Have you ever puked/fainted/etc at work?

Nurses General Nursing

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I love hearing gross stories like this. I had a patient with an ileus. When I went in the room the patient vomited and filled a few of those large basins with fecal smelling, brown liquid vomit. As they were hurling, I was dry heaving. Thankfully I had an order for an NG tube and that took care of that.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Once I cared for a patient with a compaction. I could not find room to get enema tubing in so I had to dig. I started having dry heaves. The man's wife said to her husband " you are making this nurse sick. I f you don't get up and get on the pot I will give you an enema you will never forget."

Another time @ lady had a nose full of dried boogers. My instructor told me to wet a q tip and dig them out. I started digging and began having dry heaves in the trash can. Now I hate the phrase "Can you dig it?"

You mean impaction....A fecal impaction is a large lump of dry, hard stool that remains stuck in the rectum. ;)
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OK, but it was a dense material fitting into a small space.

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OK, it was dense material compacted into a small space.

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I've definitely gagged a few times but haven't totally tossed my cookies.. yet.

My first clinical rotation in school I eagerly volunteered to help with a dressing change. The very heavy pt had a horrific pseudomonas infection to both legs, and my job was "leg holder". As I was struggling to hold the leg with both hands while enjoying the sights and smells inches from my nose, suddenly I felt hot. Everyone's voices sounded like we were in a train tunnel, then the room started spinning. If someone hadn't grabbed me and tossed me in a chair outside the room, I would've hit the floor.

What did I do next? Drank some juice, took some deep breaths, and went back in. I was just too fascinated to stay away long.

eta: OK, I have to admit that I've puked in my mouth a little on one or two occasions. I do not wish to relive the moment enough to recall if I swallowed it or not, but .. yeah, I probably did.

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Specializes in neuro-surg, psych, CM/URP, CM/URP Mgr..

Yup! First time was I travelled to visit a friend and cardiac surgeon in New Zealand. Went to the hospital to observe, I was a bit jet lagged and when I was in the OR watching a CABG, I just turned white and near planted on the floor. Got dragged out and cold water and peanut butter crackers I recovered nicely. Second time was 7+ months pregnant working at an adolescent psychiatric hospital. Because I was very pregnant, they put me with outpatient kids. I was running a daily goals group and passed out cold. The kids apparently were freaking out. The rest of the day was pretty much shot for them, they were the best behaved ever that day though!

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Almost puked several times. Got to that stage were I was gagging and heavily salivating and had watery eyes.

I have learned the hard way that I cannot watch a doc poking in and out of people over and over with a pointed object. I get faint and have to sit down. First time it happened was nursing school watching an epidural being placed. I found myself suddenly sitting behind the nurse station with my head between my knees sipping a juice that someone had given me.

Since then I have gotten that feeling when watching PICC lines and IJs being put in. I start to get that tunnel feeling with impaired hearing, nauseated, etc. I have learned to watch the patient's face, their vital signs on the monitor, but to keep my eyes averted from the actual procedure. I can make it through okay as long as I don't look at or think about what they are actually doing. It's not something I can help or control. IVs are fine, but not the bigger needles. I could never be an OR nurse.

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Had a patient who was dying from cancer of her tongue, which spread over her face. Had Mrsa oozing out of her trach and nostrils. Suctioned for copious amounts of green sputum each time I went up her nose. Felt bad because it was a friends aunt. I had to keep excusing myself with each suction.

Had a man with a abdominal mesh. The wound was huge and the odor was ungodly. I was pregnant and had to do his wound in increments. He was such a nice man and thankfully he understood. After my pregnancy he was still in rehab and I was showing pictures of my daughter and oops, he saw my pubic mound. Lol. Didn't realize it till a therapist showed me. Woops!???

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Specializes in Early Intervention, Nsg. Education.

My first nursing job, nights at a LTC facility. A woman had dry gangrene of her foot, and apparently a toe had been removed that morning. I went in the room to change her dressing and was very surprised to see nothing but her big toe sticking out of the crinkly black lump that was her foot. Frantically, I dug through the yards and yards of kerlix, gauze pads, and bed linens until I saw three shriveled sausage link-like appendages pop into the air...one of them landing squarely in the pocket of my scrub jacket.

I threw the scrub jacket away and spent the next half hour in the staff restroom, alternately sobbing and retching.

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.
My first nursing job, nights at a LTC facility. A woman had dry gangrene of her foot, and apparently a toe had been removed that morning. I went in the room to change her dressing and was very surprised to see nothing but her big toe sticking out of the crinkly black lump that was her foot. Frantically, I dug through the yards and yards of kerlix, gauze pads, and bed linens until I saw three shriveled sausage link-like appendages pop into the air...one of them landing squarely in the pocket of my scrub jacket.

I threw the scrub jacket away and spent the next half hour in the staff restroom, alternately sobbing and retching.

Oh, my what a visual of a springing toe into the pocket. It is almost like a comedy sketch.

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My first nursing job, nights at a LTC facility. A woman had dry gangrene of her foot, and apparently a toe had been removed that morning. I went in the room to change her dressing and was very surprised to see nothing but her big toe sticking out of the crinkly black lump that was her foot. Frantically, I dug through the yards and yards of kerlix, gauze pads, and bed linens until I saw three shriveled sausage link-like appendages pop into the air...one of them landing squarely in the pocket of my scrub jacket.

I threw the scrub jacket away and spent the next half hour in the staff restroom, alternately sobbing and retching.

I think that would have required a lot of therapy to get over. WOW

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Specializes in ICU.

Puking at work: yes, but only due to migraines.

Fainting: almost, numerous times. During nursing school, I spent my last two clinical rotations at our local LTACH. I saw some wounds there, the likes of which I hope I never experience again. The wound nurses came to know me as "that nursing student who faints during dressing changes." If it had only been once or twice, I might have chalked it up to a fluke, or maybe stress. Nope. It just kept happening. I can handle small wounds now without difficulty, but frankly I don't have to deal with too many of them. I also remember nearly hitting the floor while observing a C-section. Other than the smell of cautery, I can't really say for sure what got me during that experience. I survived my OR observation without any problem, but then the surgeon never let me anywhere near the field. I watched the whole thing on a screen while standing in the OR.

Since starting my RN job, I've only had one close call. I was on my last night of orientation, and pretty much functioning on my own. I was just finishing up my assessment and just logged in to the bedside computer to chart, and my vision started going fuzzy gray. I excused myself, sat down and put my head down. Survived the rest of the shift (including a rapid response at the very end of the shift!) without another problem. To this day, I couldn't tell you what caused that one!

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Specializes in Early Intervention, Nsg. Education.

Thank goodness the nursing supervisor was very patient and understanding. She came upstairs and finished the dressing for me, coached me through writing the notes on what had occurred, and helped me get back on track with meds and treatments. She collected all 3 toes, even the pocket toe, and put them in a specimen cup. There was NO way on Earth that she could convince me to take back that scrub jacket, though!

I was actually kind of curious to see what the foot looked like, since I'd never seen dry gangrene and just couldn't picture it in my mind. Now, no amount of brain bleach or GIFs of puppies and kittens could ever get it out of my mind!

That was over 20 years ago and I still can't look at brown-n-serve sausage links...:barf02:

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