It's hard to live with a nurse because...

My 14 year old son was mortified when I was talking to him and one of his friends about the dangers of having sex and all the diseases you can get, etc. etc. In my zeal, I got one of my nursing books and showed them a picture of a very, ugly, diseased penis. He is 19 now and I don't think he has forgiven me yet.

Are we all clones? I too correct the medical shows and often have a good laugh during parts that are suppose to be serious causing anyone in the room(except of course anyone else that may be in the medical profession)to look at me like I have lost my mind. My children were trained very early in their lives that if there isn't profuse bleeding, protruding bones and if you can tell me what happened then you are conscious and breathing and it isn't a medical emergency so the danger doesn't lie with your injuries it is in waking Mommy up from a much needed nap. My entire family consists of the medical and law professions, in other words, if your not a criminal with big veins(yes, I too catch myself scanning peoples veins) in cardiac arrest you won't get much rise out of any of us! But I look on the bright side, my kids have the most realistic "wounds" on Halloween of any kid in the neighborhood. For this I am a hero in their eyes!

Oh my! A very conscientious and thorough nurse on our unit was soooooo tired after her first baby. She'd come to work just dragging! One day she admitted that she had been waking up every two hours to reposition her little one!!! We still have a great laugh over that even years later!!

When my husband and I first started dating, I couldn't help but check his arms for "good" veins. He's used to it now......

Well, you know when a TV patient's supposed to be on the ventilator and they show him with nasal O2 and an old MA-1 ventilator standing at the bedside with the bellows going up and down and he's talking! We just can't let it pass, that's all. I like veins, too. But I guess I'm meaner than the rest of you because when my older kids got sick I'd yell after them as they ran down the hall, "Don't hurl on the floor or you'll have to clean it up yourself!" Don't frown at me too hard--I'd really help them clean it up--sometimes.

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Trella

You know you're a nurse...

1. When you can go through an entire 12 hour shift without once going to the bathroom.

2. When your relatives think that "R.N." stands for "Rich Nurse" & are always around every payday.

3. When everytime you shake someone's hand, you look to see if they have nice veins.

4. When people can tell your occupation by just looking at your watch. (mine has a heart tracing across the face and shows military time in red).

5. When your child is sick and has to have labs drawn, you tell the phlebotomist which vein to go for ("she has a nice vein in the left antecub....")

6. When your 4 year old daughter knows what "lungs", "heart", "kidneys", & abdomen" are AND can point out their location.

When my son was about 10 yrs old his father calls me at work to say he is bringing him into the ER, he had fallen from my horse and prob. had a concussion. I'm asking about pupils and he's trying to drive on a dangerous curvey coastal road. I tell him to give the phone to my son and proceed to do a semi neuro check - and yes, he had NO short term memory. If anything serious he would have ended up in my unit (great care but mommy RN's nightmare) No serious sequelea thank God. Course,a few years later when he broke both ulnar and radial in the tree swing, I was scheduled to work that night, I spent the first part of my shift in the ER and then I took freq breaks to check on him on the floor. Had to reset in the OR but we were having a scheduled elect. maint. shutdown and only emerg OR allowed. We were severely short staffed and thats what dads are for. I also remember being in nursing school and having a neighbor kid tell me my son had fallen off his skateboard and hurt himself, I tilted my head to listen and said "I don't hear him yelling" then started running when the kid said my boy couldn't. (He had gotten a helmet the day before but the same neighbor kid told him he looked stupid!) He was just coming around when I got there, only a few houses away. Among the crowd were men wanting to pick him up. I was adament not to touch him, he was stirring, got up himself and I got him into the car and to the ER, again mild concusssion. He is blessed with my thick head and strong constitution. Has somehow avoided the head thing for years now and is very smart, but doesn't whine. No blood No bandaid.

I just love these stories. It is really a nice break. I also look for the veins of not only my family but anyone I meet gets at least a once over. I can eat a full meal in 5 min. flat (My mother refuses to eat in a restaurant with me. I am always done looooong before the rest of the bunch). My children are also well aware of the rules. No blood, no bones, no sweat. I love being a nurse. Thanks for the uplift.

I have to agree. Both my wife and I are Nurses and I am sure our kids could tell stories about conversations heard at the dinner table that would have had us reported to the Child PRotective Services in most states.

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