Nursing Superstitions!

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I thought this would be a fun topic since nurses are the most superstitious people in the world!

I believe that disaster will strike if someone says the "Q" word. I even cringe if a patient says it.

I also never bring a book or magazine to read because I think it will be a slow day. That's a sure way to guarantee a code or a ton of admissions! :D

O.K. maybe I'm a little weird. :p

Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, Cardiac ICU.

We also skip from room 312 to 314 with every other room in numerical sequence. We also eventually turned one room at the end of the hall into storage after repeated attempts by Facilities Services to get the O2 and Vacuum flow to work (never did get it to) - equipment that was brought in there routinely had to be changed because it stopped working. People who have worked here a long time said there was once a code there and that room has a rep for broken equipment ever since. We only store paper, old staffing records and extra dietary dry goods in there now.

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i haven't worked in the hospital for 6 years and the other day I was in a local grocery store that was, shall we say, unbusy and I made a comment to them about not saying the "Q" word, so this post made me smile! (BTW, the grocery person didn't seem to get the reference...).

We had a single room in my old MICU that had about 3 patients in a row die in it, and one of our residents called it the "Rocket Room" (as in "one way trip to the heavens"), so for a while we were superstitious about that room.

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Specializes in telemetry, cardiac stepdown.
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I haven't worked in the hospital for 6 years and the other day I was in a local grocery store that was, shall we say, unbusy and I made a comment to them about not saying the "Q" word, so this post made me smile! (BTW, the grocery person didn't seem to get the reference...).

Not long ago I was in the checkout line of my local grocery, when the cashier turned and shouted to her manager "It's sooooooo slow, can I go home early?" I just looked at her and said "you're in for it now, you better tell the fate gods you didn't mean that!" She didn't get it either, but I bet that place was hopping within 20 minutes

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I have this image of about a dozen of nurses walking around checking rooms for floating tweety birds at shift change, and if they happen to find one, I get a sneaking suspition that tweety meets with an untimely death. All the while RN's telling patients and families how those tweety's are defective and this happens frequently. ;)

We also do not use the Q or S words. And if you want a surgical to go home or come to the floor and continue to be stable, do not give them to me, I have a way with surgicals. :rolleyes: :confused:

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Specializes in NICU, Informatics.

Isn't iy amazing how one nurse can have the touch of having a "Q" night and another can have the touch of being nuts? On our floor, my nurse manager has said no matter what she will get bombed. Me on the other hand, will usually have a quieter night.

Does anyone think it might have to do with karma or your persoanlity? I've notced the nurses who are frazzeled eadier or who just really don't give a damn, get the hellish nights/ days. Not that the ones who dn't care will do anything about it and will still leave me with all the work. Anyways.. enough ranting.

jenkatt :D

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Actually I have noticed that the girls who get frazzled easily do have a rougher shift than other nurses. However I dont think some girls have bad nights because they dont care about what is going on. Actually I find the opposite true.

We have one girl who gets so wrapped around the patients that when they have any little change she is all over it like bees on honey. Yet, we have another who is NEVER busy AND NEVER gets stressed it is in her patients that I find late in the shift the CNA is coming to me to ask If I could help her clean their soiled and dried on BM bottom.

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Aren't we a funny bunch? :D

In my unit (ICU) we had three young patients crash and burn in one room within 72 hours. One of our attending insisted that we close the room for an exorcism. However, one of the docs is Jewish and the other a catholic, so they settled on a sweet grass (native) ceremony. It worked anyway, the room had good outcomes for a year after that!

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Specializes in Renal, UM, CM.

Never ever mention the names of frequent fliers.....they'll be beating a path to your floor ;)

[ June 17, 2001: Message edited by: Nurcee ]

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Working in LTC, we have our share of "jinxed" rooms, ghostly sightings, etc. From time to time, the call light in a comatose patient's room would go off...middle of the night, no staff nearby, and light fastened securely to his pillow. We also had a patient who would start to sing hymns whenever someone was about to die...if he start to sing, you'd better check your patients! usually within 24 hours, someone would pass away. :eek:

If we have a patient who is a full code, and not doing well, we get transfer papers in order (everything but the time of transfer). I guess it's Murphy's law in reverse...If you're ready for it, it won't happen. Works every time!

Don't every make plans to get caught up on anything (if you get the chance), or schedule anything for right after work. Chances are that you won't make it.

And have you noticed that the majority of codes and emergency hospital transfers happen halfway through your last medpass??? :rolleyes:

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What a great topic!

Especially as we all seem so superstitious, despite our educations & years of experience!

I work Labor & Delivery!

We have many, MANY superstitions!

Here's a few:

-all IV lines have a T-extension...so we DON"T have to switch the T to a blood infusion tubing!

-all pt's sign a blood consent OR a blood refusal...so we know which ones will bleed!

(yep, the 'blood refusal' ones)

-all labor patients with a birth plan longer than one page will have a Cesarean Section!

-all Redheads bleed more freely, so get a 'Type & Screen' instead of a 'hold clot' when they are admitted!

-Stillbirths come in threes...(sad, but too often true, as I work in a high risk unit)

-Putting 'C-Section papers' on the chart increases the likelyhood of a lady partsl delivery

-Bringing the Sunday paper or a book to read assures the unit of a crazed, high census day

-and, of course NEVER SAY THE Q-WORD!!!!

Happiness!

Haze :cool:

Las Vegas

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I love this topic...The "Q" word is a big no-no, and of course, not mentioning the name of PIA frequent fliers is gospel at our hospital. Another one; we turn down the bed and set up for admissions. If for some reason the admit doesn't make it, that bed will stay turned down to "ward off evil spirits". At times the bed will stay turned down 2 or 3 days. Silly, I know.

Terrie

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I just joined this thing. I nursed on a floor once where if anyone saw a horsefly come onto the floor they just knew someone was going to die. It was called the (name of the floor) fly (original, weren't we?). It eventually expanded beyond patients to their families, our families, their friends, our friends, our hospital colleagues and their friends/family, which of course broadened the base considerably since it was a very large hospital. It also extended to anyone who had been on our floor and transferred elsewhere. So naturally the superstition was always right...with a population that large, someone's death was always bound to coincide with the appearance of The (floorname) Fly!

But we still broke out the code cart and the sympathy cards in case.

Nah, we're not superstitious!

And yes, the Q word, the name of the world's most obnoxious patient/patient's family, and calling the ED to check on their status were all taboos in a major way, and we girded on our armor at the first sign of abnormal meterological phenomena and full moons. We added new moons to that; seems like either extreme was likely.

BTW, did any of you ever notice that a lot of this also coincided with another event...in a predominantly female group, it seems like sooner or later everyone's cycle hits within the same time frame after a few months. And that's also when things go haywire, so we never complained of feeling bad no matter how evil this particular cycle was; it brought in admissions just like someone let a tour bus loose outside our doors! :( :cool:

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