Nurse or ninja?

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

As a nightshift nurse required to wear black scrubs to my work, my 3 year old whispered to me this morning when I got home, "mom, you're a ninja aren't you? What's your secret ninja skill? Mine is hiding". I was about to laugh it off. But then decided, he's right, nurses are ninjas.

I have many examples. Such as, moving stealth in my patients room to switch out the clindamycin. After all, he waited 15 hours in the waiting room, if i can let him appreciate 10 minutes sleep without me fumbling, why not?

Highly aware of surroundings. Well, you gotta be in a level 1 trauma. Between the guns people might be hiding, to the pt that was here for a nosebleed. "Oh wait, grab the crash cart!"

Multi-tasking. You want to see someone line/lab 10 people in a hour, hold c spine and run with a bed pan to that kayexalate patient at super speed? You know you do it and you've seen others as well.

Super senses, "yup that's c dif for sure." Don't even need to sent it to the lab, but you do of course.

Flexibility, well you got to get to the top of the bed, but there's 8 million lines in the way and the vent. "Watch this" and manage a funky limbo with a quick turn. Boom!

Gut instinct. Yeah, you know it's there. Just looking at a patient, you can tell when they are two minutes from coding. You prepare ahead and are ready for it! Defib in hand!

Sense of pride and commitment in face of obstacles. We have unreasonable management, unsafe ratios, violence in the workplace. Yet we still go to work with our ninja suits on, hold our head up high and provide awesome care in spite of all this.

So my son is right, we are ninjas. :) So what's your secret ninja skill?

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Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.

I have my job listing on my FB page as registered ninja.

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Specializes in ED.

I am known for my ninja skill of getting blood from turnips.

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Specializes in ICU.

The only ninja skill I've mastered so far is giving IV antibiotics without waking the patient up to do it... and that's only if they fall asleep with the IV arm and armband arm exposed. I have a long way to go in the world of ninja nursing!

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I can never be found when there is work to be done.:ninja:

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Specializes in Hospice.

Night time vision and stealth are two of my secret ninja weaponries. :poto:

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Specializes in Med Surg, Home Health.

Ninja skill: transforming an unhappy patient or family member into a happier one.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Ninja skill: transforming an unhappy patient or family member into a happier one.
That is a great skill!

IV starts....I can find one on a rock if I have to.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

IV starts and lab draws.

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Getting complete sets of vitals on most of my kids without waking them (or if they do wake, it's not all the way, and they fall back asleep instantly.)

Also drawing labs from a PIV or PICC without waking the kid... Or hooking up abx...

Sticking my head in the door at least once an hour and not waking the parents!

And I'm the baby whisperer of my unit. Got a kid 2y or under that won't sleep? Give me 15 min with them!

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My ninja skills...

well, one's a skill... I can be in three different places at once... OK, well, so quickly that seems to be that I'm several places at once. Helping with a code when the SVT rolls in... boom, lined/labbed when I hear yelling a few curtains over... pushing meds to chill a trauma, possible cardiac contusion, into the CT suite, out in flash to assist in a conscious sedation... oops, I forgot the intubation and the ultrasound IV starts.

The other... not a skill, really, but I'm known to be able to produce just what tool or supply is needed at a moment's notice.

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Mine's a little less operational, but I still work hard on it and it's still of service. It's thoughtfulness. I can often show people different ways to think about things to widen perspectives. This means I put teams together that accomplish far more than we could as individuals.

And although I have never worked peds, I am a total idiot savant for growth and development. Show me a baby or young child and I can almost always guess exact age and tell you what the best toy is for the stage. Handy now that I have grandchildren. :)

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