Student nurses do the darndest things

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I remember when I was a student nurse,the instructor telling us about a student that she instructed to give a fleets enema to,when she went in to check on the progress of the patient,she noticed the fleets enema sticking out of the patients mouth!

Is there a single word that sounds nastier than "lochia"?

hahaha, well personally, I prefer the word "lochia" over "mucous" and "phlegm" LOL :D

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.
Is there a single word that sounds nastier than "lochia"?

Its actually "shmegma". :lol2:

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I had my RN clinicals at a big teaching hospital notorious for the nurses playing practical jokes on the students. My patient was just out of OR for a hip replacement and was cold. The only blanket warmer on the floor was broken, so the nurse I was assigned to instructed me to put a bath blanket in the unit microwave. I thought she was kidding and just laughed. She got really serious and told me to do it ASAP or she would go get my instructor. So I complied. I remember I didn't put it on for very long, but did leave the room where the microwave was. Next thing I knew, the whole unit smelled like something burning and the fire alarm went off! The head nurse came out of the microwave room with the blanket with burnt holes in it and asked who did it. I was terrified and didn't say a word. The nurse that told me to do it was standing there laughing and told the head nurse she thought one of the students did it but "couldn't remember which one". I did tell my clinical instructor and she told me she'd take care of it with the head nurse. I will never forget it.

One of my friends in RN school was feeding a little old man a cup of broth. She said the whole time she spooned it into his mouth, he would make a face and shake his head. When she got to the bottom of the cup, she picked the cup up and noticed the packet of broth underneath. She had fed him a cup of plain hot water!!! lol

Same friend in RN school (we rode together so we exchanged many stories)...we chose the locked ward in psych nursing in order to see many different diagnoses. Her assigned patient that day was a real doosy. She said it was all she could do in order to keep a straight face while talking with him. He told her that he had fathered a horse baby and his goal in life was to find a transvestite horse and father its babies.

I will post more if I think of more!

Blessings, Michelle

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

The student nurse didn't do one of the 5 rights-->right route. Therefore, the fleets enema became per oral.

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Im currently in nursing school and my teacher makes us write care plans before seeing the patient too! it really bugs me, what really set me off was when she wanted me to write a discharge plan!!! before meeting the patient!??? WTH? i said no, sorry how can i write discharge plans when i dont even know the situation..she said well give me something there, so now i write take medications as ordered and fill in the rest when I actually hve what to write about

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Specializes in Neonatal.

*sigh* so I was doing my critical care rotations through a heart hospital right...I went into the med room that I had been in hundreds of times before to get supplies. I went to open the door to leave and it wouldn't open. At first I thought my classmates has seen me go in and were playing a trick on me and holding the door shut from the outside. So I said, "Come on guys! Let me out!". Nope no answer, not even chuckles from the other side of the door. So I continued to try and pry the door open, you know, with one foot on the wall trying to pull it open with all I've got...Nope...Didn't work. I literally walked to the other side of the med room, sat on a counter and stared at the door, waiting for someone to come it. 10 minutes passed and nothing, so I figured I'd give it one more try...Sure enough, as I'm walking toward the door I missed the BIG HUGE RED "PUSH TO EXIT" SIGN right next to the door in a med room that I had been in many times before! :D oops!

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*sigh* so I was doing my critical care rotations through a heart hospital right...I went into the med room that I had been in hundreds of times before to get supplies. I went to open the door to leave and it wouldn't open. At first I thought my classmates has seen me go in and were playing a trick on me and holding the door shut from the outside. So I said, "Come on guys! Let me out!". Nope no answer, not even chuckles from the other side of the door. So I continued to try and pry the door open, you know, with one foot on the wall trying to pull it open with all I've got...Nope...Didn't work. I literally walked to the other side of the med room, sat on a counter and stared at the door, waiting for someone to come it. 10 minutes passed and nothing, so I figured I'd give it one more try...Sure enough, as I'm walking toward the door I missed the BIG HUGE RED "PUSH TO EXIT" SIGN right next to the door in a med room that I had been in many times before! :D oops!

hehe, that's awesome LOL

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Specializes in LTC.
The 2nd year student who failed NS when she believed her number one priority (as her pt lay bleeding in bed with bp falling falling falling) was to "change the sheets".

I had an a** for an instructor. She expected care plans done for patients before we even saw or touched them (how stupid is that?).

I never laughed so hard as when my friend worked soooooooo hard on her care plan and she was rather pleased with it...

Until she saw her pt and found her to be a double below-the-knee amputee.

My friend's care plan revolved around FOOT care.

That the pt was an amputee was NO WHERE in the chart.

She had to turn it in like that, but really, how could the dumb teacher expect anyone to make a care plan before the student even saw the pt????

Anyway, we laughed and laughed over it. Some of us crying. It was so silly to read her plan of care. Every time I read the word "feet" I about peed my pants.

The instructor was NOT amused.

Oh well.

Yep my clinical instructor first rotation was the same; we would get the patient's age, sex, and primary Dx and care plans were due the first day of rotation (these were nursing home pts, BTW). Needless to say, I'm sure I was not the only student to pull stuff out of my b*tt to have a complete care plan. :uhoh3:

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Specializes in LTC.
Im currently in nursing school and my teacher makes us write care plans before seeing the patient too! it really bugs me, what really set me off was when she wanted me to write a discharge plan!!! before meeting the patient!??? WTH? i said no, sorry how can i write discharge plans when i dont even know the situation..she said well give me something there, so now i write take medications as ordered and fill in the rest when I actually hve what to write about

Actually it's very common for facilities to begin discharge planning when a patient is admitted...I know it sounds counterintuitive, but with Medicare regulations, DRGs and all that fun stuff, for hospitals and SNF's, discharge is the goal as it proves that the facility is healing the patient. But you're right, there's only so much that can be assumed before a patient is actually assessed.

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just remember, life has changed over the years...99.9% is unacceptable in

nursing now. one mistake is enough to end your career. students have way more pressure on them today than they did 30 years ago. one mistake and they could be tossed out of the program. just like one mistake of an experienced nurse could cost her a career. even if you are just perceived wrongly by a patient, it is considered unacceptable in today's market and the 99.9% of the rest of the patients that love you don't matter at that point.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I had a student nurse the other day....carried her coffee cup w/lid everywhere. Wouldn't put it down for anything, not even as she took history from the patient.

We (staff) were left thinking "what the hell has she been (not) taught?"

I know her instructor!!!!!

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Specializes in Home Health CM.
Just this past week I gave myself an IV bath. I was switching the tubing from the old bag and the new one, and didn't take the old bag down before unspiking it. The nurse was watching me and she knew what was coming. It was just NS at least, and it was less than 1/4 full. The nurse said everyone does it at least once, and since it was just NS she didn't stop me in hopes that this would be my one time.

LOL....did that too the other day on my first week on the job.

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