What's your weird quirk?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I don't know if other people do this - but EVERY single time I have to give a subq/IM shot - i try about 4-5 times (point get, get close, withdraw without touching the skin) before I inject. If I don't do that - I get very anxious and feel like the needle will bounce. I make sure the pt doesnt watch so they don't get freaked out but I can't stop. I can never inject with one fluid motion.

I don't like seeing anything in urinals - even if it's 10 cc - I will empty it.

If no one is in the hallway and I'm transporting a mechanical lift - I will ride on it like a shopping cart :D

I've had blood, pee, and vomit splatter on my unifomr and shoes and I've just shrugged and cleaned it off as best I could with disinfecting wipes then went on with my day without a second thought - but just the thought of hearing someone clearing their phlegm or suctioning mucus makes me want to curl up and lock myself somewhere.

What's yours?

Specializes in ICU, Renal.

Great topic! Seems some of us have a little OCD, maybe? Including me- I don't touch anything without gloves. And I don't like anything to keep beeping, the noise drives me crazy. When I did ICU & used to give Prevacid down the NGT, I'd empty the contents of the capsule into the medicine cup, then I'd have to fit the empty capsule pieces back together before I threw them out. What a loon!

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Specializes in LTC.

I love when my patient call for their nurse and I'm finally able to say" Yes, what can I do for you? weird I know...

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

I like my report sheet to be in certain colors of my pen. Red for this...green for that, et...

The census board has to be in fat pen. Yep. No thin scribbly names. I like them neat and fat. I can't function when that board is a mess. I like to see DC in one squared area, the floor nurses name in the left upper part of the board. The docs in black and nurses in blue.

Nope, no OCD here. :lol2:

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- If I pull them up in bed and their gown is touching their neck - I have to pull it down or else I'll have this weird sense that something is choking MY neck . Whether or not they ask. They never ask :D

That is super cute and very funny! :rotfl:

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I love the smell of alcohol wipes! :) I use them to clean my stethoscope and pens.

When the outgoing ER nurse (aka House Supervisor) would hand me the keys after narc count, I'd secretly put antibiotic foam on them and lay them on a paper towel to dry.

I don't like taking shortcuts - I'm a stickler for following the P&P's.

My shift was 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. I had to have all my assessments written no later than 5 a.m. so I was ready for the docs when they came for rounds.

I don't procrastinate at work.

I do at home. :coollook: I also like taking shortcuts at home. Sometimes I go over the speed limit when I drive but I working on that since I was given a pass by a nice CHP for going 70 in a 55 mile zone only because I was a nurse. I cheat on my diet. Etc.

But at work, I'm OCD. Patient's lives are at stake. My reputation and license are at stake.

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Oh my goodness, Spidey's Mom. We have a lot in common. I am immaculate at work, and at home I procrastinate. At home I'm a slob, honestly. And speed...well I won't self incriminate myself there.

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My left hand is my "sterile" hand after being washed and I start to eat. If I have to pause, my left hand is sticking up in the air like I'm getting ready to perform surgery.

I wash my hands before going to the restroom.

I ALWAYS have to empty a urinal b/c I can't stand the smell of pee and I can just see it being spilled on the floor.

I clean up everytime I go into a patient's room. I can't stand balled up used tissues/urinals/5 used cups/spoiled food (that the eldery may not realize that's spoiled and may eat) on the bedside table that said person eats off of and doesn't get cleaned until day of discharged....or until I show up.

I smile to stop my gag reflex when emptying a bucket of vomit....the entire time.

Yeah, I'm weird. lol

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After I put on sterile gloves that come with our straight cath kits, I pick up the sterile glove wrapper (in the center where it's sterile) and toss it on the floor. Our kit has enough of a sterile field for me to work from and the glove wrapper gets in my way. I pick it up after I'm done with the procedure but apparently folks who've seen me do it think it's funny.

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Specializes in Acute medical rehab.

I will trade with anyone on my floor to not have a trach patient. I hate mucous

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I like my report sheet to be in certain colors of my pen. Red for this...green for that, et...

Oh thank heavens im not the only one

red for 'to-dos' ie hourly cath or Blood sugars,green for doctors rounds, blue for important info and black for things that i must remember to handover to another nurse ie appointment times.

I also have to have my highlighters with me, at least two of them. One is my main one, today it was pink, to highlight names, essential conditions ie diabetes. The second one, blue today, is to highlight other info such as IV antibiotics or IV fluids or timed meds such as parkinsons.

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Specializes in ICU.

Can't stand when a patient has matted messy hair. I have to do their hair.

If their IV's are tangled, telemetry wires, pulse ox cord, bp cord are all tangled, I must straighten it out.

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Specializes in MS, ED.

I liked reading these and had to think of mine, (I suspect my coworkers probably could name them for me but I'm not back until Friday night, *laugh.)

I have to write out all the med times on my brain before rounding or it goofs up my whole night. Where does the time go??

I find myself mindlessly cleaning the room and tossing out trash off the bedside tables while patients are talking to me. Sometimes I'm not even cognizant that I'm walking back and forth and doing this until they say something. The curse of med-surg - multitasking!

If I bring more than two setups to start an IV, I'll (subconsciously?) always manage to blow it somehow and not be able to stick even the juiciest vein. I like to bring in only the supplies I need, feeling like I 'can't' miss then!

I have to pick up my own blood from the bank. I have some weird paranoia that something will go wrong with the blood even though it was marked right that I like to check and double check order in unit, order in blood bank, order against blood bag, etc. LOL. I feel better when I can talk to the blood bank people and compare the stickers together. I know, I'm nuts.

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