Stupid Nurse Trick... Don't try this at home... or work!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 12, 2006

these are great stories!

our neice was working for a pizza parlor, in the kitchen. she was chopping jalapenoes one day, and took a break to go to the bathroom and change her tampon . . . ouch!

DoubleblessedRN, ADN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-P · Nov 12, 2006

About 5 or 6 yrs ago, I was in the back of the ambulance doing CPR on a pt. A firefighter was sitting on the jump seat bagging the pt and I was on the bench, leaning over, doing compressions and pushing IV meds. My idiot partner, who was driving, didn't make sure all lanes were clear when proceeding through a red light crashed the rig. I went airborne and took a nosedive into the front compartment. I braced myself by grabbing onto a cabinet with my R hand and the FF's arm with my L. My R wrist hyperextended so severely that my knuckles damn near touched my forearm. My wrist wasn't fractured, but severely sprained and I was off work 8 weeks. I saved my face, but I was in moderate to severe pain! (My partner was ticketed.)

Jay-Jay, RN · Nov 13, 2006

:imbar I was doing a homecare visit on an eldery palliative patient with cancer. I had just finished helping him into bed so I could do a complete assessment, including checking his buttocks for skin breakdown, when I started to have what felt like menstrual cramps.

Over the next few minutes they escalated, and I broke out into a cold sweat. Within another 15 minutes, I was lying on the couch, moaning in pain and vomiting. When the patient's daughter asked if she should call 911, I reluctantly said 'yes'.

Turned out I had a huge ovarian cyst that had either started to rupture, or twisted.

I'm the only homecare nurse I've ever heard of who got carried out of a patient's home on a stretcher!!

Justhere, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2006

Before I became a nurse, my mom had taken my dog to the vets because he had a big abcess on his back. Well I was helping hold my dog and started to feel stranger and stranger, I realized I was feeling faint. I looked at my mom and said "I'm going to sit down." In return she said "NO you got to help hold your dog." "But you don't understand I'm fixing" cur splat, down I went. Everything went black and I could her my mom say "Well Penny." Needless to say when I was waking up there was a man over me, I thought I was in my bed asleep and when he talked to me it sounded like I had cotton in my ears. He tells me "Just lie still." I just about screamed my lungs out because I didn't know who he was until I started looking around the room saw my dog looking down off the table at me and my mom was holding my feet up in the air, I was being treated by the VET.

On the ride home mom asked me "how are you going to be a nurse if you can't watch the doctor work on your dog." Needless to say years later found out I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and if I stand still to long I will pass out. Can't work in surgery due to this especially wearing a mask, just seems to excelerate the problem.

bethin · Nov 13, 2006

I was cleaning out my purse during my lunch break and came upon my mace in the bottom of my purse. I very carefully put it on the table when I noticed it was dusty (it's in a leather case with a flap so it doesn't accidentally go off). For some unknown reason, I take my finger and wipe around the nozzle to get the dust off. I put everything back in my purse, rub my eye and then rub my nose. Ten mins later my eye is burning like fire, my nose feels like I have pepper in it and I can't sneeze. I take out my contacts and clean them, put them back in and they still burn. My right eye is almost closed shut and I still for the life of me can't figure out what's wrong.

FIVE hours later I finally figure out what caused all the burning - the same finger that I used to wipe off the mace I used to scratch my eye and nose.

And five hours later my eye and nose are still burning.

bethin · Nov 13, 2006

Needless to say years later found out I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and if I stand still to long I will pass out. Can't work in surgery due to this especially wearing a mask, just seems to excelerate the problem.

I too have Mitral Valve Prolapse and have noticed that standing in one place and wearing masks makes me feel like I'm going to pass out. Pts have even commented that they think I'm going to hit the floor. Never knew that the two could be related. Thanks for that tidbit!

Justhere, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2006

YW Bethin, noticed it the second time when I was doing my surgical rotation and had a mask on standing on a stool beside the Anethesialogist(oh I can't spell been up to long) watching a TAH & BSO with some other stuff being done, after an hour got to feeling faint and sat down on the stool until the OB/GYN and the Uriologist was making jokes about what the anethesiwhatshisname was making me do behind the curtain (the little blue drape place over the patients neck/chest area). So I stood back up, I tried to stay as long as I could until the circulating nurse started to notice I looked pale, told her I wasn't feeling well so she took me out of the OR and I walked what felt like a mile down to the bathroom leaning on the wall all the way there, I swear if it would have taken 5 more seconds to get there I would have hit the floor again.

Never had a problem in L & D when we wore the mask I guess cause I was running around doing things. I guess I could be a circulating nurse in OR just don't make me stand still. Didn't have a problem when I was in school this time in OR because I could move around.

RNAnnjeh, MSN, CNS · Nov 14, 2006

I was cleaning old nitropaste off of a pt's arm with a kleenex while wearing gloves. Applied the new paste and discarded my gloves. Realized that I hadn't tossed the kleenex, so...you guessed it...I grabbed it with my bare hands and tossed it in the trash. That's when the headache hit me. Never did that again.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 14, 2006

i was cleaning old nitropaste off of a pt's arm with a kleenex while wearing gloves. applied the new paste and discarded my gloves. realized that i hadn't tossed the kleenex, so...you guessed it...i grabbed it with my bare hands and tossed it in the trash. that's when the headache hit me. never did that again.

i was going to change iv tubings on my patient -- all six drips. i had my arms full of drips (including the ntg in a glass bottle) when i stepped on a toy truck (that's one good reason not to let small children visit the icu, especially unsupervised!) and stumbled, dropping a few of the drips -- including, of course, the ntg. now i know better than this, but i was in such a hurry to clean up the mess so the child who was crawling around upsupervised wouldn't get into it that i picked up the glass with my bare hands.

and when i woke up, i was bleeding where i'd cut myself on the broken glass covered with ntg. that was truly embarressing, and the headache was miserable!

tiggerforhim · Nov 15, 2006

Well, I had put some capsasin (sp?) cream on my hands for aching and didn't take off my ring. That wasn't too bad, but later that day my husband and I were ... shall I say enjoying each other's company.... and the mood was abruptly broken when the burning started....and this was after a good handwashing from getting out from under my wedding ring. :bluecry1:

bethin · Nov 16, 2006

Well, I had put some capsasin (sp?) cream on my hands for aching and didn't take off my ring. That wasn't too bad, but later that day my husband and I were ... shall I say enjoying each other's company.... and the mood was abruptly broken when the burning started....and this was after a good handwashing from getting out from under my wedding ring. :bluecry1:

Your poor husband!

But that was still funny.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

MedSurgeMess · Nov 16, 2006

I'm really clumsy at times, and during the olympics a couple of years ago, I was talking to the patient while we were watching the figure skating. I was imitating the skater who was on, got caught in her IV tubing (thankfully not attached at the time) and did about the most ungraceful swan dive ever!