Funny or embarrassing moments in clinicals.....

Published

I'm just curious if you all had funny (or embarrassing) situations happen during clinicals? We are new and still learning, we stumble from time to time. Anyone feel like sharing?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

One of my BF in Nursing school is an international student from Kenya. He's very nice and knowledgeable, but still a little shy. During a 1st semester clinical he was doing his Head to Toe assessment on a Female, early to mid20's pt, whose boyfriend was also in the room. HA! And to get the Apical Pulse, you know you have to lift the breast up if they are large or saggy, he asked another student to come in so that she could lift the breast up for him!!! LOL! OMG I haven't laughed that hard in clinicals since! Poor Michael. The instructor brought it up every chance he got! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hopefully you can find the humor in this...I was emptying a colostomy bag for the first time and did some fumbling around while trying to get it open, which ended up being a mess. I managed to keep it together in front of the patient, but when I went into the bathroom to measure/empty the feces I began to gag and heave, it was just one of those involuntary reflexes....to make matters worse, a fellow student nurse (who came in to watch me) saw my gagging and then she began to gag (aka the contagious gag). It was ridiculous. I had to stay in the bathroom for a minute to gather myself before returning to the patient's room. Thank goodness the patient didn't see any of this going on.

Our clinical group had a good laugh about it after I recovered.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I think one of the worst for me was my scrub bottoms fell off during a code. I dont know how it happened at all but I was up doing compressions and felt them just give out and down they went. I would have been a lot more embarrassed but I always wear gym shorts underneath. The next day when another code was called, a doctor handed me duct tape before we left our unit so i could tape my pants up :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in HH, Med/surg- liver & kidney transplant, ortho, ++.

These stories are awesome. I have a gagging one myself.

I was helping a patient with breakfast trying to encourage him. He needed a kleenex to blow his nose. I can't stand anything that has to do with snot. Yuck. I gag just thinking about it. Kids blowing bubbles when they have runny noses, people picking their nose. If it has anything to do with snot or boogers I just want to turn around and RUN!!!

So I handed him the tissue, he blew his nose and pulled the tissue away. He had a HUGE slimey booger hanging from his nose. He knew it was there and started cleaning it off. I had to turn around (I had some other things I could do with my back turned towards him) while I gagged and literally almost lost the coffee I drank shortly before this happend.

Luckily the patient didn't know what was going on with me and totally oblivious to the fact that I almost lost my liquid breakfast in the garbage can a few feet away from him.

Another quick one. Having multiple patients and calling one by another patients name. That just makes me feel like I really have it together (sarcasm).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ortho, Psych, Med-Surg, OB/GYN.

I was at a geriatric psych facility - another student and I were talking with a patient that was HOH - she asked my name and didn't hear me the first time. So I went to grab my badge to show her - went for the wrong side - and basically grabbed my boob and put it closer to her face. I guess you had to be there, but we amost peed our pants it was hilarious

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I was at a geriatric psych facility - another student and I were talking with a patient that was HOH - she asked my name and didn't hear me the first time. So I went to grab my badge to show her - went for the wrong side - and basically grabbed my boob and put it closer to her face. I guess you had to be there, but we amost peed our pants it was hilarious

OMG!!! I was just laughing like crazy!!:lol2:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ortho, Psych, Med-Surg, OB/GYN.

oh! Another one I thought of and forgot to post. In LPN school (about 12 years ago), we were in the very beginning learning to be an Aide. I didn't realize how little Thick-it is really needed, and I put waaaaaay too much in this elderly man's cranberry juice. Well, he had never said a word and was pretty much ou-of-it Neurologically - so I figured he could probably care less about the VERY THICK cranberry juice. I was feeding him, it was silence, and out of nowhere he goes "that's the BEST watermelon I've EVER HAD!!!" lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

LOL that guy!!!

My pants dropped as well!!! I performing a complex wound change on a pt and all of a sudden, (pants on the ground!), so I used the call light to get a co-worker to come lift them up.

to make things funnier, when I left the patient's room with 1 red bag in each hand guess what? THEY FELL AGAIN! thank goodness that 2 of my nursing school friends were just down the hall!!!

lesson learned, do not put stuff on my pockets!!! I really wish I can wear some sort of EMT pants or something like that, because scrubs either fall or some times they get torn at the croch when I am getting into my car, I can just hear it ripping! LOL

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Float.
oh! Another one I thought of and forgot to post. In LPN school (about 12 years ago), we were in the very beginning learning to be an Aide. I didn't realize how little Thick-it is really needed, and I put waaaaaay too much in this elderly man's cranberry juice. Well, he had never said a word and was pretty much ou-of-it Neurologically - so I figured he could probably care less about the VERY THICK cranberry juice. I was feeding him, it was silence, and out of nowhere he goes "that's the BEST watermelon I've EVER HAD!!!" lol

I was at a geriatric psych facility - another student and I were talking with a patient that was HOH - she asked my name and didn't hear me the first time. So I went to grab my badge to show her - went for the wrong side - and basically grabbed my boob and put it closer to her face. I guess you had to be there, but we amost peed our pants it was hilarious

These stories are awesome. I have a gagging one myself.

I was helping a patient with breakfast trying to encourage him. He needed a kleenex to blow his nose. I can't stand anything that has to do with snot. Yuck. I gag just thinking about it. Kids blowing bubbles when they have runny noses, people picking their nose. If it has anything to do with snot or boogers I just want to turn around and RUN!!!

So I handed him the tissue, he blew his nose and pulled the tissue away. He had a HUGE slimey booger hanging from his nose. He knew it was there and started cleaning it off. I had to turn around (I had some other things I could do with my back turned towards him) while I gagged and literally almost lost the coffee I drank shortly before this happend.

Luckily the patient didn't know what was going on with me and totally oblivious to the fact that I almost lost my liquid breakfast in the garbage can a few feet away from him.

Another quick one. Having multiple patients and calling one by another patients name. That just makes me feel like I really have it together (sarcasm).

:rotfl: OMG!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

I almost lost my scrub pants once and it would have been mortifying for a few reasons. :|

I have flown across a patients room, literally, my foot caught on the walker by the wall and I went flying. Patient finally smiled(after a full shift of being depressed), visitor laughed, my co nurse was worried if I was ok and I was so embarrassed but laughed it off and made a joke out of it. That same night I had all kinds of things happen to me. Like was sitting in the hall and bumped the sanitizer and it fell off the wall. Was hanging a piggy back and when I took the old bag off without even thinking turned it right side up and left over antibiotic came spilling out and some landed on the keyboard. No one saw it but I was trying to all discretely clean it up. I told the nurse in the hall what happened. After like 100 Sub Q injections I had my first one bounce back. Thankfully the patient was out of it and had no idea. That is all I can think of off hand.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My friend & I were in first yr clinicals at a geriatric facility this year and were changing a patient's soiled briefs when she started to have a large bowel movement =X Oh god, it just kept coming.

Embarrassing were other students in my clinical group play fighting in front of the nursing station. -.-

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion