Cra Cra co-workers

[NursesRmofun]

I know you have had them. Ones that drove you crazy, acted off kilter, and just made things either more interesting or more difficult. If you can write about them without IDing them, go ahead.

I had one several years ago....omg...I would get to work and had some time between duties. She had a different position, but she also had some seat time. I sat near her and she told me how her meds. weren't working and her whole personal history in a matter of just a couple work days. Then, at some point, I know she was gossiping how *I* was sitting and doing nothing but talking to HER. My mistake was I sat near her. I changed seats after that...to another sitting area all together.

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

I have always known working the floor that there are a lot of "special" nurses abound. However, I work as a Psych NP now. I have done countless psychiatric evaluations on clients who tell me that they are studying to become a nurse or a social worker. So, watch out! There's more coming!

Heh-decades ago I worked with a nurse who would periodically go catatonic. Literally sit at the desk with her hand poised over the chart, staring. You could yell in her face, clang cymbals together, scream in her ear; nothing.

She also claimed frequently that someone climbed into her bedroom through the window and raped her, prompting another co-worker to muse, "I know a woman is raped something like every 20 minutes, but I never realized it was the same woman!"

Fast forward about 10-12 years. I'm in orientation at my new Psych job. I walk into the art therapy room, guess who I see? Yep.

Except I had a key to get off the unit and she didn't.

[abbnurse]

Ok so now I am totally intrigued and tried to Google it and got nothing!!!

I did the same thing!

[Bluemilk]

Maybe she'll be scared of you now. Can't hurt. Ha ha!!

[Bluemilk]

I have had far too many techs tell me similar tales of nonsense. What gives? Do they think we are clueless? Or is it merely a self-esteem issue on their part?

What at scares me though is that techs like that I've encountered usually end up knowing far less and become a detriment to my patients and staff.

[Bluemilk]

Well hopefully he wasn't a serial killer. Been there, had that!

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

I have had far too many techs tell me similar tales of nonsense. What gives? Do they think we are clueless? Or is it merely a self-esteem issue on their part?

What at scares me though is that techs like that I've encountered usually end up knowing far less and become a detriment to my patients and staff.

If you use the quote feature, we'll know who you're responding to.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

Well hopefully he wasn't a serial killer. Been there, had that!

Really? hmm

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

I have many stories I could tell, but this one really stands out .

A new nurse trained with me for about a week on day shift, before moving to nights (which was the shift he was hired for). It was my habit to say "Just call me with any questions, or any concerns", especially to new nurses, since I was the unit manager. One day about a week later, I got home in the morning after staying at a friend's house. There were thirty-seven missed calls on my home phone from my work number, but no messages on the answering machine (this was pre-cell phone days). I called work, asking, "Hey, is everything ok? Someone was trying to reach me." The nurse on duty said sure, everything was fine. A few days later I saw this new nurse, and he said "Hey, Abby, how's your answering machine? "

The night shift staff began telling me about how people would call during the night and ask for "Shepherd Timothy".....and he would tell staff that the calls were from members of his "flock", and that he needed to "counsel" them.

The holidays came around shortly, and he brought in a gift for every nurse on each shift. Each one of us received a beautifully wrapped bar of soap....Caress, Dove, Dial, Irish Spring, Camay, Oil of Olay......he gave nearly everyone a different type of soap. I received Yardley, which smelled beautiful, and I was somewhat touched by his gesture, since he clearly put a lot of time and effort into selecting and wrapping our gifts. But we were all kind of scratching our heads.....bars of soap?

He didn't last too long on our unit and I have often wondered what became of him....he was an odd one, for sure !

I put this in the very odd category. lol

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

Heh-decades ago I worked with a nurse who would periodically go catatonic. Literally sit at the desk with her hand poised over the chart, staring. You could yell in her face, clang cymbals together, scream in her ear; nothing.

She also claimed frequently that someone climbed into her bedroom through the window and raped her, prompting another co-worker to muse, "I know a woman is raped something like every 20 minutes, but I never realized it was the same woman!"

Fast forward about 10-12 years. I'm in orientation at my new Psych job. I walk into the art therapy room, guess who I see? Yep.

Except I had a key to get off the unit and she didn't.

I know a nurse who was raped (incest) and she would have these kinds of episodes. It lasted her whole life (she was certainly mentally ill), but she had to work.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

I worked with a nurse that nobody realized had mental health issues until she decided for some unknown reason to go off her meds. It started with some odd statements, flights of fancy and increasing grandiosity. Within a week she had escalated to a point that became unsafe for all around her, including herself. Unfortunately it ended with a middle of the night call to the DON who came in to intervene and ended up calling the police to have her escorted off the premises. I actually ran into her at a grocery store not long ago and she is doing fine now glad to say.

[ScrappytheCoco]

We have one on our unit now who claims one of us tried to poison her. She left her drink at the nurses station and when she came out she started freaking saying someone had dropped a pill in it. She called the cops and everything! The cops said the testing was "inconclusive." You can't fix crazy.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

I just remembered this. Years ago, one of the nurses we worked with killed herself by train. Nothing juicy about the story, but we were like wow, had NO idea she was in that state. then it made sense why we were having episodes of nurse Jackie where the narcotics discrepancy would happen. but she was kinda smart about it, it wasn't a pattern. so it just looked like an honest mistake once every blue moon. but then it never happened again after she was no longer there.