How to welcome a new staff member to the ED

Specialties Emergency

Published

So...... I've had this orientee for nearly 6 weeks and I still haven't pranked him. Any suggestions?

Ones that I have already done:

1) Got a tech to wait outside with a wheelchair for a 'critical' patient. She stood out there for nearly 20 minutes before coming back in.

2) A patient passed. I told a tech we had to deep suction the airway, esophagus and rectum because the funeral home was flying to pick up the body in 8 hours. We had him gown up and get ready, only to have him un-gown repeatedly to take a patient upstairs. He must have gowned up and down at least 6 times before catching on.

3) Hid in a box in the supply room and scared the living daylights out of a new nurse looking for urinals.

Funny but not mean, I don't want to get written up.

Specializes in ED.

He is getting all the support and encouragement one can handle :)

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I'm all for fun and games and have played pranks in my time...plenty of them. I just have left the "Newbies" alone until they felt they were a part of the group....then I could customize the prank.

Remember a prank is only funny if the prankee agrees. Standing out side for a critical wheel chair patient boarders on being mean.

But I am not in your department and maybe you can pull off pranks better...I just think it can be seen as hazing.

However.... it's your department and your co-worker

Pranks? Rather silly and stupid if done in the patient care area. You must have a lot of nothing to do if you can have someone stand idle waiting for a nonexistent patient. Taking someone from patient care just for your own amusement is not professional and does the patients a disservice. If patients and families are watching this, you lose respect as a professional.

Playing with the alarms by setting off code buttons and creating VT just adds to the overall alarm fatigue which already exists in a hospital.

I only heard of one new nurse getting pranked when a tech hid her lunch. She was working a 16 hour shift and didn't get a chance to eat except for whatever was in the junk food machines since she spent her time looking for her lunch. Real funny only to the tech.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Emergency, CEN.
Oh don't let them hear you say that at work... LOL!! We prank each other too. But not the new people. We generally give them some time to see if they have a sense of humor or not first. The "or nots" generally get left alone.

Again. 'Nuff said.

Specializes in ED.

I guess it's all about perception.......

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I guess it's all about perception.......
absolutely....just be sure the newbie is on the same page...:up:
absolutely....just be sure the newbie is on the same page...:up:

If they aren't on the same page expect HR to add their perception as they are handing you your last paycheck. It only takes one person to claim a prank is offensive and it does not have to be the one being pranked.

One can have a lively sense of humor and still find "pranking" to be mean.

You'd never know it from the outside but much of what you would describe would hurt my feelings. I'd laugh and yuck it up... but on the inside, I'd be hurt.

Straight up, it's bully behavior.

And the typical bully response: Blame the victim... "Can't you take a joke?" or "I thought you had a sense of humor?"

It has no place in the professional workplace... none.

This is really sad. I know some people think it's funny but what about the poor insecure new person?

Whoa. Hopefully I don't work where some of you-in's work.

Bullying? Ok. Sounds like some of the first one's to complain that I'm picking on them when I bring a pt back from triage..

I thought about bum rushing the infant CPR mannequin into the back wrapped in a blanket, it's not breathing!!!!

Guess I don't deserve my job

I think pranks can be silly or mean. I don't approve of mean pranks, but a little silliness between willing participants can help build camaraderie and lighten up the mood. In my previous career in broadcasting, we pranked each other all the time.

We had this life sized cardboard cutout of Hercules (from the TV show) that, if you walked into a room or around the corner, was very startling, so we would put Hercules in different places just to startle the unsuspecting co-worker who came around the corner. Unfortunately, it all ended when someone thought it would be funny to put Hercules in the boss's office.

Another prank was, while I was in the control room, my co-worker would sneak into the satellite room through the back way and turn up my monitors full blast, so that when a satellite feed started, all of a sudden there would be all this noise, and he'd be safely back upstairs in his control room by the time the feed started. I caught him by placing an empty soda can on top of the door handle, so that when he turned the handle, the can fell down and alerted me of his presence.

Specializes in ED.

Whoa, I think this has been taken the wrong way.

Where I work, we are a team. A family. A group of friends. Co-workers. We live, laugh, cry and die at work each and every-other-day together. When I say prank, I meant it in a fun way, and most of you are worried about 'bullying' and the 'poor insecure new person.'

Pish-posh.

This dude is a 25 year old RN/boxer. I'm sure if he thought my 'prank' was so offensive, he would/could Mike Tyson me into next Tuesday. Maybe he would do it when we hang out again, because I welcomed him to town with a few beers at my friend's bar. That's what type of co-worker I am. And when I asked for some prank advice from some like-minded folk (or so I thought), I was just fishing for some funny joke you guys pulled on your co-workers, because I assumed you were both friends and teammates, much like my crew, willing to share a laugh.

There is no reason why some fun cannot be had in the right setting. That includes professionally. Would that include doing something mean or hateful towards someone I work with and count on? No. Would I pull someone's leg? Yes.

And if I worked with everyone that thinks the ED is too professional for a prank, I would prank you first.

Just sayin'

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