Most embarrassing mistake you've ever made

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2009

I had a very sweet LOL who called the nurse's station about 3am -- her nurse was busy, so I went to see what she wanted. L side facial droop, slurred speech, in for CVA per the quick look I took on the charge sheet before I went down to the room. Pt states, "I dropped my eyeshhhh." I'm thinking she needs her glasses, so I'm hunting under the bed, table, overbed table, BSC, no glasses. I finally get up and turn on the big overhead lite. Pt's got her arm thrown over her eyes, since the overhead light is shinning right in her face. I'm hunting, hunting, no glasses.

"Ma'am, what color are they?"

"Gesh one, ishhhh blue."

Now, you think I could see one set of honkin' blue glasses. So I'm looking, kick the locks off the bedside table, and move it. Out rolls a glass eye. I let out a scream because I had this split second where I thought the pt had ripped her eyeball out. Everyone comes running, I'm sitting on the floor, howling with laughter, the patient is giggling after I explained. She's a regular and everyone knows she has a glass eye so it wasn't on the patient info sheet, but I'd just never had her before.

For the next 3 shifts, I had marbles left on my COW, eyeballs drawn on my notes, and my charge brought me blue kid's toy glasses and taped them to my computer....

zebsmom2002 · Dec 16, 2009

One was the time I learned that when you're changing trach ties-only take one side off at a time & keep hold of them...the patient coughed & his trach bounced off the tv on the wall & hit the MD, who was walking into the room at that moment, on the head.

The other was to ALWAYS crimp gt tubing before you connect or disconnect anything. I was going to check residual & wasn't expecting much....I was wrong....& had a face (as well as hair & shirt) full of stomach contents & MBF (=meat based formula-what the facility I worked at at the time used for formula--leftover puree food mixed with soy milk)-YUK

moosemadness · Dec 16, 2009

When i was a fairly new nurse, i had a patient who had some serious GI issues from eating meat in Mexico at a little street vendor. Well he was snowed on narcotic pain med and had wrapped himself up in his IV line. I was trying to get his IV line from around his neck and went to slip it over his head when i caught his toupee w/ my fingers and the thing jumped up at me and I screamed and smashed it back down and caught the IV line under his toupee. His Princess wife just glared at me. I ran out the door to the utility room and laughed so hard i was crying and all the other nurses thought something was wrong till i told them... LOL.. I still laugh at that one.....:imbar

zebsmom2002 · Dec 16, 2009

Oh, and I almost forgot about asking several other staff to see if the MD was aware.....

I was taking care of this cachetic (75 lb) 85 year old woman. When I went in to assess her--her breasts were rock hard and DDD+ size. I thought she had breast cancer as well as whatever else it was that brought her in. Note to self...this is what breast implants look like 40+ years later..... I'd obviously never seen them before. :imbar

zebsmom2002 · Dec 16, 2009

Oh, and I almost forgot about asking several other staff to see if the MD was aware.....
I was taking care of this cachetic (75 lb) 85 year old woman. When I went in to assess her--her breasts were rock hard and DDD+ size. I thought she had breast cancer as well as whatever else it was that brought her in. Note to self...this is what breast implants look like 40+ years later..... I'd obviously never seen them before. :imbar

BTW, this was after 25+ years of nursing, I'd just never worked in a nice enough neighborhood to have run into this before.

RetiredTooSoon · Dec 16, 2009

As a student in post partum, my patient asked how she would know if her milk had come in. I explained about 'milking' the breast by putting one hand underneath by the areola and the other gently pressing from areola toward nipple to express a bit of milk.

I gently took her breast and did the motion I'd just taught her, except I guess I was a little too firm with my technique-I got a face full of milk.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 16, 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!

Sick!!

Savvy20RN, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2009

I'm only been in nursing school one semester, but my most embarrassing moment so far is trying to wheel the blood pressure machine out of the room with it still attached to the patient. He was like "I think you're forgetting something." I felt like an idiot. Never did it again though. XD

sasha2lady · Dec 17, 2009

When I was an aide...I had a new male resident....a woman at his side...she was getting ready to leave and bent down and kissed him like a wife would...on the lips and did that whole I love you bit.....so I assumed they were married....I asked how long theyd been married and she said " oh....were not married...neither one of us.....Im his sister".....I wanted to hide under a rock. I felt my whole face get red and volcano hot...from then on out I had a hard time going in that room when she was there. I was so embarrassed! They didnt seem to be a bit embarrassed by it and for the rest of his stay....they continued to act like they were romantic.....for all I know they may have actually been..gross...but to each his own I guess.

mich321 · Dec 17, 2009

I've done a lot of embarrassing things. Last time I worked, I was starting to ask a pt to tell me his name and birthdate when my phone started ringing. I ignored the phone, but asked the pt to tell me his "name and phone number". His wife and daughter were in the room, and you should have heard the comments that I inspired. My face was BRIGHT red!

AOx1 · Dec 17, 2009

I was assisting with a patient post CABG who went bad and the physician opened the chest at bedside. Needless to say, this was serious stuff. Suddenly I felt a stabbing pain in my left breast. I shifted and tried not to yelp. The pain diminished, but unfortunately, the cause of the pain was then evident. My underwire had apparently broken and was beginning to poke jauntily out of my undershirt like an alien. I shift again and the wire then begins to protrude from the undershirt and my scrubs. I try not to look at the offending wire, but I can't stay still and the more I move, the more it protrudes. I must say it was the only time I had trouble maintaining a sterile environment and my compusure at the same time. Afterwards, I got the bright idea to run to the restroom and pull it out. Let's just say that afterwards, things were um, a bit lopsided the rest of the day. To his credit, the med student rounding with that physician did his best not to snicker.

Years ago when a nursing student still, my patient was possibly one of the best looking men I had ever seen. I asked his allergies and dutifully recorded them. My instructor, luckily, had a great sense of humor, and asked if I had made a Freudian slip when I listed "memberillin" as an allergy. Apparently so, as I had worked as a pharmacy tech for years at that point and was well aware of how to spell penicillin.

nurse441 · Dec 17, 2009

Have you guys done digital stimulations before?

well if you worked in the spinal cord injury unit, that is your JOB! i had this wonderful man who came in with a spinal cord injury. As a newbie on the unit during nursing school, I had to try my first dig stimulation. The nurse advised me to gown, and DOUBLE glove. So i inserted my magic bullet up there.. waited waited.... then did the dig stimulation... Whoa..... i did not expect this but so much liquids was coming out... couple farts.. .more liquids.. The worst part was.. the wet LOUD ones that came out with spraying action.. :lol2: .oh yea did i mention, my preceptor was right next to me? .I never looked at my fingers the same way :zzzzz.