I got found out!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I'm pregnant and was dehydrated with a stomach bug so had to go to L&D yesterday for some fluids. I decided to fly under the radar and not out myself as a nurse and just be a patient. My nurse and I were going through the intake H&P and details about how my pregnancy has been going and at one point she looks at me out of the corner of her eye and says "you're a nurse, aren't you?"

Busted!

We had a good laugh and she says she does the same thing whenever she has to go to the hospital.

Specializes in Med-Surg.
I guess I'm backwards then. I'll mention it especially when they ask for your occupation on the new pt forms. I know when I'm working and my pt is a nurse, I'm more likely to use the lingo and not have to translate medical speak into English and I'm more aware of my technique, so I assume all nurses are like that. If my nurse knows I'm a nurse, they're less likely to skip a step because I know how it's supposed to be done properly. :)[/quote']

Yes, exactly. I will tell them I am a nurse. I hate having to hear everything 'dumbed-down'. I also feel like they might be more careful if they know I know what to look for, what is acceptable or not.

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Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.

LOL. After an H&P recently the doc asked "what do you do for work?" and when I said I was a nurse at the network hospital the whole tone of the visit changed! He talked to me in a very collaborative way. Sometimes it's nice but sometimes I just want to be treated like a patient.

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I don't tell them I am a nurse, because I wouldn't want to make anyone nervous. A good nurse will be a good nurse whether or not they know I am one.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

I got found out when one of the teams asked the nurses why my son had a saline lock in, and I answered without even thinking about it, "to save him extra peripheral sticks".

The guy's eyes went wayyy wide, and just stared at me until the bedside nurse laughed and muttered "she's an ER nurse". They all knew!

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
The vet knew I was a nurse, I think my observations of the cats bowel and bladder habits gave it away...

My vet figured it out when they were trying to explain what fluxoetine was and why they were using it. After a couple of minutes I said, "you just had to tell me you're giving my cat Prozac--I already know she's got issues."

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
My vet figured it out when they were trying to explain what fluxoetine was and why they were using it. After a couple of minutes I said, "you just had to tell me you're giving my cat Prozac--I already know she's got issues."
Okay, what cat DOESN'T have issues? LOL
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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Okay, what cat DOESN'T have issues? LOL

True that :)

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