Funnies/scariest thing to ever happen to you in the ED??

babynurselsa, RN · Jan 18, 2006

We had an incident several years ago where some visitors of one of our ff pts went outside and stole a praying madonna statue on the hospital grounds. In either the process of the loading mary into their tiny little hatchback or security and the police removing it her hands got broken off. One of our quickwitted nurses got ahold of them buried them in a steel basin full of ice and paged down the surgery residents for a BILATERAL HAND AMPUTATION.

We had some really good natured residents who did see the humor even though it was 0330 in the am.

Dorito, ASN, RN · Jan 18, 2006

We had the Med Flight helicopter coming to get a patient and they usually landed in the parking lot and came through our Central supply unit with their cart of equipment. I was in Central supply with the cart to bring out to the helicopter and made the mistake of opening up the door to the outside before the blades had stopped rotating and the wind turned the central supply unit into a huge popcorn popper full of flying packing peanuts, along with foleys and dressing supplies. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but ended up getting a good laugh and leaving lots of apologies to the department on post it notes :)

ERNurse752, RN · Jan 18, 2006

I had just started working in the ED. Was a brand new nurse that got thrown into it by desperation. I never got a really good orientation, etc.
I was giving a pt. Demerol/Vistaril combination and pushed the Demerol and then started to give the Vistaril IV. I realized what I was doing and stopped (probably had only gotten a very small amount of it). I went to the director of the ED at the time (a very small, little man ) and told him what happened and asked what I should do. He yelled.
"get the crash cart!!!!!!"

:imbar

While I was passing out, he started to snicker. Of course nothing happened, we filed an incident report, etc. Now that I look back it was hysterical, but at the time all I could think was that I had just killed someone.

Why was an incident report filed? It is ok to give Vistaril IV.

mom23RN · Jan 18, 2006

Why was an incident report filed? It is ok to give Vistaril IV.

Then that must be something new, cause it didn't use to be. When he made me look it up in the PDR all it said was that it "shouldn't" be given IV but it didn't say what would happen. :uhoh21:

mom23RN · Jan 18, 2006

We had the Med Flight helicopter coming to get a patient and they usually landed in the parking lot and came through our Central supply unit with their cart of equipment. I was in Central supply with the cart to bring out to the helicopter and made the mistake of opening up the door to the outside before the blades had stopped rotating and the wind turned the central supply unit into a huge popcorn popper full of flying packing peanuts, along with foleys and dressing supplies. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but ended up getting a good laugh and leaving lots of apologies to the department on post it notes :)

OMG!!!!!!! :lol2: :eek:

ERNurse752, RN · Jan 18, 2006

Then that must be something new, cause it didn't use to be. When he made me look it up in the PDR all it said was that it "shouldn't" be given IV but it didn't say what would happen. :uhoh21:

I gave it IV once and someone gave me a bunch of, uh, stuff about how it's not supposed to be given IV...so I called pharmacy and did some PDR research and found out that it's ok. I'm not sure why it's out there that it shouldn't be.

babynurselsa, RN · Jan 19, 2006

Depends on facility policy.

I was taught NEVER NEVER EVER give phenergan IV. I know that some places do. If it is against facility policy then it would be a med error.

ERNurse752, RN · Jan 19, 2006

Depends on facility policy.
I was taught NEVER NEVER EVER give phenergan IV. I know that some places do. If it is against facility policy then it would be a med error.

Phenergan or Vistaril?

estuh · Jan 19, 2006

A patient with an asthmatic attack was to be nebulized with combivent and receive I.v cefuroxime. The nurse gave combivent I.V and started a cefuroxime neb. by the time she realised.....and that was because the combivent was looking darker than usuall!!!!

Happy-ER-RN, RN · Jan 20, 2006

Depends on facility policy.
I was taught NEVER NEVER EVER give phenergan IV. I know that some places do. If it is against facility policy then it would be a med error.

I give phenergan IV probably 10 times a week, our Docs always order it. We only give a small dose 12.5 mg and I always dilute it in 10 ml of saline (although this is not common practice at out facility). Maybe someone in our facility needs to do some research about this. However, I have never seen someone have a problem with it--no one ever even complains of burning, probably because I dilute it. Now phenergan IM--that makes people squirm!

mom23RN · Jan 20, 2006

A patient with an asthmatic attack was to be nebulized with combivent and receive I.v cefuroxime. The nurse gave combivent I.V and started a cefuroxime neb. by the time she realised.....and that was because the combivent was looking darker than usuall!!!!

Eeeeeek!!!!!:uhoh21: