts of amazing things.

But:

* When I shower, I can't keep my eyes open when the stream of water is on my face. Still a little afraid of the water, I guess (but I can swim. Go figure...)

* Bugs creep the hell outta me. I've eaten snakes and rodents but bugs (especially the flying variety) absolutely give me the heebie-tha-jeebies. Squishing bugs takes will power from me.

* I can't play cards to save my life (I'm too dumb to even play solitaire).

cheers,

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