"How did that get there?"

nursej22, MSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

Long ago, before Spectralink Phones, I left with the Charge Nurse pager. Only got about 15 minutes away before the dang thing started to sing. I don't think I even had a cell phone to call and let them know I was on my way back.

ShortFuse_LPN, LPN · Aug 30, 2015

Toenail clippings! :yes: I worked for a Podiatrist.

TheNGTKingRN · Aug 30, 2015

Toenail clippings! I worked for a Podiatrist.

Can someone give me some Zofran please?

NOTHING makes me gag ... but this did. Lol.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

Med cart keys, with the narc keys on the ring...more than once. Thank goodness I only live about 5 minutes away from work. Eye gtts is another one I like to bring home, if they are just tears I don't bother running them back.

Anna S, RN · Aug 30, 2015

Like so many others- narc keys.

This was before cell phones. Went to Denny's after my night shift to have a long, leisurely breakfast with a friend.

When I finally got home, there were about a dozen messages on my answering machine from work.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

I bring home meds a lot. At least once every other month I dig through my house to make sure I've found everything I brought home, take it back with me, and make a large deposit to a sharps container.

I intentionally bring home flip caps from med vials. I like those things - it's kind of like playing with Monopoly money or something. I don't even know how many I have but it's a ton. One of these days I'm going to do something artsy with them.

DowntheRiver · Aug 30, 2015

Med cabinet keys, vials of albuterol, peak flow mouthpieces, unused suture packets for lac repair (I always grab two just in case and throw the other in my pocket), unused GC/Chlamydia swab... I'm sure there is more to add to the list.

My downfall lies in the fact that I like to over-prepare.

Farawyn · Aug 30, 2015

Toenail clippings! I worked for a Podiatrist.

Because it's easier just to pocket them than THROW THEM AWAY? :eek:

Farawyn · Aug 30, 2015

Med cabinet keys, vials of albuterol, peak flow mouthpieces, unused suture packets for lac repair (I always grab two just in case and throw the other in my pocket), unused GC/Chlamydia swab... I'm sure there is more to add to the list.
My downfall lies in the fact that I like to over-prepare.

Oh, oh oh, flow meters from the wall O2- the green ones!

I would keep them in my "secret stash" in my nursing bag, just in case.

bluegeegoo2, LPN · Aug 30, 2015

Over the course of my career I have bought home alcohol swabs, eye drops, cart keys, lancets, glucometers, test strips, a variety of breathing tx's, tape, gloves, insulin vials, syringes (unused and in original packaging of course), the occasional med to be returned (no narcs yet, I think I would die), a hearing aid, packets of lube/TAO/A&D ointment. I have learned to frisk myself before I leave the last couple of years because of all the crap I've brought home with me. I think the only thing I have yet to bring home is a resident. Give it time, just give it time...

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Aug 30, 2015

I almost brought the item below home. My coworker saw me dump it into my bag and started laughing. I didn't even notice I was doing it. It was a long day, to say the least.

edmia, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

Ativan, fentanyl, morphine... It's the darn small dose order and you have to waste the rest but no one is around to waste when you pull it from the pyxis so you walk around with it until you can get someone to waste with you. Then the shift ends and you go home. Then remove scrubs, panic, put scrubs back on and get back to work where your lovely co-workers waste with you. Thankfully, I lived only 10 minutes away.

This happened to all of us in the ED. Not as much in ICU because it was a small unit and people where easier to grab for a waste.

Sent from my iPhone -- blame all errors on spellchecker ðŸ˜‰