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 Gerontology.

True Story.

My Father had a new "Lady Friend" they are both I their 80s. Had to go to supper at her home to meet her, and her son, who was close to my age- late 40s, early 50s. He was telling me some story during supper, trying to gross me out. I just looked at him and said " I've been nursing for over 25 years. I could clear this table in 30 secs flat and still eat my supper"

that shut him up!

You gotta hand it to us nurses, we see things that. Make us faint, vomit, etc but we just pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and go right back in!

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Only when I was pregnant and dehydrated...

Embarrassing!!!

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Hmmmm.....I'm a bit of a fainter so I've had many close calls.

In nursing school I watched a doc unpack an open abd wound. I was doing okay, but he just kept pulling out yards of gauze- it was like a dozen clowns coming out of the little clown car. That totally woozed me out and I had to vacate quickly but remained upright.

I used to be a social worker. One time I was in a client's home, started feeling lightheaded and rested my head on their table. Woke up a minute later face down in a puddle of my own puke. Apparently I had passed out, clenched my jaw closed and barfed out my nose. Niiiiice.

I vagaled once when I saw my own son puke. Fainted into a jacuzzi tub and wrecked my face. My husband called 911 because he didn't know what had happened to me. Suddenly my room was filled with an EMT, paramedic and two volunteer firefighters. They got me upright and I promptly fainted again. That earned me a trip to the ER.

The Red Cross asked me never to donate blood again because the nurse at the center had to spend so much time with me after I passed out after trying to be a good citizen by donating.

Kind of surprising I'm a nurse, actually. I have found that I am much better if I am DOING something rather than just OBSERVING. Observing something nasty is a recipe for disaster for me.

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I almost fainted during my OB rotation. It was my day to go into the OR to watch a C-section. Very invasive, but blood never really bothers me. I hadn't had breakfast, and being in the gown with the big heavy mask, rebreathing my own warm air, I felt like I couldn't breath and it was SO HOT! Once the surgery was over I went into the locker room and rested on the ice cold metal benches and felt much better.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

I came close to fainting in nursing school while watching an infant circumcision. The little guy was strapped to the hard plastic circ board and given brandy through a nipple. Then he screeched his little lungs out while the pediatrician made hamburger out of that tiny thing. I started seeing spots and knew I had to get out of there while I was still vertical. The pediatrician smirked at me and asked if I was leaving. I made some lame comment about being needed in the nursery. As soon as I got out of there I ripped off my gown and mask and took a big breath.

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Haven't fainted...but came close to vomiting. I was a student and was tasked with suctioning a new trach. Sure!!! I didn't realize it would be so...juicy. And stringy. And...MOIST. And so difficult to get out. I dry heaved behind my mask several times. Thankfully the pt kept his eyes closed! I also couldn't eat eggs

for about 6 months as we all know raw egg white looks just like trach phlegm. *urp*

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Specializes in Med Surg, Parish Nurse, Hospice.

I had a unfortunate incident a few years ago. I was new to the hospital I was working at and was shadowing someone in the unit. I was supposed to learn more about vents and caring for vented pts. I ended up becoming a pt in the ER when I had a sudden onset of vertigo. The floor started to sway in front of me and I didn't feel too good. Of course the nurses in the unit were trying to figure out what was wrong with me. They decided they better send me to the ER.As I was being pushed in the wheelchair, I started to vomit. Of course being an older nurse, I then had stress incontinence from the vomiting. By the time I got to ER, which was packed, I looked like a mess. They put me in the ER waiting room. I was dressed in the uniform that RN's wore. Quickly someone found a stretcher to put me on and got me out of the waiting room. Wouldn't make those waiting feel too good to see the staff being sick. I had never had vertigo before and I haven't had it since (hope not to). Spent the night in the hospital due to some EKG concerns and then home.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Not me but I once answered a call light where the patient's mother said 'Um, the nurse just passed out on the floor'. She (a float nurse) had accidentally pulled out the patient's radial art line (a teen/ post-scoli) and said the sight of the blood squirting in a perfect arc just did it to her. She was mortified- we still, every time she works with us, ask her if she wants to pull art lines for us! :)

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
True Story.

My Father had a new "Lady Friend" they are both I their 80s. Had to go to supper at her home to meet her, and her son, who was close to my age- late 40s, early 50s. He was telling me some story during supper, trying to gross me out. I just looked at him and said " I've been nursing for over 25 years. I could clear this table in 30 secs flat and still eat my supper"

that shut him up!

You gotta hand it to us nurses, we see things that. Make us faint, vomit, etc but we just pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and go right back in!

My oldest daughter is a wound/ ostomy nurse- we often use this threat when we're trying to get the whole family to behave at the dinner table!

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Specializes in geriatrics, psych.

In LPN school I got to observe several things in the OR and done fine until one day I overslept, rushed to clinical site (still made it on time), but didn't eat breakfast. This morning I was to watch a tubal ligation. I stood observing the motion of the instruments which this morning appeared to me as torture more than a procedure! I began to feel more and more lightheaded. I started to excuse myself as the doctor looked at me and said "would you like to come closer and see?" I'm sure my face matched my uniform by this point. I can't remember what I said. The next memory I had was lying on the floor with nurses surrounding me as I desperately tried to apologize while they laughed. I got a great lecture from all of them for skipping breakfast that morning. #embarrassing

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses. Angi/LPN (?RN)

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

Before I went to nursing school, I was a unit secretary for L&D, ante/post partum, and gyn-onc. Once enrolled in nursing school, my experience as a unit secretary was very helpful during clinicals.

Fast forward to my L&D rotation. I was excited, and looked forward to the clinical rotation. I was observing a doula working with a laboring mother. My instructor pulled me, and told me to come and watch an epidural being placed. She told me to stand behind the patient so I could have a clear view of the anesthesiologist placing the epidural.

Five. Four. Three. Two....BAM!

I hit the floor!

I guess experience is relative!

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Specializes in Intensive care, ER.

Still a new nurse here. I think I have a pretty strong stomach and have never fainted. The first surgery I ever observed was an aka, no problem. A perfed bowel with emergency colostomy placement, piece of cake. Even the young woman who had 4 liters (yes!) of empyema sucked out in the OR. I wanted to get closer so I could see inside. No. The first time I thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it was my first clinical ever in a nursing home. A confused elderly woman had passed a perfectly formed stool in her bed. It wasn't even on her. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone else's stool and I had to leave. Now? I wish for perfect stools. All I get to clean up is tube feed stool, and we all know how much nicer that is!

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