Dead bodies?

[relgis15]

Last night we had four codes. All of them ended badly (Patients died). One of my functions is to bring the bodies to the morgue, and this was my first time handling a dead person. I had to tag them and put them in a bag etc. I'll be honest, it gave me the creeps. I was acting like it didn't bother me, but on the inside I was a wreck. I hate to say it but the more people that died last night, the easier the job became. The real hospital is nothing like Grey's Anatomy makes it seem lol

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

First job out of school working at the local hospital. A patient died. The supervisor asked me to go to the morgue with the orderly. Being my usual fresh self, I asked if he was afraid to take the body by himself. She said it was hospital policy since the. Dead person was female and they wanted to make sure the body wasn't 'violated'. Eeewwww. That thought was worse than going to the morgue.

[meghan91]

at the hospital i work at the nurse gets the patient ready for the morgue and then either patient transport or sometimes security will take the patient down because only transport and security has the keys to the morgue. i never got a call for a baby yet because i think secuirty will come for them or the nurse will help them take them down just because i know family likes to try and stay with the child and if it is a baby we dont "bag them" they are put in a tiny box with a ribbon around it.the first time i had to go to the morgue i was a little weird down there but now i still get a little creaped out sometimes but its no big deal you just have to not even think about them being dead just think its one of my patients and thats that. i remember the nurse once put all the patients paper work in the bag with the patient and me as transport had to get the papers out in order to send them to secuirty for the funeral director and when i opened the bag even though i was prepared for it it was just a very weird feeling. the smell of the morgue is really what will get you sometimes. i hope you dont have to experience another night of so many deaths.

[healthstar, BSN, RN]

Yeppers. If you're the one that can most safely leave the floor, it's you, usually someone else to help with the stretcher, and the body.

I never minded dead folks. They weren't in there anymore. I DID mind when whoever did post-mortem care didn't lay the bed flat, and for whatever reason it took time to get a chance to move them to the morgue- and they were still at whatever angle the bed was..... like THAT is something you can camouflage going down the hall.

My max in one night was 3 at a LTC....two were expected, the third was just tired of being old, I guess. Back then, I had to call the medical examiner to release the body (Illinois). He'd ask if it was expected, if anything was unusual. The first one- ok .....second one- well, OK .... third one- "What in the world are you people doing over there tonight?" :eek:

I didn't know that nurses transport pts to the morgue either, omg I would have insomnia for years, I don't think I would be normal again hahahaaaaa

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

It is a very harsh reality check to prepare and take a body up to the morgue.

I have done this a few dozen times during my career, and it never gets easier. When a pt dies in the OR, I take my time and clean up the body as much as possible. I am gentle because I am RESPECTFUL of this body. I am quiet because I am secretly mourning the loss of this person whom I don't know. Sometimes I ask staff to leave the room as I do this because it is such a heavy hearted task and I can't stand the idle chit chat in the room. I take this task very seriously.

It usually takes me a couple of days to process the event emotionally. Don't be surprised if you find yourself unexpectedly tearful or sorrowful in the next week or so. Because we are expected to remain professional and task-oriented while performing this duty, we sometimes have a delayed emotional response.

Four codes and four deaths in one night is simply AWFUL. I hope you never have to experience that again!

[casi, ASN, RN]

I can't think of any code I've ever been in that went from pre-cordial thump(cuz you know they have to pound someone's chest!) to awake, smiling, and ready for lunch just before commercial break. Hope you have a better night coming up

That would really creep me out.

[casi, ASN, RN]

One thing that really helps me with postmortem care is talking to the patient. It feels really unnatural and disrespectful to me to just be flopping someone over and cleaning them without saying something.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

One thing that really helps me with postmortem care is talking to the patient. It feels really unnatural and disrespectful to me to just be flopping someone over and cleaning them without saying something.

YES! You are so right.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

It will get easier. Just be sure to treat the deceased body with utmost respect; remember you can be accused of "abuse of a corpse." When I worked with children, we had to make sure it wasn't a coroner's case before we removed any medical equipment, such as IV's. I don't hear of that now that I work with adults. But you may want to be sure they aren't going to want an autopsy. God bless you.

[rainbowskin]

When I do post-mortem care it helps if I talk to them as if they are still alive and I'm caring for them... such as; "Mr. Jones, I am going to turn you now so I can clean your back and get you nice and clean" It helps..

[Ausnurse65, RN]

Its been a few years since I've had someone pass away on my shift. But like the few posts above I think it's an honor to prepare the person for transport and reflect on their life and what time you might have nursed them for, treating them with respect. It does help to speak to them and treat them as if they are still there.

All the places I've worked, a nurse always escorts the person to the morgue to fill in the official paperwork for booking them into the morgue for identity reasons. There are always two people, the second person is usually the wardsperson.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

The first time at one hospital, I did get SERIOUSLY creeped out when I went in there and saw the pathology specimens in semi-opaque (like sherbet quart containers) tubs on shelves from floor to ceiling- there were appendixes (?plural?), breasts, tumors, etc bobbing around in their tubs. Nobody told me about that. I was REALLY upset. Looking back, I reacted way past what was warranted. It was a very small morgue (and the supervisor wouldn't go down there ), so I had many 'opportunities' to see that stuff stored on the walls

[mindlor]

I look at caring for the dead as a great honor. To be able to clean them up nice for their family etc makes me feel good. I care for them gently and I wonder if they are simply no more or if they are now soaring through the universe?