One night in the icu, I needed help to turn a patient who was on a vent, and sedated with a versed drip. I had asked a nurse to come into the room, and she followed. We went to both sides of the patient and proceeded to grab the lift sheet when she said........"Wait just a minute, I have to FART!". She then proceeded to back up from the bed, turn around, lift up a leg, and farted as loud as can be. She then returned to the bed grinning to herself and helped me lift the patient.
I couldn't wait to get out of the room. I about died laughing inside. I couldn't wait to "put on a play" for the nurses in the nurses break room and replay that moment for them. They were laughing so hard. We still laugh to this day!
A friend of mine was taking care of a quad in a Clinitron at home. (For newbies, this was a state of the art pressure relief bed that basically "floated" a patient on a cushion of very fine sand that had air jets blowing through it. I don't know if anyone uses them at all anymore.) This guy, who was very unpleasant anyway and who had ended up a quad as a result of getting shot during a drug deal, had *severe* diarrhea. Sadly, my poor friend turned this guy over and that's when the bottom sheet popped right off the Clinitron, sending her patient plummeting to the bottom of the bed through all that sand and (because of the diarrhea) effectively turning the bed into a giagantic litter box. But that's not the good part - the good part is she then had to get INTO the bed - sand, poop and all - to retrieve her patient...
I am sad to say, I did not witness this one, but she ended up in my shower afterward because I was close by!
SAME girl - picture a bedroom, a wound vac hooked to a wound that is *overflowing* with Pseudomonas drainage, a suction canister set on a shelf just slightly above head level, and then imagine what might happen if she hit the dresser the canister was on with her butt...
They still use the sandbox beds in NY, at least. Oddly enough, we were taking care of a paraplegic guy on one of the sand beds who inexplicably passed really excessive gas and diarrhea every time you rolled him onto his side. Aaaaaand he had a stage IV decub on his ischium. So we rolled him (this was before we knew what the consequences would be) to assess. Thank god I was on the front side supporting his shoulder and hip - my partner leaned over to check the wound, and got a huuuuuuuge liquid stool about three inches from her face for her troubles. Then her steth fell in the puddle. and that's how we learned that a stage IV can turn into a rectal fistula if you're not careful...she couldn't figure out how the stool was coming out of two holes...
Specializes in Post op care with Plastic surgery Pat.
Ok this isnt a story about a nurse but its a funny story about the Dr and we nurses got to see..The Plastic surgeon was working in the OR suite and yelled out to the Fellow Dr hey get some scrubs on and you can finish up on closing this patient..The Fellow Dr came out and said well I dont have scrubs here but a borrow the other Drs..he had scrubs on and shoes that were 3 sizes too big..
He scrubed in and proceeded...Everything was fine and we hear OPPSSS.
We said whats wrong DR... he said my scrub bottoms just fell to the floor:uhoh3: ...
Sure enough there he was pants down to his ankles..He couldn't reach down because he would break sterilzation..He said would one of you reach down please and pull my briches upHis face was so red
All the nurses busted out laughing:rotfl: ...When it got quite I said really loud.
I think the ventriloquist trick was inappropriate, but I can see how it would be funny during a long stressful shift where you had to look death in the eye more than once. It's a way to cope, although probably not the best one.
Okay, this actually happened to my grandmother while I was in Jr High.
She was in teh hospital after having cancer surgery, and the monitor they had her hooked up to suddenly quit taking readings. The staff, assuming she'd had a heart attack, started 'pounding' on her chest, which scared the crap out of her b/c she'd been asleep by that point, which scared the nurse. My grandmother swore she almost DID have a heart attack b/c of that.
I remember one of our orderlies who was young and would always come into work after a huge night out hung over....Well this particular morning after the night before was no exception....One of our nurses knew this and set him up a beauty!!! the nurse strategically placed an oyster into a new sputum cup and placed it beside a patients bed...( the patient was in on the joke too). When the orderly walked into the room, the nurse said "hey Trent look at this..." Being young a gulliable Trent looked into the sputum cup....when he took the look, he just turned all the shades of green...but when the nurse up ended the cup and swallowed the oyster, that was the end of our poor orderly for the rest of the day....be bolted out of the room and made bee line for the slop hopper and then took himself off home......we laughed for days about it....and even more so when the nurse 'fessed" up to the prank. The Charge nurse thought it was just brilliant!!!!!
