What is the dumbest thing a student/newbie ever said or did??
I ask because I'm starting nursing school in May and want to know what NOT to do!
I thought it could be entertaining as well if not for those of us that are saying "I don't get it...why was that dumb??" than for you more experienced nurses to get a chuckle!
Also if there is anything that a student did that isn't exactly dumb just a BIG no-no please please share!
Happened this weekend. Student on our floor for the overnight shift. Says " I do not care about doing anything, just want to make it through the night" Well you better be doing something or the night is going to be looooooong!!! So she did...sat at the nurses station with her feet up on the counter, belching. OMG!! Our nurses stations are directly outside the patients rooms(one for every 2 patients) I cannot imagine what her patients were thinking.
That's not dumb, that's just plain old fashioned rude -- esp. for a STUDENT who's supposed to be there to help and learn!
We have an oncologist who ordered Miconazole suppository PO for a pt with thrush post chemo. The pt told us it was not working when she came to the ED. Apparently the nursing home nurse gave it rectally instead of by mouth.
We had a doctor order 54 mg decadron to a 5 yr old. I refused saying it was way too much)so he turned to a new nurse and she actually was ready to give it. Considering the most you can give to anyone is 10 mg she would have killed the pt. Luckily I called the supervisor and he came down and reprimanded the doctor and then councelled the nurse. (lesson to new nurse, if a seasoned nurse refuses to give a med there has to be a reason find out first) Same nurse almost gave a second round of lopressor 15mg IV in under 1 hr. on a patient who had a normal bood pressure in the 90's and a pulse in the 50's (it was ordered a second time by a new intern by accident and instead of questioning the order, she just set out to give it. The nurse did however give potassium 40meq in 100cc bag in a hand peripheral line to run in 20 minutes.( I almost missed that one just found the 1/2 empty bag and the pt complaining of severe burning to his hand. Same nurse was supposed to give 500cc bolus instead gave 500/hr for 4 hours before found out to an 80 year old (pt was wet but recuperated well). (nurse is now gone, she felt we were picking on her) DID YOU SAY DUMB?
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
years ago, when new nurses were allowed to work without a license as a gn, i was charge and working with an na and a gn. it was july in a teaching hospital . . .
little old lady in no acute distress with a k+ of 3.4. she's in the hospital for a gi work-up. brand new intern decides to replace the potassium because "it's too low." he decides to write an order to give 40 meq iv. now first off, the only iv is a 22 g. in the patient's hand. second off, this isn't an icu.
the new grad told him "our policy is that we can put 20 meq in 250cc and give it over four hours. but if you want to give it iv push, you can give as much as you want."
i happened into the med room as the two of them were drawing up 40 meq of kcl in a 20cc syringe and asked them what they were planning to do with it. i tried to tell the intern he couldn't do that, and without listening to a word i had to say, he said "the other nurse -- you know, the cute one -- said i could." i tried to explain to the cute new nurse what the problem was with her plan. "the doctor wants to do it," she replied, as if that were the end word on it. (she probably still thought it was.)
i called the resident, who unfortunately knew me rather well and thought i was joking. (to be fair, i had a well-deserved reputation for joking.)
i finally called the pharmacist, who read the order i'd sent him, screeched "he can't do that!" and ran up 11 flights of stairs from the central pharmacy in the basement to physically restrain the intern from pushing the kcl and killing the patient. we saved the patient, the intern hated me for years and the new grad didn't last long on our floor. she quit after a year to marry a doctor.
years ago, when new nurses were allowed to work without a license as a gn, i was charge and working with an na and a gn. it was july in a teaching hospital . . .
little old lady in no acute distress with a k+ of 3.4. she's in the hospital for a gi work-up. brand new intern decides to replace the potassium because "it's too low." he decides to write an order to give 40 meq iv. now first off, the only iv is a 22 g. in the patient's hand. second off, this isn't an icu.
the new grad told him "our policy is that we can put 20 meq in 250cc and give it over four hours. but if you want to give it iv push, you can give as much as you want."
i happened into the med room as the two of them were drawing up 40 meq of kcl in a 20cc syringe and asked them what they were planning to do with it. i tried to tell the intern he couldn't do that, and without listening to a word i had to say, he said "the other nurse -- you know, the cute one -- said i could." i tried to explain to the cute new nurse what the problem was with her plan. "the doctor wants to do it," she replied, as if that were the end word on it. (she probably still thought it was.)
i called the resident, who unfortunately knew me rather well and thought i was joking. (to be fair, i had a well-deserved reputation for joking.)
