Nursing School Oopsies

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

For all the harried nursing students out there, I decided to start a thread in which those of us who've made it through and out into the real world of nursing can share some of our oopsies.

This is intended to be light-hearted and fun... and help the students not to freak out so much over the small and not-so-small stuff that befalls them. Most of us make it through.

I have/had two in mind... the first has slipped from my fatigued, near-50 brain at the moment but the second follows:

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I had a patient who was a subacute EtOH withdrawal... had PO benzos ordered... I went in with my nurse to assess the patient who was doing OK at the time. The nurse, with whom I'd worked a number of times, decided to pull a benzo (probably 5 or 10 mg of Valium but I don't recall) and told me to assess him over the next hour or two and then give the med if he was tremulous or tachycardic.

So, I diligently assessed him and tended to my other tasks. He was stable and never needed the med. As we neared the end of our shift, I went to retrieve the med from my pocket and return it.

Imagine my horror when I found it missing. I emptied every pocket, over and over, as a panic began to set in. Finally, I approached the nurse and confessed my sin. She just looked at me and said, "Don't tell me that" and walked away.

I began to retrace my steps in a feverish but fruitless search for the missing pill, my horror and self-recriminations amplifying with every step. As I wandered hopelessly and repeatedly through room after room, one of my classmates said, "Hey, what's the matter?" I told her. She stood there for a moment, smiled, and said, "Is this it?" as she produced the blister pack with a flourish. "I found it on the floor," she said. I hugged her, snatched it away, and promptly returned it to my relieved nurse (whose perspective I can now completely identify with).

It turns out that it had fallen from my pocket when I had assisted my classmate with ambulating and toileting her patient.

Several lessons to be taken away: (1) Don't hand over controlled meds to students, even mature ones whom you trust, (2) Don't carry controlled meds around in your pocket, and (3) Treat your classmates well... you never know when or how they might bail you out or stab you in the kidney.

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What a great idea! I sure could have used a thread like this while I was in school.

My very first time on the clinical floor I had a patient who was on clear liquids. My understanding of clear liquids at this time was only "things that you can see through.'' I hadn't realized that black coffee counted as a clear liquid. So, every time I went in my patient's room, they asked me for their coffee, and I stated that they could not have black coffee as it was not a clear liquid, but, I would be happy to get them anything else that was. This patient was not very happy with me to say the least.

Well, time goes on, I go back in the patient's room and there they are drinking their black coffee! Big grin on their face. I darn near had a heart attack as I truly believed they could not have any. I knew the nurse would think that I gave it to them and that my instructor would be upset. The patient must have noticed the look of concern on my face because they happily informed me that black coffee was indeed a clear liquid and I profusely apologized for denying them their coffee.

A few things I learned that day:

1) Always ask if you are unsure. No matter how simple something seems.

2) Black Coffee is indeed a clear liquid

3) Never deny anyone their coffee (as long as they can have it) - especially in the AM! :cheeky:

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What a great idea! I surely could have used this in school. Especially the days I drove home in tears!

RN403, I LOVED your story!!!!

I'll have to think of some of my silly moments....

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Specializes in Float Pool-Med-Surg, Telemetry, IMCU.

Man, I sucked at dealing with feeding tubes in nursing school. I managed to shoot myself in the face with gastric juices when giving meds through a PEG tube causing my awesome clinical instructor to double over laughing.

I took a bath in liquid colace trying to administer it through an NG. (Dilute! Dilute!) Don't get me started on how giving the lactulose went...

And the charge nurse on the psych unit I did my psych rotation on had a sadistic sense of humor and gave me the homicidal guy with anger management issues. I tried to use my therapeutic communication skills. He threw a carton of milk at me.

Good times. Really, I loved nursing school. :cool:

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Blew the bottom off of a vial of morphine by injecting air in it. No one told me not to put air in those particular vials. My preceptor thought it was hilarious.

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Specializes in ED; Med Surg.
Blew the bottom off of a vial of morphine by injecting air in it. No one told me not to put air in those particular vials. My preceptor thought it was hilarious.

