Nursing School Bloopers

The first time I had to use a Carpujet insulin pen, I was all nervous. The instructor showed me how to dial up the correct amount, how to hold it, and explained that I had to hold it in place for a few second after the injection. All in all, a relatively easy procedure (as opposed to drawing everything up, etc.) I walked into the patients room, introduced myself to the patient, as well as her family (parents, in-laws, husband, and three aunts...) I asked where she had the last injection, prepped the site, and did everything exactly as my instructor had showed me. I was so proud of myself!

It wasn't until I was walking out of the room that I realized I hadn't removed the end cap from the pen, and the patient never received the dose she was supposed to. I was so embarrassed turning around and having to explain what just happened in front of all those people, and having to re-do the procedure!

Never again will I forget to remove the cap!

My first injections were drawn up in a med room the size of a small closet, taken up by pyxis machines, etc. Not much room to maneuver. So I bent the needle in half on my first lovenox. I was told to loosen it 'in here' so as to not be flailing around trying to get the darn cap off in the patient's room. Good thing I was there, as I had to waste it and get another one.
I still don't know why they can't make those things easier to uncap. I could break my nose, or someone else's, trying to get them open.

Here's a couple that I have witnessed.

1. In LPN school back in the early 90's, there was a female student that was, shall we say, not the sharpest knife in the drawer. One day we were preparing to go to post-conference, and my instructor asked me to go check on her. I went into her pt's room to see what she needed help with. She was looking very flustered and about ready to cry. I asked her what the problem was and she said " I have been shaving this man for over an hour and I can't get him shaved!" Upon further inspection, I noticed she had failed to remove the protective cover from the razor! No, this girl did not pass LPN school!!!

2. During ADN school, we were in our last semester and doing our Psych rotation. One of my fellow students had a particular pt that she had delveloped a repoir with and she was being discharged that day. We were back on the same floor 2 weeks later, and the same pt was back. Well, this fellow student saw that she was back and wanted to talk to her, so we went to the pt's room. As soon as we walked into the room, the pt looked at my fellow student and said " You *****! You are the one sleeping with my husband!" and proceeded to chase her out of the room and down the hallway!!! We later learned that the pt, who was schizophrenic, stopped taking her meds a few days after going home. Needless to say, my fellow student doesn't work psych!!

I was in my Med/Surg I clinical last semester, and one moment really stands out..my patient was sleeping, but had a very fast respiratory rate (40+), so we needed to find out her o2 sat. I had to run around looking for a pulse oxiometer that actually worked..so my instructor and some other students and I were in the hall, and I stuck it on my finger to make sure it worked. I wasn't paying attention, and my instructor said "Is that you??" She was looking at the oxiometer, and my pulse was 120+ and I was all out of breath from running around..she made me sit down before I could finish with my patient

I was giving my very first IM injection -- now, I'd given a ton of sub-Q's, but this was an elderly alzheimer's pt getting his flu shot into the deltoid. I explain what's going on, he seems pretty with it, and I put my left hand on his arm to stabilize it for the stick. The pt screamed, I jumped about a foot and dropped the syringe. All flustered, I said, "What was that for!?!"

He smiled and said, "Just practicing."

Well during HLT I forgot to provide drapes so I used the patient's blanket carefully to provide privacy for the patient (it was a public/charity ward/very crowded), then I really don't know what came in to my mind that I placed my head inside the feet of the patient's blanket.
My instructor asked me. "What're you doing?"..Then I said "Inspecting the perineum?"

The first time I had to take a clean urine specimen from a cath bag was awful! I had never even touched a catheter bag in my life and my (very intimidating) instructor stood over me and told me to take a specimen. After fiddling with the clamp for what felt like forever, I managed to open in and get the specimen... problem... then I couldn't figure out how to do it back up! I tried to squeeze the tubing with my hand but needless to say I was completely embarassed and made a very large mess on the floor! It's ALMOST funny to me now lol

It's my second week into nursing school. I'm going to school for my LPN. My nursing instructors... Ms. D and Ms. C are professional at best, but very nice in their own way. One kinda reminds me of nurse ratchet in some ways though lol.


Well anyway. We had just got back from lunch and I had to use the bathroom. I had flipped the sign on the outside of the door to say "Closed" which means occupied (if that wasn't obvious...). Well anyway... after I was done and on my way out I heard someone trying to open the door really hard which really didn't make me upset but I screamed out, "IT SAYS CLOSED FOR A DAMN REASON!" thinking it was my classmates who we all joke with each other all the time. I wasn't being serious of course, but if you hadn't known you would have thought I was having a REALLY bad day. Low and behold, I open the door and guess who's standing in front of me doing the pee-dance.

Yeah...

She kind of looked at me like I was special in someway then started laughing. Rolled her eyes and whispered, "It's okay."

I was SOOOOO embarrassed. When I got in the class I could not stop laughing lol. All my classmates looked at me like I had just kicked a puppy. It was priceless. I'm just lucky she has a good sense of humor lol.

I did one of my first suppositories to an elderly woman, my gloves were to big so I put in the suppository and had to pull my glove up to finish inserting it, before I could get my glove pulled up she coughed, the suppository shot out of her rectum like a small bullet, it was so funny then she says honey is everything ok, what do you do with that I said yes and inserted another one while still laughing.

I was having to insert a cath into the male mannequin. When I grabbed his penis I started laughing and got really embarrased, but I wouldn't let go because you can't once you grab it. I ended up standing there holding it in my left hand and laughing with my head buried in my shoulder for what seemed like an eternity. I was gripping it so hard I actually pulled it off, so I held it in my hand, inserted, inflated the bulb, and then put it back on the mannequin. She passed me, but I never did live that one down.... That male mannequin got the best of me several times. Once I had to carry him from the lab into the class room, I dropped him and stooped down to pick him up, mind you he was naked. Every time I went to grab him, he slid back down. So I would stoop, come up a little, stoop, come up a little. My instructor came up from behind and saw me stooped over him bobbing up and down and asked me if I was having fun. I was mortified.