Most Dreaded Procedures

[RN-PA]

I work Med/Surg and there are certain procedures that I dread performing and last night I had one that I dread: Inserting a foley catheter in an uncircumcised 81-year-old man. I have so much trouble with the foreskin getting impossibly slippery with the lubricant and I can't get a grip! The sterility of the procedure is impossible to maintain with the foreskin in the way... (I need a screaming smilie!) And of course, there's usually an enlarged prostate to contend with. Does anyone have any tips to help me with this in the future since I invariably am inserting foleys in uncircumcised 80 year olds?

What other procedures do you dread? NG tube insertion? Trach care/suctioning? Peritoneal Dialysis? Wound Care? Starting IV's? Giving injections? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Zee_RN, BSN, RN]

I used to do Peritoneal Dialysis a good bit when I worked on our Med-Surg/Renal floor. PD, although not complicated once you knew the steps, was quite time-consuming. And in those days I had a minimum patient assignment of 9. You throw a PD patient into that mix and you have the day from hell. Especially if they are on Q4Hr exchanges! Or more! Ewwww! And I ALWAYS seemed to get the dressing change.

[fedupnurse]

Sometimes it's not so much the procedure, it's the doctor doing the procedure. We have a pulmonologist whos nickname is Dr. Pneumo. That one calls to say she'll be in to do a line you had better get the pleuravac and chest tube try ready! I also love it when the arrogant ones say"I can get this line in in no time flat. Piece of cake." As much as they respect my knowledge and compassion for my patients, they hate it when I am the nurse assisting them because I have no fear of being sarcastic with them. "Hey Doc, we only have 2 more kits in the hospital, should I call security to get some more from one of our sister hospitals? Funny thing is they say it's my fault! Guess I make 'em nervous! HAHAHAHHAHA.

[mattsmom81]

Yeah, it always seems to be our fault when THEY screw up.

[thisnurse]

oh gee...so many of them ....

i hate suctioning

anything to do with poop

taping ng tubes...putting them down doesnt bother me....especially if i dislike the patient

[prmenrs, RN]

For caths, I always throw a couple of sterile gauze to use dry to hold the member (don't forget I do babies); and for little girls, get an assistant to use sterile Q-tips to hold the labia apart. Also have some extra Betadine swabs open--if you can't find the meatus, dot some more B-dine on there and it will pool in the right spot.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

I recently had to assist an orthopod w/putting a dementia patient into skeletal traction - eeek. When he drilled the traction pin through the patient's knee - the patient was awake, had local anesthetic - I thought I was going to hit the floor.

Guess I'll never work OR.

[ERNurse752, RN]

Eeeeewwwwww...I hate ortho procedures...feeling/hearing bones grinding together...

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MollyJ]

vag exams on histrionic, sexually active teens. Give me a break.

Facial trauma/dental trauma. (It's hard to keep your disgust from showing on your face.)

peds catheterization (it ALWAYS seems assaultive)

Traumas that go on SO LONG that you're considering asking for TPN orders.

[eldernurse]

I hate gyne exams in the ED on histrionic crack heads.

[bermuda56]

Anything to do with mucous is yuck to me - especially dumping a suction canister - I cringe to even THINK about it.

[Ted]

Originally posted by ERNurse752

Eeeeewwwwww...I hate ortho procedures...feeling/hearing bones grinding together...

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me too!!! Actually . . . I hate anything having to do with broken bones!!! (I guess I'd make a poor ortho nurse.)

Bones grinding together . . . . :eek:

Ted

[skwirm]

I hate gyne exams in the ED on histrionic crack heads.

LOL. Man,....too much.

:chuckle