We all have lots of stories to tell. I thought it would be fun if we shared a few of our funniest patient stories with each other.
Here's mine...
I keep remembering a particular incident a few years back. It wasn't even my patient.
I was heading down the hallway on the CCU unit in which I worked. I was minding my own business, heading down the hallway and I just happened to glance into a patient room...
I couldn't believe what I saw...
An older gentleman, who clearly was having some post-op dementia after open heart surgery....
he was sitting up in the middle of his bed and with knees bent and feet braced at the bed rail for extra support....
With both hands...
HE WAS PULLING on all of his CHEST TUBES with ALL OF HIS MIGHT!!!
Needless to say, I sprang into action along with all the surrounding nursing staff. It took security along with all of us to restrain this man so he wouldn't hurt himself. Though it wasn't funny at the time....I can't get this picture out of my mind and find it amusing to remember.
Specializes in ICU,IV Team, Endoscopy, CM, LTC, Homecar.
I worked at a SNF, where an elderly male hung himself (did not die) was found blue, and the posey around his neck. There were several incidences where residents were found with posey's around their neck, or in bad positions. Probably because they were trying to get out of them. Also the geri chairs, they were always
trying to "escape", I can also remember when putting them to bed, we would have to posey them to the bed.
So I agree we've come along way, for the better:nurse:
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
I had a guy come to triage complaining of painful urination. He did not speak very much English. With my broken Spanish I tried to explain to him how to get a clean catch urine. I told him to clean the head of his member and then urinate in the cup. A few minutes later the registration clerk and I looked out in the waiting room and saw the man sitting with his cup of urine and his face pained a sort of dark yellow color. He had CLEANED HIS HEAD with the betadine and then urinated in the cup. We had a good laugh.
I work actually in a private surgical clinic and I was teaching the patient to apply cold compress on her face for the next 3 days...so I told her you take a bowl and put some ice and water in, don t apply ice on your face but that keep your water really cold and so you can put your compress in without getting out of your bed each 15 minutes...she looked at me and asked very seriously...I don' t understand how will I get the bowl to stay in place on my face???)))...
Have a nice day...sorry for my english I'm french speaking but I make an effort!!
Reported years ago in Journal of Nursing Jocularity: Patient brought into the ER, extremely hypoglycemic and completely covered with a layer of fine white crystals. Turns out his family poured sugar all over him to bring up his BS before bringing him in. :chuckle
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
Tonight I came into work and the report from the charge nurse was that the 91 year old man in 14 was on comfort care and actively dying. I went in there to check on him and he appeared to be close to taking his last breath. About 30 minutes later I hear someone calling for help and it was a nurse in there with him. He was sitting on the side of the bed trying to get up to go to the restroom. We got him back into bed with a bed alarm. About 15 minutes later the nurse went back in to put in his foley. He had an ERECTION!! Good for him. Could be the last one he ever has.
Once I was working days on the peadiatric ward what i work on and this girl who I will call chloe to keep confidentiality was sleeping as I was taking her observations she woke up and was sick all over me I never stop getting grief over it
He used to be a cartographer(map maker) and he used to give lectures on his work. Basically it was the same lecture each time.
One day he was coming home from a lecture. And his neighbor "Hazel" would always rag on him for giving the same lecture. Today was no different. She said I suppose you gave that same old lecture again. He told her that he talked about sex. and went in his house. He told his wife that he talked about surfing during his lecture. And then goes to change. His wife and the neighbor are in living room talking... and he can over hear. the neighbor comments I can't believe what George talked about in his lecture today. And his wife said I can't believe it either-he's only tried it twice and fell off both times!!
Names have been changed to protect patient privacy
i look alot younger than i am!! I'm a first year nurse, i will be 22 in may but i look to be about 16 years old (no joke!). I'm very young looking, and the fact i'm pretty petite doesnt help. i'm a good nurse (for a 1st year anyway) but i'm always getting the confused patients and i walk into my "confused patients" room to introduce myself and i here is this little old lady
"OoOoO you are so cute honey. Come to grandma!!!" i kinda looked around and she keeps saying "Come to grandma" and she is talking in a baby voice holding her arms out to me. I just ignore it and introduce myself (she had no idea what i was talking about). My Aide i had assigned to me that day...who is about maybe 25 or 26 years old walks in and the patient goes
"Is this your mommy?"
Ok i look ALOT younger than i am (it gets the best of me sometimes...) but i dont look that freaking young haha. I still get picked on to this day...."Come to grandma"
Conversation I had with a CHF patient today. She has had CHF for years. I asked the pt. "have you had congestive heart failure teaching"? Pt stated "No I only got my GED". Priceless
I am not saying this story is funny, well not for the patient anyway, but it has always stuck in my mind. Years ago a patient was brought into the ward with his testicals very reddened and sore. It turned out his wife had sprayed him 'down below' with deodorant to make him smell nice before he was admitted. Ouch.
Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, OB/GYN, Peds,.
This is a story told to me by one of my OB residents, and yes it did happen. He was called to the ER one night to see if he could help them with this male patient that had come in that night. Well he told them that he did not usually deal with men but they told him that this was an unusual case. They took him into the cubicle and lifted the sheet and there around the testes was a lock and they did not know what to do. THe guy swore that he had fallen asleep and only he and his mom were home at the time and when he woke up there was the lock. The ER doc had to call in a locksmith who got a good chuckle and paid well. Here's another one from long ago which is funny now but was quite sad at the time. A young teenaged girl comes in pregnant and didn't understand how she could have gotten pregnant as she did what her brother had told her to do. She drank a lot of Pepsi and he had told her if she drank a lot of pepsi she would not get pregnant. So much for birth control.
)))...
BigBee48
52 Posts
I worked at a SNF, where an elderly male hung himself (did not die) was found blue, and the posey around his neck. There were several incidences where residents were found with posey's around their neck, or in bad positions. Probably because they were trying to get out of them. Also the geri chairs, they were always
trying to "escape", I can also remember when putting them to bed, we would have to posey them to the bed.
So I agree we've come along way, for the better:nurse: