At last I've come to the end of a run of night shifts. It's been a busy night so we haven't stopped and my bed is screaming my name.
Journey home is slower than usual because of Monday morning rush hour but finally 30mins later i'm home.
Curtains pulled, heating on, big mug of tea and toast....bliss....
I snuggle down into my lovely warm bed planning what I am going to do on my days off then it all goes horribly wrong ....peeping out of the laundry basket hanging to my uniform I can see shining merrily at me the CD drug keys..It's the worse feeling in the world knowing I have got no choice but to get up go back and return the keys much to the amusement of my colleagues. I contemplate going in my PJ's but decided best not :)
I am not sure if it's just in the UK or if nurses around the world suffer the "uh oh I seem to have taken the keys home" syndrome but I for one wish that the powers that be would catch up and introduce key pads or better still swipe cards.
Any way had to get that of my chest so am finally on my way to bed - 2hours late and knowing I have got to be up in 3!!! Definitely too old for this...
Specializes in Med-Surg, Oncology, telemetry/stepdown.
Omg i did this last month! We had over a foot of snow on the ground, and the hospital was sending emergency vehicles to pick up the nurses...long story short, I got dropped off at home the next morning, reached into my pocket and found the key to the PCA pump!
I was in a panic, called work and was all set to walk back to work (about 3 miles from my house)..luckily they had an extra key and told me to just bring them in when the weather was more tolerable...lol
Specializes in med-surg 5 years geriatrics 12 years.
Yep, been there, done that. Even better......working LTC and expecting state. Locked med cart, moved it into the medroom and made sure the door was locked as well. Good so far....yeah......until I went to the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and heard a thunk as the keys hit the swirling water. And in an instant they were gone !! No returning those babies !!!
You know those tags that are attached to clothing in department stores that set off an alarm when you go though the entrance? Well one hospital I worked at many years ago had that set up with keys. I remember thinking, "this is the wave of the future" at the time. However, that was thirty years ago and I never saw it again.
I worked in one maternity ward that put Hugs baby trackers on the keys... and also the unit owned steths. Never left with those keys! But I have walked out with keys from a few other places. One department had only one set and we were pretty good about handing them off after count. All I can say is thank goodness for Pyxis!
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
Several years ago I worked in a long term care facility. I worked swing shift, 3-11 PM. I didn't have the narcotics keys, but I had the key to the door alarm, which was turned on at night so that staff would be immediately alerted to anyone opening an exterior door. It was shut off every morning to allow normal entry to the building. There was only one key. I lived about 40 miles from the facility. I was driving home one night and I got within about two miles of my apartment and found the key in my pocket. I had to turn around and make another (almost) 80-mile round trip to return the key.
Specializes in Geriatrics, Pain, End of Life Care.
i got home with the narc keys years ago...didnt realize it. wife and i walked to town for xmas shopping. she asked me to step outside so she could buy me something...i thought ok, a smoke sounds great. lighter and keys in same pocket...pulled both out and felt my heart drop out of my chest...WTF?? narc keys in hand...um..that means the keys for my 3rd floor apt are still there and didnt have a cell phone or even knew my landlord's #, so...ring ring....my $50 bonus went to the locksmith...lesson learned...i do the pocket pat down and catch it every time now.
My husband is a mailman and brings his truck keys home at least once a month. He always has to turn right back around and go back. I don't even get upset anymore, just roll my eyes and ask him to take one of the kids with him, lol.
Awe you poor thing! That's happened to me as well; busy day shift (through agency) and I'm not a morning person. As a result, I sleep very little the night before a morning shift and always need a nap when I get home the next afternoon. Noticed I had the keys as soon as I walked in the door and emptied my pockets. Drove them back during rush hour (one hour round trip). This was a nursing home...we'll all be lucky if nursing homes all go to pyxis or omnicell in the next ten years.
Another time I came home with a pager; that one I slipped into an envelope and mailed back.
....peeping out of the laundry basket hanging to my uniform I can see shining merrily at me the CD drug keys..It's the worse feeling in the world knowing I have got no choice but to get up go back and return the keys much to the amusement of my colleagues. I contemplate going in my PJ's but decided best not :)
MLMRN1120
128 Posts
Omg i did this last month! We had over a foot of snow on the ground, and the hospital was sending emergency vehicles to pick up the nurses...long story short, I got dropped off at home the next morning, reached into my pocket and found the key to the PCA pump!
I was in a panic, called work and was all set to walk back to work (about 3 miles from my house)..luckily they had an extra key and told me to just bring them in when the weather was more tolerable...lol