"Funny Codes"?

[burn out]

One night we got a new admission into ICU from ER. It was a female patient being admitted with COPD in her 40's. She did not appear to be in distress and was able to talk with o2 on vital signs were all within normal limits no red flags anywhere. Her nurse got her admission assessment done without incident and pt settled in. Suddenly, we are charting at the desk, when there is a loud crashing sound in her room. We run to her room to find her face first against the wall(Like she had collide with the wall at a great rate of speed) and was slideing face first down the wall, her catheter was stretched acrossed the room (connected to the bed still) her water pitcher spilled all over the floor and her heart rate dropping in the 40's then 30's then 20's call a code. It was a disasterous (sp) code having to perform it in the floor. It took forever to get her intubated and the doctor was soaking wet when he was done with that, then he had to shock her in all that water (with paddles in his hands he said..just say I was a brave man). We were calling for our strong monitor tech to help but he had run to the "Can" and could not come out. It took us an hour to get her body up out of the floor so the family could see her (we had to bind her up like a turkey and use a backboard and hoyer lift plus 6 people to lift).

I now this was tragic but afterwards we all were talking about the code and how it went and we all started laughing. Sometimes laughter is the only way to cope with this job. Are we just sick or does anyone else have codes like this and how do you cope?

[km5v6r, EdD, RN]

I was working in CCU and it was our turn to have the code pager. We had just finished report when it went off for the PCU and I took off. Arrived in PCU to find both shifts still giving report asking "Where's the code?" They knew the call was for their unit but not which room had called the code and since all the staff were at the desk didn't know who called the code. We all arrived at the room to find the pt standing at the bedside screaming "I'm DEAD. You have to do something. See I'm DEAD. Help me!" The man in his 30's had been napping. When he woke to use the bathroom he pulled off a telemetry lead. When he looked at the bedside monitor he saw a flat line, knew from TV that meant he was dead so he called his own code. I backed out of the room trying very hard not to laugh while the pt became more irrate that we weren't doing anything about him being dead. Others were muttering "well if he really wants us to we could go ahead and treat him".

[Tiwi]

Oh ppl, I'm nearly crying with laughter here. You wouldnt read about them! About the only code I went to that was a bit weird was when I was an EN student. We came rushing to the bedside with the crash cart, I was very self important with my little folder to record all the details, only to have the doctor call for an antiemetic....

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

Totally off subject here but NurseCherLove made me laugh... We have little old ladies that run the switch board at my hospital and the young transport guys love to play pranks on them... Every now and then we hear...

Sue Sue DaMonas please report to the lobby

or...

Adam Adam Zapel please report to the cafeteria

or

Ophelia Ophelia Pane please report to the ER

Haha those little old ladies never have a clue!!!

[lupin]

I just remembered a code that one of my old nursing school buddies had. She was working as a CNA extern at a med center, which they will give nursing students who work for them as CNAs a semester of "prenursing school" training. Anyway, she was working on the skilled nursing floor and one of the docs who makes rounds there told her, "If you're ever in a code situation while you are an extern, don't leave the room. Just go stand in the corner of the room and observe what happens."

Well, a few days later as she was doing her VS rounds, a lady coded in front of her. She told me she hit the code button and then froze. She wasn't able to remember what to do next except go stand in the corner. So that's what she did, until the nurses and the code team got there. Then when one of them asked her to check for a radial pulse, she blanked out and said, "what's a pulse?".

Poor thing, she made it through school fine though:chuckle .

[km5v6r, EdD, RN]

Then when one of them asked her to check for a radial pulse, she blanked out and said, "what's a pulse?".

Poor thing, she made it through school fine though:chuckle .

I worked with a nurse once who was also a minister's wife. Very nice person, rarely flustered and NEVER known to say a swear word. One day one of her pt's went into VFib. Code was called, crash cart arrived and she grabbed the paddles (before hands off defib with patches were available). The paddles were labled with sternum and apex to help remind the user of proper placement. She took one look at the paddles in her hands and shouted loudly "What the H%&& is an APEX?" Pt did survive but the nurse thought she was going to die of embarrassment afterward.

[TazziRN, RN]

Ministers' wives and kids........hard life, man!

[burn out]

Ministers' wives and kids........hard life, man!

and a nurse-what a super woman

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

(duplicate post)

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

:rotfl: Just read Ruby Vee's story... I say it wins the prize.

DeLana

[weesyanne]

I just thought of another funny "code" situation. I was working on a cardiac stepdown unit one day and the monitor tech yelled, "Room 109 is in V-tach!" We all went running down to the room, pushing the crash cart. At the door of her room, there stood the patient calmly shaking up a bottle of Mylanta. She looked puzzled and asked, "Where are you guys going?" :rotfl:

[blueheaven]

Not much up to par with those above, but I love when one of my docs is getting ready to intubate a drunk that we've been bagging, tilts the head back, and we get a nice big BURRRRP right in the docs face :) Even better when it is a new resident who hasn't yet learned to wear a mask when tubing drunks!

Even better than that is when you have a new intern or resident that has been a know-it-all pain in the butt and that happens :)

One hectic evening, I was FINALLY sitting down and gobbling down some supper when the extemely new nurse comes running in the break room and asks ?????What does a respiratory arrest look like??????? My tray went flying as my favorite pre-code epithet "Oh, Sh++"" as we ran down the hall. He survived. LOL.

[Ann RN]

I've had an intern (now a cardiac surgeon!) order a STAT tylenol suppository during a code. Ahh - maybe some IV meds first.