Most Embarassing Moments During Clinicals!!!!!

[NurseBunky]

I fainted in the OR! I couldn't believe it. We are in our second week of clinicals on the L&D floor and I got the chance to sit in on a C section. The nurse I was to follow showed me all the procedures and where to stand so I would be out of the way. So, I'm standing there and the baby's head comes out and I remeber thinking," Wow! Awwwwww! and How cute." My next thought was,"Boy it sure is hot in here." I the next thing I know the nurse that was helping me that day was patting me on the shoulder asking if I was ok and I was on the floor. :uhoh21: HOW EMBARASSING!!:stone I had to sit there for awhile until they got someone to come get me. I kept thinking," This is going to make the nursing program I'm in look bad, and they're going to kick me out of the program." (Yes I'm a big overreactor) The funny thing is blood and guts don't bother me.

The nurses and doctor's were really nice about it. After they got done they reassured me that it happens a lot. Even the anesthesiologist told me he fainted the first time he had to watch one. I guess I should've eaten a bigger breakfast. Needless to say I definatly don't want to be an L&D nurse.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY EMBARRASING MOMENTS IN CLINCALS?

[BlackSweater]

I popped the top out of one of those really skinny medication vials (of dilaudid, no less...) by injecting air into it, right after my instructor warned me not to, and right as one of the staff RNs came around the corner - it went straight into her EYE!

The nurse said something about hoping she didn't have a randomized drug test pop up because she didn't think anyone would believe that a student shot her in the eye with narcotics ... LOL

I wanted to curl up and die from embarrassment.

[BellsRNBSN]

After a couple of clinicals in my first semester of nursing school, I started to notice that I was having trouble hearing patients' apical pulses and breath sounds with my stethoscope. I tried eliminating all outside noise and listening very carefully on several different patients, and still I was having trouble. It wasn't until a couple frustrating shifts later that I asked one of my instructors to check out my stethoscope. She simply twisted the diaphragm of my stethoscope 180 degrees and told me that the way I had it positioned was for listening with the bell and not the diaphragm. And all this time I was going around thinking my hearing was really bad or that my stethoscope was broken. Idiot! :smackingf

[butterfly134]

It was during my first few weeks of clinicals, i had my period and really wasn't feeling well. Cramps along with nerves and tiredness ( was near the end of a 13 hour shift), being a bit homesick and generally feeling a bit drained- well it all took its toll on me. I was told to go sit beside a patient ( who was asleep), while I was sitting down I started to feel a bit weak and faint. I think I gave myself a bit of a fright then and I started crying a bit ( note...i dont cry easily) I went out to the nurses station and I was sat in the hallway with the nurse takin my vitals. Thats when she asked me what was wrong and I told her I had cramps and then she told the nurse in charge who came down and asked me if i was on my period. Im quite a shy and quiet person generally!! She understood that I was only a young first year straight out of high school and was really nice about it and I got to go and take a rest and call my mom. However........I still had to go back and work with them the next week!! I blush thinking about it!!!

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

The nurse had you use the same needle/syringe set up? That is terrible.

yeah. i was a little unsure about it, but i was nervous and its what she told me to do.

[SerenePeach]

Tried to give a Lovenox shot with the cap still on, pressed to the pt's skin...um yeah I felt really stupid!! I've given Lovenox shots only once before, but still!

[cschoppe]

One time I had this sweetest little old lady who just loved having a student so i could take her and her 50lb oxygen tank for walks down the hallway, so i had to unhook the O2 from the wall unit and attach it to the portable one and anyways we got back into her room and i was reattaching it to the wall unit and she put the cannula in her nose and i turned on the O2, but no one had showed me exactly how to configure the dial on the wall so i must have turned it up all the way and i hear this massive air blowing noise and the little old lady goes 'oh my' and nearly jumps outta her wheel chair...oops my bad

[DBK99]

I don't start my nursing classes til next month, but during clinicals for my CNA class, it was my first time ever taking vitals on an actual resident instead of a classmate, and it was an elderly lady who had been laying down to rest and I went to take her axillary temp and it seemed to be taking forever for the thermometer to beep and the resident made a comment like "How much longer is this going to take?" and my clinical instructor said to me, "She's getting tired of us, just take it out and write down what it says." So I take the thermometer, look down, and realize that I never even turned it on. My instructor heaved a huge disgusted-sounded sigh and walked off, I felt sooo dumb and embarrassed. But hey, at least I'll never forget to turn it on again.