We know your heart is in the right place, Amber. But some of the finest nurses I've ever known were also some of the funniest. We give our all to our patients but when we are alone with our peers we find it's better to laugh with each other than drink a fifth of jack daniels and divert some narcotics.
Oh wait, sometimes we actually laugh and drink the jack.
Boy do I agree with that one. I wonder if she's a real nurse yet, maybe by now she's thinking we're not quite so sick. I just sat here for an hour reading this entire thread and I'm laughing so hard I've got tears in my eyes!
My contributions:
Chicken breath ("She can't breathe" said with a Spanish accent)
Twofer: Mom brings both her kids in for the same complaint, or brings one in for an acute problem and figures she might as well sign in the other for the cold he's had for a week.
Bundle of misery: 80+ degrees outside and babies (always the Hispanic ones) are dressed in 4 layers of clothes, three blankets of increasing thickness, topped off by one of those thick, furry acrylic blankets. Usual complaint: "Fever"
Wheezing Geezer: COPD exac. who still smokes
Hispanic Panic/Mexican Heart Attack: family comes running in yelling "My mom/gramma is having a heart attack!" She is usually complaining of chest pain and it was preceded by an argument with one of the kids.
No offense to the Hispanic population, I am not a bigot.......we just happen to have a very very large Hispanic population here and that's mostly what we see.
In some cases I believe that these accroynms are okay. Its the one that are making fun of death that upset me. Like "Dead dosn't know" it! I just think that is appaling. how can nurses say this about other people. I aggree that nurses need to let off steam and relax expecially after a hard case but not to make fun of death or someones interpertation of reality. In Australia people hold nurses in such high regard and I couldnt imagine any of my co-workers saying this about any patient. Its disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to burst your bubble Amber, but the need for stress relief is worldwide.
I have worked in the ER and Radiology (trauma) for 30 years. Some days the only way to cope is to make light of the situation.
After a day full of tragedy......two school busses colided, 5 children died and fifty other children with varying degree of injury was over, I don't think it disgusting to "debrief" with a bit of nonsense!
POS - Patient of Size (can be mistaken as piece of sh**)
Not an acronym, but in Radiology when we have an obese person they are called a "kidnapper". Someone who has kidnapped a thin person (normal sized skeleton) and is hiding them inside a huge body.
Well I can see that most disagree with me and really thats great because it just shows how diverse we are. If it works for you then use it. I was just thinking about it from a pt or pt's family. Iam on an oncology ward at the moment and yes situations are tough and humour is used to cope but never to the means of mocking someones death. There are days when Ive come home emotionally drained after a pts death or collaspe but I see these people day in and day out and I respect them for who they are and who they once were. Obviously different from an ER's situtation where these pts are in and out and have acute illness's. But for me I just cant comprehend it and I guess we will just have to leave it at that. Ive copped quite a bit of flack for my comments but overall its been very interesting to hear back from all of you guys. Maybe when Ive been out there longer I will understand it more --till then I will keep learning.
One of our docs wrote an entire page of orders on a very sick pt. The last order?
Mcstraycat
9 Posts
And there's only one way to get to the ECU. Those patients go by "celestial transfer".