nursing superstitutions.....any truth in???

l.rae · Apr 22, 2002

Getting ready for a 12hr shift in the ER. Whenever I hear of an OD comming in I get all the stuff together and take it in the room.. Usually, if I'm prepared and ready, I don't end up having to do the dirty deed. The doc will come in and give the patient a choice of drinking charcole or getting "the tube". Having the equipment there ensures the patient will drink and go!

Agnus · Apr 22, 2002

I have been acused of being superstitious when I have parked the code cart out side of a pt's room.

However, my reason is practical and not, " trying to keep evil spitits away" as my collegues think I'm doing.

I am trying to be prepared to respond to a potential code situation as quickly as possible, period.

However, my little superstitious quirk is never to says the Q word, or "we are having a good day", or somthing simular too loudly or the spirits will hear this and be tempted to do something about it.

misti_z · Apr 22, 2002

Never ever bring a book or magazine to work. That's just asking to have a busy night!!

ERNurse752, RN · Apr 22, 2002

If we get a call that an arrest is coming in, we'll put the shroud under the sheet of our ER cart...chances are, they'll live.

(can't guarantee for how long though...)

dazedandconfused · Apr 22, 2002

Coming in threes, the Q word ( don't even use it out side of work), full moon fever, and anyone that is ready to pass gets clear for the 24 hours prior. All of these have happened to me.

Never heard about the sheet or cracking the window. I will try that the next time I am in the situation

ma kettle · Apr 22, 2002

Did you have one of those patients that are , well less than favorable to have. They finally leave .. Some time goes by and somebody brings up their name. " Hey, do you remember ...?"

Sure enough they end up being admitted.

Or my favorite, The family finally decides that the patient should be removed from life support be left to go to greener pastures. So you start a MSO4 gtt. You have one of the family member ask how long do think it will Take, as if you have that crystal ball of death. I swear you try to hurry it up for your first half of you shift then you realize you have two hours to go, so you don't want to have to do post mortum care and all that dreaded paper work, and call the organ donor center,etc. SO your hoping you can milk it. Then low in be hold that person goes juntional then agional and finally flat line. It usuallly occurs 30 minutes before the new shift arrives. Now I am over time with all that work, YUK! And of course you have to wait for the family to say good bye. This may sound cold but gee ....

Sandy

gpip · Apr 23, 2002

I have heard moct of these. My two favorite new one in the last 3 months. If a pt is having long pauses or severe bradycardia one of the nurses places an amp of atropine on there chest to ward off the evil asystole. the second is if the patient is at a point were they will not recover and they are not doing well. Some turn on the light so their spirit knows the general direction to go.

micro, RN · Apr 23, 2002

OH YEAH, SANDY,

that is called the frequent flyer no-no for nurses.....or something like that.....cause it will always happen.........

til' it don't happen anymore........

micro lol.........

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Apr 24, 2002

I never, ever throw out a pressor drip until the drip itself is actually expired. It stays at the bedside until then. If another nurse throws it out, it's her gamble. I only made this mistake once... debated with the off-going nurse as to whether to throw it out. Finally said "what the heck, BP has been fine for over 48 hours now" and tossed it. Had disastrous consequences.

ohlpn · Apr 25, 2002

I told the nurses I work with in LTC about cracking the window & knotting the sheet & they thought I was nuts. But of course, not so nuts that they didn't try these things . . . last night, my friend cracked open a window in the room with two ladies that have been declining rapidly in the past couple of days. They went to Heaven within 40 minutes of each other. There was a third lady on the hall that wasn't doing so well, so my friend rushed down to her room & tied a knot in the corner of the top-sheet. She made it through the shift & these superstitions were passed on to the 3rd shift nurse in report. She cracked open the window of the third resident & we all know what the outcome of that was! We're all believers, now!

Nance :eek:

mattsmom81 · Apr 25, 2002

I was working oncology and we had a woman who fought the good fight with her CA, never gave up, stubbornly told everyone she would beat it. She ended up dying a slow agonizing death on our unit, and never reached acceptance....fought death with every ounce of strength. We all got very close to her.

When she passed, she stayed on with us. Patients reported seeing her first...patients who had not known her..asking who the woman was who stood over them during the night. She never spoke. They described her turban and colorful bathrobe to a tee. She walked the back hall where she always stayed as a patient. We came to regard her as our 'friendly ghost'.

Brownms46 · Apr 25, 2002

Boy you guys are giving me the shivers...:chair: