Embarrassing/Clumsy Moments!

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Well, I just had to laugh at myself for this graceful moment..

I was filling out an application at a LTC/SNF, sitting in their nice little seating area in the grand dining room during lunch time. After an hour of rewriting my resume for them onto the facility's application and filling out about 8 essay questions about myself, I get stand up to hand my application to the secretary... Immediately I realize that my foot had fallen asleep, but I was past the point of no return and my brain was telling me to 'put my foot down before you lose your balance!' However, when I put my weight on my totally numb foot, my ankle just caves in my cute little pumps and I nearly fall over. I hobble/fall as best I to the arm rest of the chair I was sitting in, but I have already caused quite a commotion (I think I frightened a few little old ladies). :grn: The secretary, a cna, and the director of human resources all rush over and ask if I'm ok, bless their hearts. I try to explain/laugh that my foot fell asleep and I didn't realize it until I stood up on it. Whoops! I'm at home 'rice'-ing it now, and just thought I'd share my clumsy moment with y'all! :bugeyes:

(and I've been a ballerina for 20 years! jeesh!)

Have any funny/embarrassing/clumsy moments to share? I'm sure we all need a good laugh..

Specializes in Gerontology.

First day of orientation at a brand new hospital (hospital wasn't even open yet).

I had been working at very small hospital - 60 beds. This new hospital was about 200. I walked into orientation - and looked around the room. I swear, there must have been about a million people in that room - at least that's how I felt.

I started to hyperventilate.

Registration Person: Whats your name?

Me; Um, Pepper. Pepper something. Yeah Pepper.

RP : OK. Um Pepper the Cat?

Me: Um , yeah, thats it. (major hyperventilating gone on now)

RP: Are you OK?

Me; OMG. Big mistake. Big mistake coming here.

RP: Its OK. Its everyone's first day.

Me: nothing but hyperventilating.

They had to get me to a chair, get me a glass of water. Track down the manager that hired me - had her come and talk to me (you'll be fine - me big mistake, big mistake). It took about 1/2 hour, but I calmed down.

First and last time in my life I have had such a panic attack!

20 years later, I'm still working there, so I guess that manager saw something in my after all!

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Pepper,

Thank you for making my day.As I read your post, I was laughing hysterically, with tears streaming down my face, then my stress incontinence kicked in. Now I have to go change.

I thouroughly enjoyed your post. :yeah: :rotfl: :yeah:

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Specializes in Gerontology.
Pepper,

Thank you for making my day.As I read your post, I was laughing hysterically, with tears streaming down my face, then my stress incontinence kicked in. Now I have to go change.

I thouroughly enjoyed your post. :yeah: :rotfl: :yeah:

thank you - I think!

I keep trying to look at this from the funny side of things. The plus side was that everyone wanted to come and talk to the person that moved from a really small hospital to the big one! Through out orientation everyone else was saying how small everything was, because they had been working at very large (1000 beds +) hospitals, while I was walking around saying "Its so big!".

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I've had many embarassing moments and I'll share a couple...

One time another CNA and I were chasing each other (with fly swatters) down the back/employee hall at work and as I neared the back door I stopped suddenly and quickly turned around to her when my scrub pants fell to my knees :eek: she was like, "eek" and turned running back to the emplyee lounge. We so laughed about it though Hahahaha!

Another time was when I was toileting one of my residents who had a total BM blow out and after I was all completed and my resident was finally comfortable I started my way down the hallway and still kept smelling that BM smell. I figured the smell was just stuck in my nose and I didn't really see any spots on my scrubs or on the bottom of my shoes. I told a couple of the girls I was working with what was going on so they checked the back of my scrubs for me and one said, "what's that?" I was like, "oh no!" Come to find out there was a spot of BM on my sleeve towards the back of my scrubs where I couldn't see it! I didn't have any extra scrubs but luckily I was wearing a muscle tee underneath so I ended up washing and drying my scrub top at work finishing my shift in my muscle tee. :rotfl:

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Specializes in LTC.

We had our clinicals at a local hospital our last quarter of school and we were there 5 days a week for 4 weeks. After a while, you get to know the nurses and doctors. One afternoon, I was standing with my instructor outside a pt's room, discussing the medications. A doctor walked by, and I waved and said "Good Afternoon, Dr. Steven." He looked at me and waved, but didnt say anything. A few moments later, he walked by again and this time, my instructor called out to him, "Dr. Stevens, can I ask you a question?" And he turned around and pulled up his name tag so she could see it. "My name is Dr. James!" and walked off.. I was mortified!! However, on his nametage, is read in large letters "Dr.Steven and his last name was smaller underneath his first name. I thought for sure my instructor failed me for the day!!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Ruby,

All I can say is that I am wicked impressed you can spell, "sphygmomanometers" (and yes, that was a total copy and paste job).

:)

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During report and when I'm just talking to my patients, I'll stand in the door way with the door half-open, and I regularly turn and hit the side of the door.

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Specializes in med/surg and Tele.

Ive done things similaer to SOME of these, whats even better is when the pt (thats able to) gets up and runs over to you. to see if youre alright..lol

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hehehe, I can relate to that kind of stuff because although I am a male, I am clumsy especially when I am nervous. Everytime I am in that situation, I sweat a lot :)

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Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

I was taking care of a day two cabg post op that was still plugged into everything so I had tubes and wires on both sides of the bed. I was trying to get everything organized so I could dc it. and when I turned to go to the other side I was wrapped in tubing and wires and fell I reach my arm out to catch myself and snap I broke my elbow. I jumped straight up and he ask me if I had hurt anything Of couse I told him no and went outside and howled because it hurt so bad. When I came back in he told me he heard me scream outside his window. Monitor wires and oodles of tubing always trip me up.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Telemetry, SICU.

This thread is seriously cracking me up! The most embarrassing moment for me at work happened to be my first day on the job as a tech. I was taking vital signs on a patient who happened to have a central line in his neck. I got in a hurry and somehow tripped over the IV tubing, and completely fell against the bedside table, knocking everything over! The patient yelled out since I was pulling on the line in his neck, while I was lying there mortified. This graceful moment was also witnessed by a roomful of family members and a coworker who was orienting me. And of course everyone else on the floor heard the crash and came rushing in. Worst.moment.ever! Thankfully the line was sutured in place and the nurse determined that I didn't do any permanent damage. I'm definitely very careful around IV lines now!!

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Specializes in Health Information Management.
This thread is seriously cracking me up! The most embarrassing moment for me at work happened to be my first day on the job as a tech. I was taking vital signs on a patient who happened to have a central line in his neck. I got in a hurry and somehow tripped over the IV tubing, and completely fell against the bedside table, knocking everything over! The patient yelled out since I was pulling on the line in his neck, while I was lying there mortified. This graceful moment was also witnessed by a roomful of family members and a coworker who was orienting me. And of course everyone else on the floor heard the crash and came rushing in. Worst.moment.ever! Thankfully the line was sutured in place and the nurse determined that I didn't do any permanent damage. I'm definitely very careful around IV lines now!!

I don't know who I feel sorrier for over this incident, you or your patient! Ow, ow, ow. It just had to happen on your first day, too.

The nice thing is we can all look back on these times with a little internal squirming and a lot of amusement. Embarrassing moments usually make for funny stories in the long run!

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