Most embarrassing mistake you've ever made

Emergency RN · Dec 5, 2009

as a then student anxious to "perform" in real life, all those things that we had only done previously on mannequins, i was suddenly afforded the chance to insert my first foley catheter. a frequent flyer to the ed where i was doing my student externship rolled in, and as usual for him, overdosed on placidyls (ethchlorvynol, a sedative hypnotic that thankfully isn't used any more).

one of the precepting rn's asked me if i wanted to insert the foley, and of course i jumped at the chance. fearful of making any mistakes, i opened the foley kit and prepped the patient textbook letter perfect. taking the sterile catheter in hand, i aimed the well lubricated tip at the patient's urethra, ....only to find that there wasn't one. pointing the comatose man's glans left and right, tilting it forward and then backwards all were for naught, as there was no urethra found anywhere. i had been so absorbed in doing everything correctly that i had failed to really look at the condition of the man's privates before attempting the insertion. so there i was, standing there with a patient's manhood in one hand, and foley catheter in the other, and not knowing what else to do. for the first time, i looked up (with probably a panic) at my preceptor for help.

by this time the staff rn's were all beside themselves howling with laughter. one of them finally spoke up between guffaws, and shouted "...look under your fingers!" i lifted up my fingers that had been holding the man's business and realized only then that he had a severe hypospadias. the urethral opening was midway along the underside of the shaft. of course, the ed staffers all knew this, as this was one of their regulars. they just couldn't resist zinging the student, who then unwittingly obliged.

RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2009

Inserting a foley catheter on someone that got an erection.....OOH, yuck, just an awful feeling!!!

JessicaSN · Dec 5, 2009

Emergency RN: Oh, they got you good :)

I have made many embarrassing mistakes during the whole 1.5 years I've been a nurse. I guess the funniest one was I had just come back from taking a lunch and I had a new patient (I work ER). I was told in the brief report she was here for a headache. She put on the call light and I went into the room. She was in her 40's, sitting up in bed watching TV, alert and oriented x 3. She asked me to help her on a bedpan. Well, I paused for a second and pointed to the restroom that was attached to her room and said, "The bathroom is right there" (in a nice way). Then she pulled back the covers and showed me that she was a bilateral above the knee amputee. Oops. :eek: So I of course then helped her on a bed pain. I went back to the desk to tell everyone my goof up and everyone laughed because she is a frequent flier in our ER.

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Dec 5, 2009

On my very first day as a working RN in the NICU last month, I was peed on by my assigned baby...about 10 minutes after my first shift started, I had been baptized, with half the staff watching (and laughing).

I learned quickly that it is indeed NOT best to change the diapers from the end of the radiant warmer.

AlabamaBelle · Dec 5, 2009

Just this week, I was doing change and the attending asked for the alcohol foam. Attempting to be helpful I grabbed the foam, aimed for his hand and instead, I doused the whole front of his shirt. He starting laughing, someone grabbed a bunch of papertowels and patted him down. He laughed even harder, then thanked us for the pat down.

interleukin · Dec 5, 2009

For most of a day, I called a stroke victim by her dog's name, Littlefoot. I saw a sign about the bed and made a quick assumption that it was her nickname.

She just stared at me with big eyes every time I called her name. She was unable to speak.

I felt like such a fool when, during a turn, a nurses' aid asked me why I was calling the patient by her dog's name.

sunnycalifRN · Dec 6, 2009

Emergency RN: Oh, they got you good :)
I have made many embarrassing mistakes during the whole 1.5 years I've been a nurse. I guess the funniest one was I had just come back from taking a lunch and I had a new patient (I work ER). I was told in the brief report she was here for a headache. She put on the call light and I went into the room. She was in her 40's, sitting up in bed watching TV, alert and oriented x 3. She asked me to help her on a bedpan. Well, I paused for a second and pointed to the restroom that was attached to her room and said, "The bathroom is right there" (in a nice way). Then she pulled back the covers and showed me that she was a bilateral above the knee amputee. Oops. So I of course then helped her on a bed pain. I went back to the desk to tell everyone my goof up and everyone laughed because she is a frequent flier in our ER.

I did almost the same thing. Told a double amputee that I had to check his pedal pulses, pulled up the covers and, I was like . . . . where are his feet? When I realized my faux pas, I apologized and made a quick exit. You probably could have roasted marshmellows with the heat from my red face!!

KungFuFtr · Dec 6, 2009

We had an overdose pt that needed an NG tube and charcoal. I had 2 other nurses in the room to assist. The Ng tube was inserted and I was trying really hard to push the charcoal into the tube. The nurse that was holding the NG tube loosened her grip for a moment and I got a massive facial shower of black charcoal!

Rabid Response · Dec 6, 2009

About 15 minutes before the end of my shift once, I discovered that one of my patient's feeding tubes had migrated up out of his esopagus and was curled in his mouth. I pulled the tube, informed the MD, inserted another, and called for PCXR to confirm placement. In my haste to finish everything before I had to give report, I made a charting mistake. Using our computer charting system I charted, "Tube found coiled in mouth" etc... . Unfortunately I had accidentally clicked on the box for "FOLEY" catheter instead of feeding tube. The oncoming nurse found this so amusing (foley found coiled in mouth!) that she printed out my charting and circulated it to everyone on day shift in both ICUs. So humiliating.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Dec 6, 2009

1) asking a colostomy pt when their last BM was ( i forgot they had colostomy)

2) was pouring tube feed into bag- asked if tech could help me as he was taller- opened the can, and it proceeded to fly out of my hand and all over his scrubs. Pt thought it was funny.

NursKris82 · Dec 6, 2009

About 15 minutes before the end of my shift once, I discovered that one of my patient's feeding tubes had migrated up out of his esopagus and was curled in his mouth. I pulled the tube, informed the MD, inserted another, and called for PCXR to confirm placement. In my haste to finish everything before I had to give report, I made a charting mistake. Using our computer charting system I charted, "Tube found coiled in mouth" etc... . Unfortunately I had accidentally clicked on the box for "FOLEY" catheter instead of feeding tube. The oncoming nurse found this so amusing (foley found coiled in mouth!) that she printed out my charting and circulated it to everyone on day shift in both ICUs. So humiliating.

OMG! I was advancing an NG one day and it started to coil up in the mouth! I was sure I had done something awful and I took it out QUICK and went to tell the charge nurse. I was like "I have a serious problem, the pt's ok now, but something real strange just happened." She just laughed at me. She said she's seen that happen before and that it was wasn't a huge deal. The way I looked and felt was like I almost made the pt code! She couldn't stop laughing at me!