Most shocking thing you've seen another nurse do?

Nurses Relations

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SNF. RN supervisor summoned (overhead, at about 0300) me to one of her rooms. She was attempting to insert an NG tube in an alert man, about 40, alcoholic, with varices. Told me she felt a 'blockage'. She was holding the tube as though it were a fork, and she was 'stabbing' something. She rammed the tube down, pulled back, then rammed it again- until blood exloded out the tube. I suctioned him really quick and the suction tubing, canister and filters became packed with blood. I ran out and called 911, came back told her "Get the **** away from him! What are you DOING"?. I was suspended, for allowing her, an RN, my supervisor, to be so incompetent. Was told I should have known she was incompetent, and should have 'taken the NG from her and inserted it yourself'. Oh, really. Yes, he died. She was 'asked to resign', because her son was the medical director of the place. The panic on that man's face is clear today, and that was 25 years ago. BTW- I don't think an LVN should insert NG tubes, it's as crazy as giving TPN. Out of bounds, my opinion.

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
This is why I hate threads like this-they always go down that road........I worked with an RN once who saw me flying into our patient's room with the crash cart and kept walking to the breakroom to apply lipstick after her lunch.Now what do her credentials have to do with anything? We have ALL worked with people who have done really dumb and dangerous stuff..Maybe I misunderstood your post-were you the RN supe or was the evildoer the RN supe? Why make the comment denigrating LVN's/LPN's? I think I'm done with this type of thread.Life is too short.

OP is an LVN...

In many states insertion of an NG tube is out of the scope of practice of an LPN.

Specializes in Skilled Nursing/Rehab.

I am a nursing student and I'm happy that I understand most of the stories in this thread... but what does this mean?

"replace NG drainage IV q4h with NS"

I would read that as "replace nasogastric drainage tube every 4 hours with normal saline." I know what a nasogastric tube is, and I know that it can be used to drain secretions from the stomach... what does it mean to replace it with normal saline? Or does this mean something else completely? Just curious...

Specializes in community small-town med/icu unit.
I am a nursing student and I'm happy that I understand most of the stories in this thread... but what does this mean?

"replace NG drainage IV q4h with NS"

I would read that as "replace nasogastric drainage tube every 4 hours with normal saline." I know what a nasogastric tube is, and I know that it can be used to drain secretions from the stomach... what does it mean to replace it with normal saline? Or does this mean something else completely? Just curious...

It means the replace the AMOUNT of NG drainage (usually between 150-300mls with the NG's I see per 8 hr shift) with an equivalent amout of NS. You dispose of the NG drainage wherever the bio-hazards for your unit go, DO NOT try to replace the goo that you drained from the pt back into the pt.

Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg.

I worked on a psych floor for a short time. Patient was on a hunger strike and had a Gt inserted. They then found out she had SBO and put in CVL for TPN. The nurse took the meds meant for the Gt in those brown syringes and inserted them into the IV. Pt died instantly. Nurse lost her lisence. Still don't think the pt should've been on a psych floor.

Specializes in Skilled Nursing/Rehab.

jmdRN - Thanks for the explanation! I did NOT think it meant putting nasty drainage back into a patient :no:, but I wanted to know what it DID mean. So far the only NG instruction I have had is that NG tubes are sometimes flushed with saline - the example amount we were given (for an I & O exercise) was 30 mL.

I am a beginner but I would definitely not try to put yucky drainage back into a patient! :)

Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.

I'm a LPN who has inserted NG tubes under the supervision of a RN who had no clue, and I did a pretty good job of it. I know many RNs who I wouldn't let treat my cat, many LPNs who I wonder how they even got out of grade school, and many CNAs who are more competent than many nurses (RNs and LPNs) I know. There will always be those who think they are more skilled and competent just because of some letters behind their name, no matter how clueless and inexperienced they are.

Can I ask that this thread not turn into a RN vs LPN ordeal? We get it. There's good and bad RNs and good and bad LPNs.

Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
I was working ICU and was called to our stepdown unit so I could assist with a drip. This was a drip they were totally capable of running. I get there and under the Alaris they can't find it under secondary. I told them it is a drip. Three nurses looking at me like I have a third eye in the middle of my head. I told them drips are PRIMARY. They had it on IVPB tubing too. I made them go get primary tubing. They were having a hard time getting a BP. It was high on the machine. I listened and was getting somewhere around 160 for the top number. We didn't hang the drip, but I was scared that three stepdown nurses couldn't figure out how to hang a Cardene drip.

We had one nurse give a whole insulin drip thinking it was the pt dilantin. Denies that it was insulin. The pt was fine.

We had one nurse who hung blood with D5, same nurse put atropine drops in the eyes of a pt and didn't tell anyone. The drops were to go sublingual to control secretions. This pt suddenly had non reactive pupils and had to go to STAT CT, and ended up with an unnecessary EVD. When confronted about the situation she never owned up to it.

We had another nurse infuse a whole bag of fentanyl into a patient. Didn't report to the doc tried self treating with narcan. This pt ended up dying.

Oh, that's scary!

Anne, RNC

I walked in and witnessed a nurse (colleague) stealing narcotics. He thought he was clever. He withdrew Dilaudid, MS04 etc, via needle and replaced with normal saline.

Specializes in NICU, OB/GYN.

Didn't see this happen, but I saw the immediate aftermath... An RN unscrewed one of the connections to a central line while it was connected to the baby, and walked away from it without reconnecting (I have no idea why this happened, as she wasn't changing out fluids). The baby started to bleed out. Another nurse saw blood on the floor next to the warmer and wound up alerting her, the charge nurse, and the medical team. Not only did the baby have to be transfused emergently, but the line had to be removed and replaced emergently as well.

Not an RN, but a NA - During a short clinical day at a LTC facility I witnessed a NA assist a gentleman to the restroom, and assist him in his "duties" there. She wore no gloves, then preceded to the break room to eat a piece of pizza. So gross :sour:

Specializes in Tele.

I was new grad 4 months on the floor, the doctor put order for me to insert ng tube for a woman with esophageal varices vomiting blood. I told the doctor that I won't execute your order it is unsafe, he was mad. glad I refused.

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