Questionable actions that make you go hmm?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Let's have a little fun. What questionable actions have you witnessed by someone that makes you go hmmm...roll your eyes or just flat out laugh?

The pulmonologist who listened to my patients lungs without having stethoscope in his ears.

My last job I went toward the nursing station after being with a patient. The janitor lady was sweeping the counters with the broom. ?

Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

The orthopaedic surgeon who ordered a broadarm sling for a patella fracture.

The gastroenterologist who attempted to attach a rigid rectal tube to a Topaz chest drain suction unit.

The sitter for a delirious patient who was an EN (LPN) who documented word for word "patient refused to sleep in bed, walking up and down corridor, at least she got some pressure care ?. Son worried about the patient not talking English". The smiley face was in the note, and the pt is Italian with a delirium superimposed on dementia who couldn't speak more than a few words of English at the best of times.

The dietician who argued with me that I had weighed a patient incorrectly on a hoist- felt he should of been 15-20kg heavier. Pt was a hind quarter amputee, self righteous dietician had forgot to factor that in before throwing a wobbly at my manager about my "skills". Paged her and made her observe pt lack of leg while hoisting patient to re weigh and then put pt in weigh chair to prove point.

8 Votes
Specializes in Med/Surg, Women's Health, LTC.

When my 98.5 year old, very alert, witty, but unstable on feet/high fall risk d/t cataracts, Grandmother was admitted to LTC/SNF, a "couldn't be more than 12 years old" PA came in, read over the notes, labs from her previous physician, and stated, "Looks like her cholesterol is a little elevated. I will be ordering her a low fat/low sodium diet with no caffeine."

I kindly followed him into the hallway and explained that she has eaten 2 fried eggs, two bacon and two toast with REAL butter, for breakfast MOST of her life. Her cholesterol of 203 was not really a concern to her, or me at this point! I asked him what exactly he was hoping to accomplish with this?

32 Votes
Specializes in Psychiatric, hospice, rehab.

One of my favorites- during my stint in SNF as RN charge had a medical records clerk write : masculine degeneration every.single.time when coding diagnoses ( days of paper charts and books as reference) instead of macular. Got mad at me when I tried to correct her so just laughed.

7 Votes
Specializes in Mental health, substance abuse, geriatrics, PCU.

When I first started in nursing, the hospital I worked at had Patient Registration type in the admitting diagnosis which would then appear on the Kardex we printed out. There were some pretty interesting dx but my favorite was "Uterine Thyroid" instead of fibroid. That one still tickles me, I can practically see it in my mind haha.

4 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Hospice,IV Therapy.

I went to a dentist one time with an abcessed tooth that he pulled and I asked about an antibiotic and he told me that since I work in a hospital I can have someone give me some there. Looked at me like I had 2 heads when I told him that he had to be the one to order the antibiotic and that I could not just get meds from the hospital. Never went back to him and found another dentist.

I was a new nurse in the early 80s and I saw another nurse go to spike an IV bag and dropped the end on the floor that she was going to spike the bag with and she thought she could just clean it off with alcohol and use it.

6 Votes
Specializes in Medsurg.
27 minutes ago, Sue Damonas said:

I went to a dentist one time with an abcessed tooth that he pulled and I asked about an antibiotic and he told me that since I work in a hospital I can have someone give me some there. Looked at me like I had 2 heads when I told him that he had to be the one to order the antibiotic and that I could not just get meds from the hospital. Never went back to him and found another dentist.

I was a new nurse in the early 80s and I saw another nurse go to spike an IV bag and dropped the end on the floor that she was going to spike the bag with and she thought she could just clean it off with alcohol and use it.

Reminded me of the nurse that was trying to prime a bag from bubbles and ended up have like 10ml left when done...she drained the fluids into a glove and then wanted to reinject the fluids back into the bag.....the now non sterile fluids

5 Votes
6 hours ago, rn1965 said:

When my 98.5 year old, very alert, witty, but unstable on feet/high fall risk d/t cataracts, Grandmother was admitted to LTC/SNF, a "couldn't be more than 12 years old" PA came in, read over the notes, labs from her previous physician, and stated, "Looks like her cholesterol is a little elevated. I will be ordering her a low fat/low sodium diet with no caffeine."

I kindly followed him into the hallway and explained that she has eaten 2 fried eggs, two bacon and two toast with REAL butter, for breakfast MOST of her life. Her cholesterol of 203 was not really a concern to her, or me at this point! I asked him what exactly he was hoping to accomplish with this?

I’m a huge believer that past a certain age or certain point, comfort becomes way more important than try to “fix” someone. In clinical rotations in school we had a 96 y/o with afib (this was a secondary problem, not the reason she was admitted). They wanted to run every test possible on her, cardiovert her, and wanted to try out a plethora of medications. She looked the docs in the eye and said “no way in HELL you’re putting me through all of that at my age. When I die, I die”.

25 Votes
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

That physician in the ER who dropped the lubed-up speculum on the floor, picked it up, and then inserted that same speculum into the patient. ? ?? Poor patient was in the stirrups and had no idea!

3 Votes
1 hour ago, TheMoonisMyLantern said:

When I first started in nursing, the hospital I worked at had Patient Registration type in the admitting diagnosis which would then appear on the Kardex we printed out. There were some pretty interesting dx but my favorite was "Uterine Thyroid" instead of fibroid. That one still tickles me, I can practically see it in my mind haha.

Ooh! Ooh! I had one for weeks, in for "acute hepatic telepathy!"

3 Votes
Specializes in SCRN.
On 9/3/2019 at 9:54 PM, Snatchedwig said:

At one of the clinical sites for school I watched the cook go into the bathroom with her apron..go pee and didn't wash hands

Noooo!! This is why I bring my own lunch.

2 Votes
Specializes in SCRN.

Had a female patient with previous shift inserted Foley. A coude foley.

3 Votes
Specializes in SCRN.

Yesterday doctor listened to lung sounds while the patient was talking.

1 Votes
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