When they're SO sure they're right...

[Jedrnurse]

You've all seen them (sometimes on AN)- a person who believes with all their heart that a practice is correct while you and the rest of the civilized world know they're wrong.

What's the weirdest, most outlandish clinical or technical misconception that you've seen a co-worker espouse?

[DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN]

I was a charge nurse on nights on a step down unit. One of my nurses came to me fuming after a confrontation with one of the GI doctors.

Patient was admitted with a lower GI bleed, scheduled for a colonoscopy in the AM Orders for Golite UNTIL BOWELS RUN CLEAR, and clear liquid diet starting at 1900, NPO after 0200.

Well there was no specified start time on the order so the pharmacy scheduled it for 2000 (two hours after the order was placed). Nurse started it at 1900 per patient request.

GI doctor called to check on patient and started screaming at the nurse because "she started the golite an hour too early, because even after drinking golite until bowels run (not to mention the patient was NPO), the patient would start making solid stool before the test could be done. Your body does not need food to make solid stool"

Ummm wut.

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

I've seen a bit of weirdness. An RN who floated to post-partum dutifully did his checks of the patients' fundus. Only problem was that he was checking the fundus in his patients eyes...

[brownbook]

Well.....I haven't Googled it yet, and the anatomy of the eye has always been my weakest area. But an eye has a fundus?

[brownbook]

Okay, no one did my homework for me. Yes the eye has a fundus.

What? He had an opthalmascope and knew the anatomy of the eye! I'm impressed.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

I've seen a bit of weirdness. An RN who floated to post-partum dutifully did his checks of the patients' fundus. Only problem was that he was checking the fundus in his patients eyes...

Does anyone else have a serious aversion to stuff poking in and around their eyes? I'm like Rachel from Friends with that...

[rnccf2007, BSN, RN]

One fine day on a Tele unit, I was told in report that a totally a&o patient refused to have a Foley catheter inserted. The doctor who ordered it had been informed, and this was documented in the Nursing notes. When I assessed the patient, I educated her and explained why it had been ordered. Once again, she refused. A couple of hours later, a very rude Resident demanded to know why the Foley catheter wasn't placed, and I explained why. She stated, "I don't care, that is a doctor's order and you have to go in there and put it in NOW!" I said to her, "i guess they don't teach you about assault and battery in med school" and walked away.

[Orion81RN]

Devil's advocate:

Or she knew that nothing was going to change the patient's prognosis and that saddling the family with 48 hrs or so of expensive ICU care for a patient that wasnt going to recover anyway wasnt in the best interest of the patient or their family?

That's the family's call, though.

[KrysyRN, BSN]

I was buddied with a nurse, that my manager wanted me to evaluate, because of complaints from other nurses about his work. This was a 35-bed unit where 99.8% of the patients admitted to the unit had an IV. We didn't have pumps, so all rates were manually calculated. While this nurse was hanging a new bag of fluids on a patient, he didn't show concern for the drip rate and didn't verify it's accuracy. I reminded him to check the rate. He looked at me and said, "I thought we only checked to make sure it didn't run out." He was sure the rest of us weren't checking flow rates either. This was a unit where we did a lot of IV admixture and many patients were on triple IV antibiotics.

This same nurse also wasn't doing full assessments on female patients because "the husband might get mad".

[broughden]

That's the family's call, though.

No actually it's the patient's call, and unfortunately far to many next of kin simply ignore what the patient has expressly asked for in their living will. Such as yelling at medical staff to ignore a standing DNR....hence "slow codes."

Some people just want to be allowed to die with dignity. And some medical staff understand when further intervention will only painfully prolong the inevitable for a few more hours or days at most.

[Orion81RN]

No actually it's the patient's call, and unfortunately far to many next of kin simply ignore what the patient has expressly asked for in their living will. Such as yelling at medical staff to ignore a standing DNR....hence "slow codes."

Some people just want to be allowed to die with dignity. And some medical staff understand when further intervention will only painfully prolong the inevitable for a few more hours or days at most.

Nit picky. Of COURSE it's the patient's call. IF they have an advanced directive. Geez, I was simply thinking of a scenario in which there was a medical POA in the family and the patient could no longer make decisions for themselves, with no advanced directive. Do you REALLY think I believe family opinion trumps patient wishes? Condescending much.

[BeenThere2012, ASN, RN]

To be honest...that really wasn't clear in your post! How would we know what you intended as opposed to what you wrote? No one knows anyone personally on this site.

[SeasonedTech]

I work 12 hr Nights, I'm sure there's coffee pumping through my veins. Let somebody tell me coffee is bad for me, especially on my Monday heehee!