Charting Bloopers

Nurses Humor

Updated:   Published

Have you seen any charting bloopers?

Found in the History and Physical section of a patient's chart who had experienced visual hallucinations while ill:

Quote
"Patient vehemently denies any auditory, tactile, or old factory hallucinations."
Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

When we called to verify the order, the MD meant Albuterol by metered dose inhaling. Every once in awhile we still see "IV" on the sheet though, even though he's always meant for it to be inhaled instead.

Sorry i found humor in seeing this wrote down.

1 Votes

"1 baked potato p.o. bid".

i had an order written chocolate icecream

po prn!:chuckle

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Saw this the other day in a consult... doc's handwriting is so wonky that "discuss" looked like "Dr Seuss"!!!!!

We've been having quite a few transcription errors come through. Can't remember them all but "rule out lime disease and berry berry" stands out. The patient apparently had an overdose of fruit salad.

Okay, this isn't exactly a blooper because I know what they meant but I laugh every time I see it. Our case managers often chart "patient evacuates spontaneously" meaning that they know how to find the door if a fire alarm goes off. But to a nurse...

2 Votes

One last one for the night. Y'all are dredging up memories. I once worked with an RN whose first language was not English. She was a very good nurse but sometimes forgot the words and had to be creative. We had a patient come in with a penile laceration. She couldn't remember the correct word and drew a picture instead.

1 Votes

These are a couple phone messages we got in the office....."Dr is to call "mary" re: "Jesus".....needs refill on Allergra.".....Yes that's right!!....I am nurse to the God's!!!...........and another from a couple years ago...."Refill 8 oz of mucous to KMART".....I'm pretty sure this one was supposed to be Mucomist???........and last but not least!!...."call John Doe at home #, pt c/o "catch in his gettalong."...needs RX called to KMART.".......After talking to the patient, an 80 y/o man, he ACTUALLY had "erectile dysfunction" and wanted some Viagra!!!!.....so now at our office "catch in yer gettalong" is code for "call in the Viagra stat!!"

1 Votes
Specializes in Surgical, PACU.

Not actually a charting error but worth repeating.

Recently a close friend offered when my mother was visiting to give her the "hymen manouvre" when she was choking. Pretty sure that would stop her choking almost immediately, he unfortunately did not realise his mistake and made the offer a couple of more times!!!!! :chuckle :imbar :roll

I had a vascular surgeon who was coming in to write discharge orders from the unit to home on one of his cardendardectomy pt's: 1. Feed

2. Water

3. Discharge patient

Specializes in ER, ICU, Nursing Education, LTC, and HHC.

One that particularly stands out in y mind, I was working an agency assignment at a Drug rehab hospital, when a Doctor wrote an order for a Pot level.

We did a double take on that one because it was NOT for POT, but actually K+, In a place like that, who knows..... :)

Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..

I had an elderly Urologist to clean my incision with peroxide to get the bugs out!  Needless to say that Urologist is now retired.

After a really hard night a harried new resident came to our unit at 6:00am and wrote the following order:

1 member po q4 hrs Media for moderate pain or

may give second in 1 hr if pain not relieved.

I literally fell on the floor laughing!!

:roll :roll

After asking for claification she cancelled the order and I never figured out what she really meant.

1 Votes
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