i finally called the pharmacist, who read the order i'd sent him, screeched "he can't do that!" and ran up 11 flights of stairs from the central pharmacy in the basement to physically restrain the intern from pushing the kcl and killing the patient. we saved the patient, the intern hated me for years and the new grad didn't last long on our floor. she quit after a year to marry a doctor.
good for you for doing all you could to protect that patient! :bowingpur
I was precepting a new grad. We were priming the tubing for a pt's g tube feeding that ran via pump. This nurse said to me, "Why can't we just give this IV? Oh I know now, because it is too thick." She was dead serious. She kinda scared me as a nurse. I of course explained how fast the pt would DIE if it was given IV!
I'm a student and I'm sure the dumb mistakes I've made so far won't be my last. I've made many so far and hope I get a lot out of my system before I graduate.
My latest: opening pill package in patients room with gloves is hard plus I'm generally clumsy - opened the package and the package and pill flew across the table and onto the floor. So embarrassing, had to tell the nurse what happened and have the nurse to reorder from the pharmacy. I'll be more careful next time, at least it was only one of the many pills for this patient, I'd have hated to have the nurse reorder all those she was taking!
I can't tell you how many times I have done this in my years of nursing. It happens all the time!! Don't feel bad.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Case Management, also OR/OB.
I fortunately have no examples that can match or equal any of those... but I will tell a stupid one on myself (not really clinical) i just looked pretty stupid after i opened my mouth and said it. 'Member now, this is a time travel story, 1965, and I'm a Senior student with my blue stripe on the corner of my cap. Pt in for teeth extractions feeling bad, faint, whatever (heck it was 40 years ago)... she's asking for a nurse, and me in my little white uni with the blue striped cap said. "OK. I'll go get you one"... not what do you need, how can I help??? Well I was a little less experienced then than I am now, OK. There have been some fatal and near fatal errors posted here, do the Nursing Instructors NOT come to the floors to watch what the heck their students that they are supposed to be teaching are doing???!!! Just wondering.
"OK. I'll go get you one"... not what do you need, how can I help???
I say that when someone asks for a big strong man to help with a patient lift. (I am 6" 3' and about 220 pounds) Usually it gets a laugh....or eyes rolling...
years ago, when new nurses were allowed to work without a license as a gn, i was charge and working with an na and a gn. it was july in a teaching hospital . . .
little old lady in no acute distress with a k+ of 3.4. she's in the hospital for a gi work-up. brand new intern decides to replace the potassium because "it's too low." he decides to write an order to give 40 meq iv. now first off, the only iv is a 22 g. in the patient's hand. second off, this isn't an icu.
the new grad told him "our policy is that we can put 20 meq in 250cc and give it over four hours. but if you want to give it iv push, you can give as much as you want."
i happened into the med room as the two of them were drawing up 40 meq of kcl in a 20cc syringe and asked them what they were planning to do with it. i tried to tell the intern he couldn't do that, and without listening to a word i had to say, he said "the other nurse -- you know, the cute one -- said i could." i tried to explain to the cute new nurse what the problem was with her plan. "the doctor wants to do it," she replied, as if that were the end word on it. (she probably still thought it was.)
i called the resident, who unfortunately knew me rather well and thought i was joking. (to be fair, i had a well-deserved reputation for joking.)
i finally called the pharmacist, who read the order i'd sent him, screeched "he can't do that!" and ran up 11 flights of stairs from the central pharmacy in the basement to physically restrain the intern from pushing the kcl and killing the patient. we saved the patient, the intern hated me for years and the new grad didn't last long on our floor. she quit after a year to marry a doctor.
omg! this was like basic textbook stuff that i learned in pharm in school! it's beyond frightening to think that both of them agreed this was a good idea!
I was precepting a new grad. We were priming the tubing for a pt's g tube feeding that ran via pump. This nurse said to me, "Why can't we just give this IV? Oh I know now, because it is too thick." She was dead serious. She kinda scared me as a nurse. I of course explained how fast the pt would DIE if it was given IV!
I got my BSN from a decent school. Reading some of these stories makes me thankful, though, that I learned what I did! It is truly FRIGHTENING to think how basic some of this stuff seems (even then!) and that NGs honestly don't know this stuff!
than for you more experienced nurses to get a chuckle!
DID YOU SAY DUMB?
imanedrn
547 Posts
That's not dumb, that's just plain old fashioned rude -- esp. for a STUDENT who's supposed to be there to help and learn!