"You know you are an ER Nurse when..."

Happy-ER-RN, RN · Dec 17, 2005

You can guess the patients diagnosis with 98% accuracy just by eyeballing them as they pass the nurses station on the way back from triage.

Jen2 · Dec 17, 2005

You understand that some people may be quite sick according to some standards and may very well be admitted with that pneumonia, but your idea of sick is just after a chest is cracked you get to use the internal paddles. Afterwards you look at the staff and say, "That guy was sick"

The floor calls down and asks if you can give them another 30 minutes before you send the patient up because he/she has three antibiotics to hang at 10:00 and you then wonder what you are goiing to do with those three helicoptors flying around the roof waiting to land.

You tell the physician what medication your patient needs, because he couldn't possibly know more than you (ie Toradol or Ativan for that 20 year old chest pain instead of Nitro or Morphine)

You have lab results, CXR, and EKG already ordered completed and on the chart and the patient chest pain free after the protocal orders before the physician even walks in the room to see the patient.

You can get a 16 gauge in anything

You actually get excited over going to work in bad weather because you might get some really interesting cases tonight.

Thats all I can think of for now.

NurseMatt · Dec 21, 2005

I can't wait to get into the ER! These are GREAT!!!

ERNurse752, RN · Dec 21, 2005

I was actually happy I got peed on earlier, b/c it meant I could change into some nifty cranberry hospital scrubs.

sweetVTnurse · Dec 28, 2005

For any nurse . . .

You need to rewrite a note you leave for your family because you realize it is full of medical abreviations.:wink2:

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Dec 28, 2005

When you have a discussion of a GI bleed, abscess, etc over lunch.

... or poop. I actually found myself talking about that last week. Incredible. :rolleyes:

allnurses Guide · Dec 29, 2005

You know you're an ER nurse when you are in your civvies, in your own van full of kids, and all the EMS crews are waving hello when they go by. Or walking your sister's dogs, and they stop to chat. Or your kitchen is on fire, and you put it out, so when the FD comes along they get out and yell Hey! what's going on? and stop to chat before checking out the smoking hole that was your stove. Or when you are putting in a new mail box and a drunk stops to ask you to call the police and your only answer is "why, do you want a night in protective custody?", and when you're in the house calling he tries to open your door and come in, and the dispatcher is yelling "he's coming in your house? lock the door!", your reply is "aw, he's not belligerent", and you just make him go sit on the porch until the PD arrives.

you know? maybe I've been there too long. :coollook:

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 29, 2005

You know you're an ER nurse when you are in your civvies, in your own van full of kids, and all the EMS crews are waving hello when they go by. Or walking your sister's dogs, and they stop to chat. Or your kitchen is on fire, and you put it out, so when the FD comes along they get out and yell Hey! what's going on? and stop to chat before checking out the smoking hole that was your stove. Or when you are putting in a new mail box and a drunk stops to ask you to call the police and your only answer is "why, do you want a night in protective custody?", and when you're in the house calling he tries to open your door and come in, and the dispatcher is yelling "he's coming in your house? lock the door!", your reply is "aw, he's not belligerent", and you just make him go sit on the porch until the PD arrives.
you know? maybe I've been there too long.

:roll

:roll :roll

TazziRN, RN · Dec 31, 2005

When my baby was not even a day old, I was checking her veins out....'hmmm, could probably get a 24g in that"
NORMAL people count fingers and toes....

OMG!!!! I did that!!!!!! First thing I looked at were her little hands and I was relieved when I saw veins!

Keysnurse2008 · Dec 31, 2005

Your favorite "hobby" at work is watching thru the tinted glass to see which patients "can walk and run" to the ER doors fine......but once thru the ER doors....have to "HOLD" to the ED walls as they limp helplessly to the triage nurse.

tropicbound · Dec 31, 2005

:rotfl: I'm a nursing student and have just had a ball reading this thread!!! Thanks to all who posted, I'll add my two cents in oh ... two years or so. THANKS.

Jen2 · Jan 1, 2006

TNNURSE That one was great. You really hit the nail on the head with that one.