Hi everyone, before I start, I should introduce myself. I am currently a Phlebotomist, working my way through nursing school.
I see and hear many interesting things on a daily basis, and I got to thinking about all of my embarrassing encounters. Keep in mind, at my hospital, we have access to patient charts, but are encouraged not to look at them because they are frequently audited. Most of these scenarios could have been prevented if I had some basic patient background knowledge. Here are a few of them....
1. I walked into a patients room and noticed that they had a limb alert on their right arm. So naturally, I asked them to present their left arm. To my surprise, their left arm was amputated and I spent the next 10 minutes apologizing.
2. I was trying to get a patient to state their name and birth date. The patient was looking at me and smiling, but no response. SO, I asked again and then two more times.. Eventually, the nurse --who was standing behind me (after she finished laughing)--informed me that the patient was def.
3. I was standing in the elevator with a pregnant patient (who was in a wheel chair), and she asked me to push the button for the OB floor. Trying to make conversation, I asked her how far along she was in her pregnancy. I got a very dirty look from her because guess what? She was not a patient. She was visiting a friend in OB...
What are some of your funny/ embarrassing stories?