They still use the sandbox beds in NY, at least. Oddly enough, we were taking care of a paraplegic guy on one of the sand beds who inexplicably passed really excessive gas and diarrhea every time you rolled him onto his side. Aaaaaand he had a stage IV decub on his ischium. So we rolled him (this was before we knew what the consequences would be) to assess. Thank god I was on the front side supporting his shoulder and hip - my partner leaned over to check the wound, and got a huuuuuuuge liquid stool about three inches from her face for her troubles. Then her steth fell in the puddle. and that's how we learned that a stage IV can turn into a rectal fistula if you're not careful...she couldn't figure out how the stool was coming out of two holes...
EEEEEEEEWWWWW!! This sounds exactly like the guy we had! I haven't seen one of those beds in years, but you'd think they'd design them to be poo-proof... that bottom sheet is hard to get off, but far from impossible!
Didn't you ever have a totally inappropriate thought or impulse, get the giggles, and not be able to quit? I can see that happening to myself in the ventriloquist story... NOT the best way to handle someone's deceased Daddy, but if it ever did happen I think I'd have to be picked up off the floor.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
I think this is our safe place to decompress and not have to worry about being perfect. I respect Cara's caring and respect for the dead, but also the need for humor that at times is totally politically incorrect. This is our safe place though so bring it on - these are hilarious.
One particular nurse was very fixated on her tiny patient's stools. In babies - almost always runny or very soft and yellow to light brown. One day when she wasn't looking, someone filled her little patient's diaper with milk duds. The look on her face when she opened it up was priceless!
Ok this isnt a story about a nurse but its a funny story about the Dr and we nurses got to see..The Plastic surgeon was working in the OR suite and yelled out to the Fellow Dr hey get some scrubs on and you can finish up on closing this patient..The Fellow Dr came out and said well I dont have scrubs here but a borrow the other Drs..he had scrubs on and shoes that were 3 sizes too big..
He scrubed in and proceeded...Everything was fine and we hear OPPSSS.
We said whats wrong DR... he said my scrub bottoms just fell to the floor:uhoh3: ...
Sure enough there he was pants down to his ankles..He couldn't reach down because he would break sterilzation..He said would one of you reach down please and pull my briches upHis face was so red
All the nurses busted out laughing:rotfl: ...When it got quite I said really loud.
Well a big Merry Christmas to us....
Donna
I once had a surgeon ask me for a hemostat immediatly after I got his gloves on- I thought he'd gone nuts- we weren't even draped, but I gave it to him. He used it to clamp his pants to his shirt right through his gown. "D*** things almost fell off!"
Of course, it has actually happened to nurses, techs, and MDs many times :imbar
I think the ventriloquist trick was inappropriate, but I can see how it would be funny during a long stressful shift where you had to look death in the eye more than once. It's a way to cope, although probably not the best one.
i am not saying its the most appropriate either, but you know i think if i was having that kind of night, i would probably not help but to laugh[once i was safely away from family]. you really have to laugh sometimes, you know?
Mommy2Katiebaby
79 Posts
A friend of mine was taking care of a quad in a Clinitron at home. (For newbies, this was a state of the art pressure relief bed that basically "floated" a patient on a cushion of very fine sand that had air jets blowing through it. I don't know if anyone uses them at all anymore.) This guy, who was very unpleasant anyway and who had ended up a quad as a result of getting shot during a drug deal, had *severe* diarrhea. Sadly, my poor friend turned this guy over and that's when the bottom sheet popped right off the Clinitron, sending her patient plummeting to the bottom of the bed through all that sand and (because of the diarrhea) effectively turning the bed into a giagantic litter box. But that's not the good part - the good part is she then had to get INTO the bed - sand, poop and all - to retrieve her patient...
I am sad to say, I did not witness this one, but she ended up in my shower afterward because I was close by!
SAME girl - picture a bedroom, a wound vac hooked to a wound that is *overflowing* with Pseudomonas drainage, a suction canister set on a shelf just slightly above head level, and then imagine what might happen if she hit the dresser the canister was on with her butt...