Most Embarassing Moments During Clinicals!!!!!

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I fainted in the OR! I couldn't believe it. We are in our second week of clinicals on the L&D floor and I got the chance to sit in on a C section. The nurse I was to follow showed me all the procedures and where to stand so I would be out of the way. So, I'm standing there and the baby's head comes out and I remeber thinking," Wow! Awwwwww! and How cute." My next thought was,"Boy it sure is hot in here." I the next thing I know the nurse that was helping me that day was patting me on the shoulder asking if I was ok and I was on the floor. :uhoh21: HOW EMBARASSING!!:stone I had to sit there for awhile until they got someone to come get me. I kept thinking," This is going to make the nursing program I'm in look bad, and they're going to kick me out of the program." (Yes I'm a big overreactor) The funny thing is blood and guts don't bother me.

The nurses and doctor's were really nice about it. After they got done they reassured me that it happens a lot. Even the anesthesiologist told me he fainted the first time he had to watch one. I guess I should've eaten a bigger breakfast. Needless to say I definatly don't want to be an L&D nurse.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY EMBARRASING MOMENTS IN CLINCALS?

My most embarrassing moment was the day I started my period while at the hospital. Now when I say started my period, it was more like the dam gates opened and blood was all over my pants. I waddled to the restroom like a baby wearing a wet diaper, fill my pants with toilet paper and then phoned my instructor. By the time she came around I had the proper necessities and all I needed was clean pants, but she had a better idea! She wanted me to go into the restroom, take off my bloody underwear and pants, wash them in the sink, and then dry them under the hand dryer! What? Could you see me in the restroom butt naked from the waist down drying my pants under the hand dryer? I could only think about some upper management coming in and I looking like a deranged, naked, nursing student washing her un-mentionables in the sink. After I said "no" to that idea, we decided to find scrubs. We (me still waddling cause I can feel the wetness of my pants) go from the basement to the 3 rd floor surgical unit with my instructor asking for scrubs and explaining that I started my period. All the while people are looking at me like I should be old enough to know better. To make matters worse, my clinical instructor wanted me to only borrow scrub bottoms and keep on my school uniform top! Nothing screams "I had a major accident" like a royal blue school uniform top and hospital green scrub bottoms. After getting a scrub top and bottoms (I may have lost all dignity that day but I still wanted to look like I knew how to dress myself) then I had to explain to my classmates why I was wearing hospital scrubs instead of a school uniform. What a day. So this clinical I keep extra supplies including underwear (nice ones in case someone looks in my bag and finds them) in my clinical bag. Now I just need to get an extra pair of uniform bottoms!

LMAO!!!

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mine was when i "attempted" to give my first IM.....we practiced and practiced for days.....i was in clinical and had our main instructor there to evaluate our clinical instructor.....anyway i was in a room and the main instructor came in and asked if I wanted to give a pneumonia shot to a man who was being DCd....sure do!!...so we gathered all the materials and went into his room...did everything correct up til that point.....even practiced my darting with my instructor in the medroom....so i thought i was so ready.....the man was a big man....not obese....BUILT....arms like a body builder....the instructor whispered in my ear...your going to have to go lil harder.....i get into dart position and start to go BUT i must of panicked cause i stopped at the skin....OH KNOW!....i looked at the instructor knowing i need to get another syringe but she said just to keep going....so i did, at this point i was so nervous... i withdrew no blood and gave the injection....THEN i threw the needle in the bedtable lil bag.....mumbling something that i will get it later....my instructor said you have it from here and went to the nurses station....so i finish and the guy had a good laugh knowing it was my first time...thank GOD!!...i must of apologized 100 times....then to make matters worse...my instructor and the staff nurses were roaring when i returned...then they all proceeded to tell me about their first IM injections.....and some were worse than mine!!!!!......i will never ever forget my first IM injection thats for sure!!!........needless to say i got a NEEDS IMPROVEMENT for injection that week of clinicals.....

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Specializes in IMCU.
O.K., my turn: last semester (first one), one of my pt wanted to go out. We were in a LTC part of the hospital. I ask people, I make calls and finally get him someone to take him on errands. He had a BIG dressing on his foot, and I had trouble putting on his shoe. I had to completly unlace his shoe, while I saw that the man was waiting for him. :imbar When came the time to lace his shoe, I noticed that the lace was "eaten up", and that I couldn't put it back.:imbar I called one of my classmate for help and we ended up having a good laugh!:chuckle

The next things happened to the classmate that helped me. She comes from europe and has a different culture, so there's some things she didn't quite understand. She put baby powder in one of her pt's face, and when our instructor told her, she said that it was because she never had a baby, and didn't know what to do with baby powder.:chuckle

And in her country, when someone is allergic to soap, they have oil in a glass bottle. So when she saw one, she assumed her pt was simply allergic to soap and poured some in her water bowl. The teacher came in and said: "Why are you bathing him with cold syrup?" :chuckle Needless to say, she said that from now, she'd read labels CAREFULLY!:chuckle

LMAO -- she must have been from a very strange part of Europe to not know what baby powder was.

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Specializes in Cardiology and ER Nursing.
LMAO -- she must have been from a very strange part of Europe to not know what baby powder was.

Well at least she wasn't from the family in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and was always chasing down house keeping for some Windex.:lol2:

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I'll tell you a funny story that happened to one of the trauma nurses a few years ago--she was making rounds w/the residents. She had one of those 4 color BIC pens in her pocket and a tampon. Guess which one she pulled out when the chief resident needed a pen to sign a chart!!! :imbar :eek: ooops!

Hahahahhahhahhahaa omg I don't think I could show up the next day lol

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O.K., my turn: last semester (first one), one of my pt wanted to go out. We were in a LTC part of the hospital. I ask people, I make calls and finally get him someone to take him on errands. He had a BIG dressing on his foot, and I had trouble putting on his shoe. I had to completly unlace his shoe, while I saw that the man was waiting for him. :imbar When came the time to lace his shoe, I noticed that the lace was "eaten up", and that I couldn't put it back.:imbar I called one of my classmate for help and we ended up having a good laugh!:chuckle

The next things happened to the classmate that helped me. She comes from europe and has a different culture, so there's some things she didn't quite understand. She put baby powder in one of her pt's face, and when our instructor told her, she said that it was because she never had a baby, and didn't know what to do with baby powder.:chuckle

And in her country, when someone is allergic to soap, they have oil in a glass bottle. So when she saw one, she assumed her pt was simply allergic to soap and poured some in her water bowl. The teacher came in and said: "Why are you bathing him with cold syrup?" :chuckle Needless to say, she said that from now, she'd read labels CAREFULLY!:chuckle

Ahahahhahahahahah what an awkward moment. I am so curious, what's her nationality? Wow, I assumed that every single European knows what baby powder is and how it is used. Most countries in Europe still use it.

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She wanted me to go into the restroom, take off my bloody underwear and pants, wash them in the sink, and then dry them under the hand dryer! What? Could you see me in the restroom butt naked from the waist down drying my pants under the hand dryer? I could only think about some upper management coming in and I looking like a deranged, naked, nursing student washing her un-mentionables in the sink.

Aahahhhhha so funny. This is the only reason I hate my white scrubs.

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Specializes in Private Practice- wellness center.
Aahahhhhha so funny. This is the only reason I hate my white scrubs.

And the ONLY reason I like my fugly maroon scrubs! (Complete with 3" elastic waist band, tapered legs, AND sewn in crease down the front!)

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Specializes in Private Practice- wellness center.

Oh, as for embarrassing moments...this one isn't bad, but it was funny at the time. I managed to squirt the ceiling of a pt's room with a saline flush. D'OH! I pray every time I walk into a hospital for clinicals that I don't have anything worse than that happen to me. LOL!

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Specializes in LDRP.

i was about to give a heparin shot into a womans abdomen and i got all nervous and it fell out of my hand and stuck her in the leg.. she had a trach so she couldnt talk, but she mouthed "OUCH". i was like OMG im so sorry and looked at the nurse in the room and told her what happened. "she was like, its ok just take it out and give it to her in the abdomen. so i did. profusely apologizing as i left while the pt was giving me a frightened look on the way out.. i was charting right outside the door and i heard the nurse saying "no, you will be okay dont worry. No you dont have to worry about infection or anything, you are on antibiotics anyway."

i avoided going in that room the rest of the day. :(

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Specializes in IMCU.
i was about to give a heparin shot into a womans abdomen and i got all nervous and it fell out of my hand and stuck her in the leg.. she had a trach so she couldnt talk, but she mouthed "OUCH". i was like OMG im so sorry and looked at the nurse in the room and told her what happened. "she was like, its ok just take it out and give it to her in the abdomen. so i did. profusely apologizing as i left while the pt was giving me a frightened look on the way out.. i was charting right outside the door and i heard the nurse saying "no, you will be okay dont worry. No you dont have to worry about infection or anything, you are on antibiotics anyway."

i avoided going in that room the rest of the day. :(

The nurse had you use the same needle/syringe set up? That is terrible.

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First day of clinicals, I had trouble drawing out 1 mL of heparin, and while drawing out, I accidentally pushed the plunger of the syringe too hard and the needle retracted. After I drew another 1 mL, I then gave the shot and the needle came out of the skin fold. All in all, wasted 2 mL vials of heparin.

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