Yesterday I was dragging. It was Monday, coming back from a week off, hadn't slept well, etc. An hour before the end of the shift. Called a doctor's office about a patient's insulin and possibly switching her over from prefilling Lantus syringes to the pen. Left a voicemail message on the triage nurse line that went something like this...
"Hi, this is ProBeeRN with ____, calling about ____. " Blah, blah blah, explain situation, wanting to switch to pen, promote patient independence, reviewed BS log, etc. Everything going fine. Until I ended it with this:
"So, my number is xxx-xxxx, if you have any questions you can call me back, and if it's ok with the doctor he can call in that script for the solostar to the pharmacy and if it's not ok...well then I guess he doesn't have to do anything then, does he? Everything else is fine with the patient. Ok, thanks, bye.
I then hung up and stared at the phone like it was going to grow tentacles and poke me in the eye. My patient laughed at me.
We have a key card entry on our doors to get from the clinic area to the medical records and office areas. Sometimes when I am tired, I show my key to the light switch on the inside of the door and wait for it to beep to let me out.
After working 2 nights in a row (12hrs) & not sleeping more than 4 hrs between the two shifts, I decided to walk home & grab a treat from the coffee shop on the way. At the coffee shop, I placed my order & was told the cost...took my money out of my pocket, proceeded to look at it for a full minute & then placed my hands out (money in hands) & said could you pls do this? I can't figure this out. Doh! The guy in the shop had a good laugh...& after I told him I was an RN who just worked overnight...he totally got it. But wow...too funny! (Good thing I didn't have to do any med calc's in the AM)!
We have a key card entry on our doors to get from the clinic area to the medical records and office areas. Sometimes when I am tired, I show my key to the light switch on the inside of the door and wait for it to beep to let me out.
LOL and spray the laptop with coffee! and feel less alone! as a nursing student near end of last semester (and working full-time), i am so afraid my preceptor is going to think i'm a total idiot (which i am not!) sometimes when in fact i am so sleep-deprived i could drool while awake. like leaving the stopcock on an NG tube feeding open to side port and uncapping it right after having done bed bath and linen change. crap.
You guys make my stomach hurt from giggling. Things I do include knocking on the pyxis room door, forgetting or mixing up words, answering the call light with the full "Thank you for calling ___ hospital, this is AR_RN, may I help you?", and.....the topper for me......Circling the parking garage 3 times before I realized I had to take the down ramp to get out!
Oh gosh I just said good morning to one of our straight-laced MD's. At 2200. My shift had just started at 1900. It was a long night. And I'm sure he thinks I'm a nut.
I once called an OB doc in middle of the night to get orders on a patient that had arrived. His order? "Put the spaghetti in the pot when the water boils!" He didn't remember my call at all the next day!
Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.
This is TOOO funny! I agree with others that I am NOT alone!!! and that is GOOOD.
WHen I worked in hospital giving report, I would at times hear giggles coming from the oncoming staff. I would stop my report and ask, "OK, what did i say NOW"? Unfortunately, I am a master at mispronounced words. I once told them that "the patients SIDEPAILS are RADDED." One of my patients had "wheezles" instead of wheezes! My favorite dr, whose patient was the one with wheezles, said, Oh, yes, brown furry creatures running around in lungs.. I have heard them many times" !! LOL.
I found out that my car key does not open my office door.
It isn't possible to use the phone keypad to input numbers in my computer. (keyboard is right beside the phone)
and too many others to relate!!! Gotta love it!!!:)
I tend to have trouble remembering previous conversations when tired. My principal or a teacher will ask me a question about a child I have seen, or screenings we have discussed or something and I will just stare blankly at them...sometimes for an uncomfortable amount of time. It just takes my brain a while to process information when put on the spot!
ETA: also, my locked med closet and my bathroom are side by side. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to unlock the bathroom door from the outside with the closet keys. I am always dumbfounded at why the keyhole has disappeared!
Specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.
I was handing over to the day shift on Monday after seven night shifts.
A latecomer arrived and asked where the computer-printed handover sheets were and I replied "Oh they are on that flat white thing with the phones on it...oh yeah DESK"
Trying to unlock the procedure room door with my house key, and trying to unlock my home front door with the procedure room key. They're on the same key ring, and they DO look similar, but that happens way too often for my peace of mind.
Specializes in Cardiac Cath Lab/Pacemaker/Geriatrics.
lol...all of this sounds so familiar. I am a respiratory therapist, but have been a nurse in the past too. I was dead tired and called in for a vent patient. I placed the patient on the ventilator and proceeded to tell the dr. that the ....... kept pointing at the vent, completely blank and said...the lung inflator thingy settings are...he just stared at me like I had two heads.
The other day I paged the hospitalist and put in my employee number like I was clocking out.... That was embarrassing to explain after I had to page him again.
netglow, ASN, RN
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