The most common myth I have heard is this one. In an unnamed ITU it was noted, with great concern that on a particular weekday (let us say Thursday) that patients were dying with alarming regularity.
The management looked into this of course. It was discovered that Thursday was the cleaner's day for doing a deep-clean.
Of course! The cleaners were UNPLUGGING THE RESPIRATORS to plug in their vacuum cleaners:eek:
The most common myth I have heard is this one. In an unnamed ITU it was noted, with great concern that on a particular weekday (let us say Thursday) that patients were dying with alarming regularity.
The management looked into this of course. It was discovered that Thursday was the cleaner's day for doing a deep-clean.
Of course! The cleaners were UNPLUGGING THE RESPIRATORS to plug in their vacuum cleaners:eek:
And if anyone beleives that.........
They had this storyline on the HBO show with Jill Scott as a detective.
I did a NICU rotation for 2 days during my last clinical and they had 22 admits over the weekend the nurses told me that they had so many related to premature rupture because it was a full moon and the moon controls water and humans are made up manily of water
"If so many studies have failed to prove a significant correlation between the full moon and anything, why do so many people believe in these lunar myths?"
"Scientists will tell you there's no connection between births and moon phases.
Anecdotal and anomalous statistical evidence aside, it's tough to find proof that more babies are born on a full moon. The topic has been studied pretty extensively, though, and it's very easy to find evidence disproving the connection.
Here are just a handful of the scientific studies that have found no connection between the full moon and birth rates:" . . . . .
Don't know if this is a myth or a superstition...when I'd report to work and if a patient was 'circling the drain', we'd tie the pt's bedsheet to the siderail which would prevent them from expiring on our shift. It worked about 95% of the time.
I've heard of the notion of a "slow code". This would supposedly happen if the nurse or other staff thinks a patient should be DNR, so they make a deliberately inadequate resuscitation attempt (e.g., by walking slowly to the phone to call the code, or fumbling with the meds). That way the patient dies, but the staff look like they tried to code him.
Do you think this really happens, or is it just an urban legend?
I've heard of the notion of a "slow code". This would supposedly happen if the nurse or other staff thinks a patient should be DNR, so they make a deliberately inadequate resuscitation attempt (e.g., by walking slowly to the phone to call the code, or fumbling with the meds). That way the patient dies, but the staff look like they tried to code him.
Do you think this really happens, or is it just an urban legend?
I would hope that the writings of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates apply to all practitioners of the medical profession, nurses included. Heaven help those that behave as mentioned in your myth.
I have heard the term used "slow code". I participate on the code team, and in the course of ICU have been too many. I have never seen people deliberately fumble meds or hesitate...I have seen codes that are very short-because the pt is not coming back. They mave have rec'd 2-3 doses epi, atropine, cpr, intubation but no hard core bicarb therapy, no external pacing, etc. I have also seen very long ones...especially in very young pts. I have never seen anyone place their opinion over a code status order.
Thanks for the info Traumalover. Just to be clear - when you've heard the term "slow code" used, what did it mean exactly? Is it a code that doesn't go smoothly because mistakes are made, but the mistakes aren't on purpose? Or is it a code that takes a long time because they pull out all the stops (like, as you mentioned, for a child)?
I think I may have gotten the "slow code" phrase from the book "Tending Lives" (an oral history of nurses' stories).
my understanding of "slow code" is, it was doctor generated, they refused to DNR the patient, or the family did; but the doc knew it was hopeless.....so to meet the "letter" of the rules, the patient was coded, but slowed response time, to allow nature to take her course.....
I don't know if its proved myth, urban legend or fact, but I do know that in all my 25 years of health care..a full moon DOES = nuttiness! Many times I don't even realize the moon is full, but I can tell just by my patients behaviors, outbursts and mannerisms. After a few of those odd behaviors, I usually check out the window..yup..FULL MOON. I remember working as an EMT back in 2000, it was a full moon AND Friday the 13th..oh my!
I don't know if its proved myth, urban legend or fact, but I do know that in all my 25 years of health care..a full moon DOES = nuttiness! Many times I don't even realize the moon is full, but I can tell just by my patients behaviors, outbursts and mannerisms. After a few of those odd behaviors, I usually check out the window..yup..FULL MOON. I remember working as an EMT back in 2000, it was a full moon AND Friday the 13th..oh my!
I agree, it's not usually that I think a night is will BE crazy due to a full moon, but rather, I'm AT work and it's crazy and I go, "Is the moon full or something????"
Lovelee82
85 Posts
They had this storyline on the HBO show with Jill Scott as a detective.