polgaras

Actually I question whether some of these "dark humor" situations really happened, or if they are just people trying to out do other's stories. For some of them, I truly hope it is their imagination only. nursing is an extremely stressful job. we all deal with our mistakes (and the mistakes of others) as best we can, but to criticize others for finding humor in a not so humerous situation is beyond me. i happen to know an elderly lady that if she were alive today would still be questioning my ability to practice nursing simply because i laughed to cover my embarrassment over tripping over her wheelchair and literally throwing her and her husband's supper trays on the floor at their feet as a result. i also happen to know a nursing student who was terrified to sit with a deceased patient until the family arrived because the deceased was a known practical joker and she honestly believed he was going to pop up in bed and say "gotcha!" all this even though she was the person who found this patient, called the code, and helped the rn on duty perform cpr. or the new nurse that followed procedure for a death, only to realize during shift report the doctor never returned the phone call releasing the body to the funeral home, the incomming nurse asked "am i expected to go to the funeral home to give this patient her meds?" we deal with life and death. sometimes we do stupid things. and we laugh about it later. only another nurse can understand the gravity and the severity of some of the things we deal with on a day to day basis. so we laugh because laughter is the best medicine there is.

i cried and laughed when i read this! we spend an entire evening laughing about "50 things to do in wal-mart" the night my husband passed away. and i know he would have laughed with us (maybe he was!) at some of the dumb things suggested! like getting a lawn chair, a book, a drink and something to each and setting it up and relaxing in the garden area, or asking an associate for something you know they don't have in stock...laughter is the best medicine, my new hubby who isn't at all medically inclined laughs at some of my stories from work. even the worst scenarios tend to get funny as time goes by

i was counting out with the outgoing shift one night when an elderly resident came up to me and asked if we were going. i asked him where, and he replied, "are we going to bed or to make love?" and then he looked at me and said "but you're not that kind of girl are you?" i no longer work at that facility, but i do miss him!

we were opening a brand new facility, no residents had been admitted when i told a co-worker about putting a snickers or baby ruth bar in a clean disposable diaper, heating it for a few seconds in the microwave, and then placing it in a location where it could be found and complained about for improper disposal. we laughed about who all we could pull that one on that was currently working there. about a month later, he did pull it on another staff member...she was furious said it was inappropriate and disgusting, and reported it to the director of nursing who reported it to the administrator. only problem was the director of nursing was laughing so hard she was crying as she told her boss. there's a recipe called "kitty litter cake" that can be downloaded after doing a search for...that's our dessert tomorrow night at work! looks just like used kitty litter...

been there, done that. lost position! got new one next day! 8) eating poop from a disposable diaper in fromt of a co-worker

unfortunately, a "good place" can go bad overnight. and employees at all levels seem to play round-robin job hopping. the area i currently live in is doing just that now. it's like we get fed up with the current situation and move to the new one...only our 'bad' co-workers follow! (isn't that why i left the last position?) every place has it's ups and downs and it's a matter of deciding what you are willing to tolerate and not willing wieghing the difference.

NO, SHE CAN'T. that is an issue at my facility. ONLY the state board of nursing can reprimand a nurse by removing her license from her. it has to be VERY serious offense to lose her license the first time she is called before the board. what she has done can NOT cause her to lose her license. if called before the board she can be placed on probation, attend classes, etc. and if they deem is serious enough she may not be allowed to practice nursing for a specified time period. the facility can report her to the state board of nursing for investigation of this med error and the proof will be on the nurse. it sounds like she works for a wonderful company as it looked at why the error happened and took steps to prevent it from happening again. doesn't sound like the facility placed the blame on her, therefore it doesn't sound like she will be called before the state board of nursing. i do not know if the family can call the state board and complain about this and thereby have the nurse called before the board. it is usually the office of long term care investigates allegations made by families or residents/patients. it is worth looking into. i do know the TN state board of nursing and the AR state board of nursing takes a dim view of anyone who purports they have the authority to suspend, place on probation, or revoke a nursing license. these boards will investigate and reprimand those who do so.

up until a month ago, our schedule at the nurses station was accurate...now it is not. unless we work 0800-1630 we have no way of knowing the correct staffing schedule. but even with an accurate schedule i too, have similar experiences with someone calling me on an off day and demand i come to work as i was scheduled. depends on what is going on personally as to whether i go or not. and i give no explanation other than "too busy" or "no sleep". i would make a copy of the schedule and write a note to whomever is over staffing and complain of the bullying...it made me an enemy but one who respected me.