I did that too! Sounded like a gunshot. Thought I was the only one ever...glad to hear differently!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Hmm...I remember a PN school oopsie...

I had the wonderful opportunity to be an observer in the Pediatric SPU and watch a skin graft. I thought "cool!" until I started sweating, breathing funny, and trying to watch the clock, or so I thought...

I ended up almost fainting during the procedure; granted I didn't eat anything that morning, so I had to drink several cups of coffee with plenty of sugar to get my own sugar up. :shy:

Same thing almost happened again during my BSN clinicals; observing a scrub nurse help an orthopedic surgeon drill screws in a pedi leg; so grateful that the scrub nurse was talkative...plus I are breakfast. ;)

I'm sure I will never work in the OR, despite my valiant efforts to be interested in it...I'll settle for PACU ;)

Moral of the story: eat, don't ever skip on a meal; and if you think you are going to "love" a specific specialty, there is a chance you will find out that you may not be able to handle it...

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I was an extern on OB between my junior and senior years. The one OB who was a quite stately Jewish gentleman entered the room of a laboring woman while we were setting up - taking the end off the bed, preparing the instrument cart etc. So the nurse (or midwife I don't remember exactly now) was estimating her at 9-10 com with just a lip of cervix left. So said Dr. stood at the end of the bed (still in street clothes) and asked her to give him a test push. Said push produced a wave of urine long enough to soak the good doctor from his elbow down his chest - and his very expensive Polo button down shirt!!! Needless to say he spun on his heel and declared he was going to change into scrubs before delivering her!!! We were all snorting trying not to laugh till he left the room. The patient laughed as hard as we did!

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Specializes in Peds PACU & Peds Psych.
Blew the bottom off of a vial of morphine by injecting air in it. No one told me not to put air in those particular vials. My preceptor thought it was hilarious.

I, too, have done this. I was mortified.

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I was removing the air from the toomey syringe so I could give a bunch of meds through a G tube. Of course I pushed too hard and had half the meds raining down on us from the ceiling. I don't remember what the meds were, but the liquid was red and it made a huge mess!

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Specializes in Critical care.

I was a student watching a breast resection or at the very least a biopsy under general anesthesia in the OR.

I was dutifully standing over the pt and had a clear view of the monitor. Within minutes of starting the procedure, she had very frequent PAC's. The anesthesiologist noted the irritability and verbalized to the surgeon that the procedure may need to be aborted.

Ok, so we're on alert for more signs of cardiac irritability...>check

Anesthesiologist seems to settle back down to "routine mode" just as our poor pt's heart fires off an impressive salvo of "hey, I don't like what you guys are doing". Doc doesn't seem to notice. Uh, ok says mind of student, he's just biding his time.

Again poor pt's heart protests, and this time the doc is looking in the opposite direction...Ha! I see, doc just doesn't notice, he'll appreciate a tap on the shoulder and an ever-so-helpful "Check the monitor Doc, she's doing it again" from the unknown guy behind him dressed as the Good Humor Man (think head to toe uniform whites minus the spiffy hat)

Uh, yeah. He didn't even look at me, just shot outta his chair and whispered into the ear of the circulating RN who looked at me in awe as she slowly, ever so slowly, shook her head side to side.

At least my clinical instructor that day had a great sense of humor.:roflmao:

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Which one?

Pants falling off in a code...sure did that

Not getting a good seal on an NG tube and pushing stuff all over pt, myself, the walls....no problem

Not learning how to tie restraint well and seeing a naked man running down the hall with his catheter disconnected from the tubing but still draining....check

Accidentally turning a external pacemaker from 60bpm to 10bpm because I had a brain fart on which way was up....Yes sir!

My favorite. Killing a pt starting an IV. Yes oh yes. As soon as the needle went in, bam systole. Got him back but that was my shining star that summer.

You are going to mess up. Thats a given. Just make sure you learn from each one.

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