You might be a nursing student if

[HyperRNRachel]

while taking to other students you have ever said... "Hey I have a foley catheter insertion lined up for us to do" and the other students become just as excited as you are.

or if you have ever said....

"I have done two I.V. insertions....how many have you done?"

or if you have ever said to another student

"Boy you owe me big time...because I emptied your bedside potty while you were ( insert location here) ........." and you are being 100 percent serious.

you know you are a nursing student if

you have stuck your nose in another student hair while giving a bed bath to an unconscious contractured client with a serious yeast infection in an effort to smell something better than the smell rising ( no pun intended) from under the sheets.

and you are definitely a nursing student if you have ever said

"thank god we did not kill them." once you find out your client has been d/c the day after you were assigned to care for them.

Anyone else have one to add?

[Carolanne]

These are all too funny! And how true they are too!! :uhoh21:

[RedSox33RN]

A friend of mine had this to add.....

The employees at office depot knows u by your first name and the type of ink cartridge you use.

Gosh, ain't that the truth!! I think I've bought cartridges, even BEFORE nursing school, from every vendor on eBay!! :chuckle

[rebel_red]

You have actually armwrestled a fellow student for the privilege of suctioning a patient because "you haven't done that" before. (Don't worry we were not in the pt's room. And neither of us were able to suction. The student assigned to the pt did, it was touch and go though cause phlegm is her gag point...)

You have accidently given yourself a saline bath.

Before the night staff of peds will buzz you in for your clinical rotation they jokingly state "Name all the bones in the body." and you actually start to do so.......Hey who is truly awake at 0630?

You and your clinical cohorts walk around saying things like "We put the "fun" back in fundus".

You know bubble-beep is not a conversation between the road runner and wile coyote.

You do have effective coping skills.......they just involve a large bag of oreos.

There are people in your house, you aren't really sure who they are, but they insist on calling you mom....so you just go with it.

You find yourself at the local drugstore reading the ingredients, dosages, warnings and contraindications on the back of an OTC med, because its not in your drug book.

The smells just keep getting better and better! (stole that from SG1 but hey nothing like a fresh GI bleed in the am....I have never smelled anything like that before.....)

You are overjoyed when your clinical instructor's car breaks down......(Cause you really don't want to miss a clinical day...but lordy are you exhausted.....)

You are in a car accident, your car resembles an accordian (struck from behind while at a light) and the paramedics look at you like you have lost your mind, because you insist they get your bookbag out of the car, because you have a careplan and pt assessment tool due tomorrow.

You find yourself humming "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap" while cleaning up after a huge code brown.

No disrespect meant here....but your three nursing instructors have become the holy triumverate with the power of life and death. (Though you secretly suspect one may be bipolar...)

You have discovery health on the background while doing your homework in hopes of picking up some random piece of knowledge, then become frustrated when they state the pt is hypoxic but don't give the actual 02 sat.

You wonder if the hospital laundry staff ever notes that the level of scrubs decreases proportionately with the number of students on rotation.

Free food from potential employers is the highlight of your day.

You think nothing of being in class/clinicals 35 hours a week, studying 20+ hours a week, and working 16+ hours for you this is normal.

You answer the phone saying CNS depression, or renal failure, cause you know its a classmate calling, and then its not.......and you neither care nor explain.

For some reason field mice have decided to move into your house. One gets caught about 9pm in a trap. You are freaking. So you call your best friend on the phone (a microbiologist who ended up specializing in neuro research) knowing she will understand as you assess the mouse in its death throes. (I know this sounds sick but I am sooooo afraid of mice.....and by the same token I hated killing them.....and I tried the catch and release traps, but all that happened was the mice had free meals for a week.)

Your family thinks you're "mean" because unless they are actually bleeding out, you don't get really worked up over scrapes and boo boo's.

Your son can back prime a piggyback drip better than some of your classmates. (Future nurse 2014 I predict....)

You assess speakers at rotation orientations then ask your instructors, "Did you notice he was SOB, face flushed with cyanotic fingers? Gosh I would love to listen to his lungs, do a full assessment."

You name your stethoscope.

The lights go out in your house, you have no idea where the flashlight is but you know exactly where your assessment penlight is.....

Bandage scissors are now the only scissors you use.

As Marie said your drug book is falling apart and your lab book has already undergone extensive repairs.

You sleep with your Taber's.

You say to your instructor "The only relationship I have right now is with my grades." (straight A's) and she says "Isn't it rewarding?" and you say "No they are cold, demanding, unrelenting perfectionists and I think I need a 12 step program."

and finally....

On the first day of school your program director said "Look around the room, these people will become your family." And you thought "Bet me.....I reallllllllly don't think so." And low and behold 9 mos later they are, and you have come to value everyone of them. We started out with 28, we will graduate 28 strong and slightly crazy. And you can't find words to express how appreciative you are to your patients for allowing you into their lives and trusting you.

8 weeks to go.......

Stay sane and healthy everyone!

Tres

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

My stethoscope name? "Ol' Blue"

[LeesieBug]

You might be a nursing student if....

you walk around half the day without noticing you have poop (of the human variety) on your sparkling white shoes.

[LPN2BSN]

awww...the sweet sweet memories on LPN school...:chuckle

[Love-A-Nurse]

this is a good one! :chuckle

oh i also forgot....

if instead of saying good-bye you say "see you in two years."

[maire, ASN, RN]

I have tears running down my face from laughing so hard! LOL! I can SO RELATE to most of these!! :rotfl:

[timewood]

.....your friends, neighbors and relatives all start asking you for medical advice...and wonder if you can get them any free samples of thier scripts from a drug co. rep you know...

[GracefulRN]

........bump.....

[J Lynn]

You might be a nursing student if........

..........you sing "orthostatic hypotension" over and over throughout your day with a spring in your step.

[NurseWeasel]

You hear the word 'intervention' and no longer think of rescuing a dear friend / family member from their drug / alcohol abuse by gathering their family / friends to confront them... but instead start looking for your care plan book. :chuckle