ERrookieRN

Oh yeah...can't forget about the 75yo man that came in with a zucchini in his rectum. Ended up going to surgery because he perforated his bowel with it. He refused surgery at first, but when the ER doc told him that he would most certainly die a miserable death due to the infection that will inevitably spread through his body from the stool that is currently spilling into his abdominal cavity and who knows where else! Sometimes, this particular doc is blunt to a fault...in this situation, it worked. Pt agreed to have sx and left hospital ok. Well, physically anyway.....

Cell phone stuck in a lady parts. No kidding. Put there on purpose. Needless to say it was on vibrate. OH MY!

I had a pt that said they were allergic to saline. They were probably allergic to the preservatives in the saline, so they said. However, the saline we use at our hospital is 100% preservative free. Weird. Bananas is the other weird one that I have heard. And more than once believe it or not!

About the potassium IVP-did you mention to that doc that K+ IVP is part of the cocktail that is given during LETHAL INJECTION??? HAHA.

Ok, so most of these are about ridiculous orders actually related to diagnostics or interventions. How about just plain ridiculous? Here's one for you..."feed pt". An actual order I saw for a pt that was homeless and really only came in because it was cold outside and he didn't have anywhere to go. Not because he was diabetic and hadn't eaten or had taken too much insulin or meds or blah blah blah. I'm all about taking care of people, but seriously???

OH MY! If I didn't know better, I would think I wrote this post myself! Too funny. Needless to say, there are probably a million ER nurses that could have written this word for word. I agree and wish we could post this on the entrance to the ER! HAHA!

to daverika and all others who find this thread offensive: If you have truly spent time in an ER, you would realize these descriptions are really pts we see. Of course, in the perfect world of ICU, you never have to see these people. Why, do you ask? Because we boot them back to whatever cesspool they crawled out of! So, the next time you disrespect your fellow nurse (ie..ER nurse) just remember who is handling door control so you can stay happy with your 2 truly sick pts. and you can fluff and puff them and their 85 family members until your heart is full!

Yes yes, I know. Evil ER nurses. But anyway...I just wanted to say that all of these descriptions are soooo true. The sad thing is that if we can't laugh about some of the things we have to see/do/deal with we would all be insane from the stress!! I especially appreciate the humor. Being a relatively new ER nurse, I see how quickly people get burned out from the mundane/routine/bs people that invariably are the complainers! I love my job and (for now! HA!) can't imagine working anywhere else. The one thing about the ER is that there are no two days alike. If you don't like this shift, just come back tomorrow because it will be different! And to all you haters, it's a shame we can't support one another, after all, we are all nurses. Whether we are ER, OR, ICU, Med-Surg...whatever...we all had the same goal at one point-to be a nurse. Respect each other and our differences. Be nice to each other. You never know when it might pay off! You may be working side-by-side with that other nurse you were mean to last week. We really are all on the same side...whether we take the same path to get there or not! Love to my bros and sisters in nursing. Nurses ROCK! :heartbeat Oh and I almost forgot: Nervous Nelly- you know her...she's the one that freaks out about everything! She may be the pt or the family, but either way she's dying from whatever she has and wants you to comfort her or confirm her worst fears. You've seen her...just last week she watched that medical program on TV and she saw that story of the woman with the "burst blood vessel in her stomach" (aka AAA) and now she (the pt ) is having abdominal pain and she is sure she has that too! It's not even worth the energy to try and explain that it's not a burst blood vessel in the stomach.....LOL!

I have to say that I am also a gum chewing, makeup wearing, jewelry wearing, perfume (although not overwhelming) wearing, cute scrub having, long hair down, nurse. I take pride in my appearance and why can't I continue that at work? I for one would much rather be known for coming to work "fixed up" than plain jane. There is a male nurse that called me "prissy" and I had to ask him what the he** that meant??? He said, "Well, you always come to work all pretty and made up." SO WHAT? I am many things....prissy is not one of them! HA! Anyway...so to all my sistahs out there with their cute outfits, coordinated earrings and pink glossy lips I say MORE POWER TO YA! And to those who prefer a less made-up look, don't judge a book by it's cover and we won't tell you to go put on some lipstick!

Hi. I am currently a 3rd semester Nursing student. I am very interested in going to the OR, ER, or the ICU. Many nurses that I work with have told me that if I want to specialize in an area like those, I need to go straight into an internship and learn that way. Others (mainly old school nurses) have told me to do at least 6 months med-surg to get my skills experience? Anyone have advice or experience with this issue? I am an older student (33) and I don't want to spend 6 months to a year on a floor that I don't want to stay on. Thanks! Tobi