nursing superstitutions.....any truth in???

fedupnurse · May 6, 2002

Never, ever utter the Q word.

If I have an open bed I turn the light on and prepare the room for a total train wreck. Has worked every time-10 years running. I have either gotten no admission or a cake one who should have been discharged to home from the ER.

I'll have to try that knot deal-never heard of that one. Should it be on the patients dominant side????

Our windows don't open. It is definetly different. In our old unit we could and I swear the rooms weren't as cursed as they are now.

We also have certain rooms where we don't like to put certain types of patinets. In room 3 balloon pumps do poorly. In room 12 if they sound like they will be long term DO NOT put them in that room. Stuff like that.

mamabear · May 6, 2002

This is doubly true in psych:p

The full moon draws psychotics out of thin air;)

Never mention the name of any FF's, especially borderline women:(

Never mention having a q**** shift;)

When you're told there's no chance of getting any unplanned, afterhours admissions, be prepared;)

mattsmom81 · May 6, 2002

'Room' superstitions seem common out there....after we get a few real bad experiences in Room 12 everyone does get a tad paranoid about it....walks in making the sign of the cross or crossing themselves..

Agree with the vasoactive drips...don't pull 'em down and toss 'em til you have to or the patient will need 'em stat...same for central or A lines ('specially those with with zero veins.) Keep 'em til infection control is screamin' at ya is my motto! LOL!

And yes, if I outfit an ICU room completely for a trainwreck I likely won't get an admit...unless of course it's 6 am then I'm SOL...:)

6am is called 'last call' nursing rounds on the floors.... we in ICU always tense up around 'the' favorite time for a floor code...we tried to stay caught up...then have a good natured teasing argument whose turn it was to go... "You go this time, my last 3 haven't made it"..." Hey, Jon, you 'saved' the last 2, wanta try for 3?"

Silly stuff probably only nurses can smile about... Fun thread guys!

:roll

fedupnurse · May 6, 2002

Another very bad thing in the ICU setting and probably on the floors: You have a long term deathly ill patient on the unit for weeks or months. One day the family comes out and says "I think he actually looks better today. In fact he looks good." Call the funeral home, get the suit ready and order the flowers cause he's gonna die within a day or two.

As far as hauntings, definetly believe it. Several years ago a few of us were working nights on Halloween. We were talking about ghosts in the hospital and one my colleagues was saying we were all crazy because there are no such thing as ghosts. About a minute later an intubation tray on top of the code cart flew up into the air and landed face down on the floor in front of the cart. The naysayer was suddenly a believer!

To any of you new to nursing out there all of this is true! Don't take down your drips, put the code cart outside the patients room, get the room ready for a hit, and never ever utter that Q word!

Happy Nurses Day everyone!!

nursejer · May 6, 2002

I never ask a patient "are you okay or "are you feeling all right today?" I tell them they are safe and I seem to have lots of good outcomes.

AIS52 · May 8, 2002

There is one specific PA that I cannot utter to word "lunch" to without a patient on her service crashing. I asked if she wanted to order out with us two weeks ago and within 10 minutes she had two crashing patients on two different floors (Sunday afternoon so she's the only person covering the service).

kahann · May 9, 2002

Coincidentally I have had the same set of scrubs on in every code I have been involved in--got to be a standing joke when I wore them that somebody was going to code. These scrubs now hang in the back of my closet unworn. If a patient begins to go bad I always say they can't code, I don't have my "code scrubs" on. Haven't been in a code in over a year--(probably jinxed myself now!)

fedupnurse · May 9, 2002

I have a colleague that can make all hell break loose if she wears a specific color jewelry on a Friday. No jewelry no admissions, codes, etc. Sounds similar to the code scrubs!

nightmoves · May 9, 2002

In the course of the last eight years we have only had codes on the pediatric unit when a certain nurse is working that unit and I have the house. Since we don't have a peds critical care unit in our hospital they get transferred to a nearby pediatric hospital.

The first year I was a supervisor we only had codes when I was wearing a specific pair of shoes. One of the ICU nurses noticed this and would drag out their crash cart if she saw me wearing those shoes when I made first rounds. When this was pointed out to me I threw them out.

Those of us in administration who work at night have seen a shadowy form out of the corner of our eye in the nursing office from time to time. One night one of the nurse educators, another supervisor and I all saw it. The other supervisor was in a bad mood that night and said, "Look, if you're going to hang around here, come in here and do some of this paperwork." Nobody has seen the figure since, although all of us had previously seen it from time to time.

And finally, deaths really do occur in threes. On one unit, in the space of a month and a half, three different staff members have lost previously healthy, close family members, in sudden deaths.

VZ/res0ncqx · May 14, 2002

If I get "that feeling", (and if not), I am always glad to extend the care that person needs or wants. When a person expires on my shift, I am glad, because I know they got the attention they deserve.

zudy · May 14, 2002

We never say the "S" or "Q" words, don't mention frequent fliers, everything DOES come in threes, and full moons bring them crawling out from under the rocks. Never heard about knotting the sheet, but I'll try anything. Has anyone else heard of balancing a penny on the door? I knew someone that did that when they had a bad pt. Also we always say FTD for fixin' to die. Great thread! Tell me more!

nursedawn67, LPN · May 14, 2002

Originally posted by rebel charm
At our LTC facility our Alzheimer and "dementia" pts tend to see a little boy running up and down the halls - that none of us can see- and within 24 hours there is a death. And they all describe the little boy the same way (blond, 10 yro, wearing dungarees, etc). Maybe he's the "frequent flyer"???? :chuckle

I have had residents see someone in their rooms, going doen the hall.....from the beginning of the hall to the end, I even saw someone, but no one was ambulating that night!