Bizarre!!

[UM Review RN]

Come on, admit it! We've all had 'em--bizarre nursing situations.

Lately I've been having quite a challenging (?) run of them and people are starting to cross themselves when they see me and stuff. Leaves me feeling a tad weird.

The latest came to us in the form of a patient who was passing through our unit on the way to ICU. Of course, our elevators were not functioning (lot of construction lately).

So on to the other elevator bank, but alas! The bed wouldn't fit through the door to get to them. So we plugged the patient's bed in right there in the hall, and set up for a Code while we planned an alternate route.

Happily, the patient was none the worse for wear, but I really got chills thinking about what could've happened.

So, come on, make me feel better. I know you can top that.

Describe your most bizarre nursing experience.

[Still Riding]

Oreinted x3 means that the person is oriented to person, place and time.

[TexasPediRN]

Oriented x3 ( pt is oriented to person/place/and time)

[RoadRunner]

We had a nice old lady in our CCU who coded, was declared dead and then stripped off all her IV, catheters, etc... You know the drill. So, we all are at the nurse desk when the bell rings from her room... My collegue went to find the lady sitting in her bed. "I think I skipped dinner and I'm hungry". My collegue went back at the nurse desk, white as snow. Well, the lady ate a toast with cheese, then coded again and died for real!!! We still talk about this day, shaking our heads...

[MMARN, BSN, RN]

We had a nice old lady in our CCU who coded, was declared dead and then stripped off all her IV, catheters, etc... You know the drill. So, we all are at the nurse desk when the bell rings from her room... My collegue went to find the lady sitting in her bed. "I think I skipped dinner and I'm hungry". My collegue went back at the nurse desk, white as snow. Well, the lady ate a toast with cheese, then coded again and died for real!!! We still talk about this day, shaking our heads...

That is really bizarre!!

[leslie :-D]

i had a hospice pt whose dtr (also a nurse) was at her bedside.

the dd came out and said "i think mom has passed".

so i went in- no ap, rr, pupils fixed.

i put my arm on the dtr and gently told her she was gone.

then this pt. lets out this LOUD breath and i jumped to the ceiling! (this was in my early hospice days).

so i stayed in the room and again, after 5 minutes, nodded to the dd and AGAIN, this pt. takes a loud breath (expiratory).

so i left the room to get my nm and as the nm entered the room she said quietyly "oh yeah, she's gone".

i whispered "don't be too sure of that".

but this time the pt. really was gone.

i couldn't believe how high i jumped when that pt. breathed.:rotfl:

although i don't see it often, it does occur and to this day, i still can't prepare myself for it.

[NurseCard, ADN]

a confused elderly man in ICU standing in the hall holding his Nitro drip bottle up high "stand back or I'll blow you all to kingdom come!"

Oh my! :rotfl: THAT is hilarious! Thanks!

Lessee, I've seen my share of strange stuff in almost seven years....

I had a guy use his incentive spirometer as a urinal once. I went in to his room to ask if he had urinated. "Yes I did". I'm confused; his urinal is empty. I then noticed.. his IS.. appeared to have urine in it. I guess he had peed into the mouthpiece. Nice aim!

One night a group of us nurses were just sitting at the nurse's station, minding our own business... nice, quiet night... when suddenly, three-four police officers burst out of the elevators with guns drawn, saying that someone had called them from our floor claming that they were being held hostage. A VERY confused patient had called them. They didn't even call us directly to check out the story or anything!

[MedSurgeMess]

Here, too. Of course, not the staff transporting the patient. But for privacy and respect issues, we have been asked to get off any elevator (even if you're already on and have gone several floors) if it is needed by a patient.

There are also signs posted on the first floor by the elevators urging visitors to do the same.

I mean, really, when you're a patient, you look and feel horrible - not having to be jammed into an elevator with a bunch of people is a nice touch

At our facility, we have elevators reserved for staff and pt transport only and are clearly marked...makes it easy for getting around

[hipab4hands]

I took care of a patient, who was in kidney failure, and the doc told the family that the patient would die within a few days. The doc wanted the family to say their good bys and the family wanted to get last rites for their parent.

2 weeks later, the patient walked out of the hospital with the family in tow.

The doc still can't explained how this patient recovered.

[Annor]

We had a confused patient who decided to pull out her foley - still inflated and suck on the balloon....yup....

NO WAY:lol2: :lol2:

[Marylou1102]

Back in the early 70s I was working in the ER, our usual staff was an RN (me), LPN, and male orderly. One summer Saturday night at about 3 am three twentyish men came in. One had a very nasty laceration at the base of his thumb. They claimed he was trying to cut steaks and the knife slipped, but you know a lie when you hear one. This man had to go to OR and his friends were in a very big hurry to leave. Just as they were walking out the door 6 police cars came flying into the ER lot and the friends were arrested, put in handcuffs and brought back inside. While this was happening the ambulance pulled in with the "White Knight". All four of these guys had been at a bar down town. The three accosted a female patron in the parking lot. White Knight came to her aid and was attacked by the three friends. Two of the guys held White Knight down and the third used his knife to slice him numerous times from the top of his head to his knees front and back. The friend was cut when the knife slipped.

So here is the picture. One very seriously injured White Knight, to be stabilized and made ready for the OR stat. Two prisoners in handcuffs loudly proclaiming their innocence. One injured man who is yelling at everyone that surgery is first come, first serve and he shouldn't have to wait. Half of the police force because this is where the action is. Most of the bar patrons in various states of inebriation standing, sitting or laying anywhere they can, because this is where the action is. And finally the hysterical family of White Knight arrives. And to top it all off in the middle of all this, another ambulance arrives with a patient in full arrest.

Somehow by 7am the ER was once again calm, quiet and clean. I was never so happy to go home.

[Little Panda RN, ASN, RN]

so i left the room to get my nm and as the nm entered the room she said quietyly "oh yeah, she's gone".

i whispered "don't be too sure of that".

OMG thats funny:rotfl: I would have been ROTFL if you had said that to me!