It's been awhile since we had a stupid nurse tricks thread, so here goes: How to look Incredibly Stupid Without Really Trying:
Call in to work because it's snowed and it's "not worth your life to drive to work on those roads." Be in a bar down the street from the hospital when your best friend at work uses the "Find My Friends" app on her iPhone to check on when her replacement will get there in to relieve her. (Will you lose your job?)
You've got horrible abdominal pain, but you suck it up and come to work anyway. Yay, you! You collapse in your patient's room and are whisked off to the ER by your manager and an RT. You insist that you're infertile and couldn't possibly be pregnant as you're delivered of a full term baby girl. (OK, this one was a CNS and nursing student.)
Call in sick to work because you want to go to your manager's wedding and you didn't win the "get the weekend off" lottery. Catch the bouquet. (And lose your job.)
You're having palpitations, and you're a little lightheaded and slightly diaphoretic. Strangers at the mall are concerned and offer to call an ambulance. You decline, telling them you're fine. Then you think that you probably should go to the ER, but since you know from AN that you won't get a sandwich to eat, you sit down at Bertucci's and order a plate of ravioli. Then you drive yourself to the ER, park at the bottom of a hill and walk uphill to the entrance. You're surprised when the triage nurse takes you straight back. (Yes, that was me. I was fine.)
Tell everyone at work that you're young, you want to have fun, and you're going to a friend's Halloween party after work. Go to the party dressed as a sexy nurse, and be in lots of pictures. Post those pictures on Facebook. Now call in sick to work the next day at 06:50 for your 07:00 shift. You've friended everyone you work with on FaceBook. (And NOT lose your job. What are the odds?)
Steal money from your colleagues' bags in the breakroom. Get caught by a colleague with a black belt in tae kwon do. Be photographed with a 5 foot tall girl flipping you and then sitting on you until Security arrives. (Have your manliness questioned by everyone who sees the pictures.)
Dropped chest tube system while getting pt ready for transport. Shattered plastic everywhere and blood on floor. I was floating to a different ICU this day and everyone looked at me like what is person doing here and never have her back again please.
We had an agency provide a sitter for a pt, who instead of coming to the desk for instructions went straight to the room and hit the code button "because no one gave me report".
We had an agency provide a sitter for a pt, who instead of coming to the desk for instructions went straight to the room and hit the code button "because no one gave me report".
Omg!! I don't even know what I would say to someone like that! What a jerk!
Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, Ophthalmology, Tele.
Here is a neat trick, say you have a patient come into your ED with a critically low h/h and get orders to start transfusing blood. You hang the first unit and call report to the floor. Now you are pretty busy so you figure you don't have to accompany the patient up if you just turn off the pump running the blood. So that's what you do! Btw depending on how long it takes for transport to get the patient up to the floor, that entire tubing will be worthless.. but hey that's a time saving tip isn't it!
This is my blood transfusion/transport patient story: This guy was a mess from the time I got him in the morning from ER. He was a new admit. There was an order to transfer a few units of PRBCs, lasix iv to be given in between, positional IV/hard stick patient, IV pump kept going off. He was doing fine with the urinal when needed. At 1130 blood sugar check his sugar was low, D50 was given in a sepearate IV site. His sugar wouldn't stay up. He was not my only heavy patient. I finally received an order to transfer him pronto to a higher level of care. Some of my coworkers transferred the patient for me.
After I gave report to the receiving nurse I described the day from hell I was having. She even told me a quick "day from hell" thing that had happened to her with a transfer she had received recently. I later found out the patient spiked a fever during transport, he quit using his urinal and was soaked (good old lasix!) and the last unit of PRBCs didn't finish in the allotted time because the pump had been silenced too many times (not by me). I was counseled for this (wet patient, fever/patient going septic, could it have been from the blood even though he had not shown any signs for me). I didn't even know any of the above had happened because it all happened so quickly during transport. What a mess of a day.
Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, Ophthalmology, Tele.
Well thanks, just made me snort coffee out my nose.
These types of threads should have a disclaimer:
WARNING: This is a funny thread.
Do not drink or eat while reading this. Doing so may result in laughing, eye watering/tearing, coughing, choking, and/or spitting out mouth contents resulting in a wet keyboard, computer/phone/tablet screen. Your coworkers may think you are weird when you burst out laughing for no apparent reason. This thread may also cause stress incontinence. Depends are suggested. Read at your own risk.
Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, Ophthalmology, Tele.
Just happened: I was walking down the hall and suddenly lost my footing. Ankle turned, knee buckled, and splat! I'm sprawled on the floor. At least 3 people watched the entire thing go down. Turns out I stepped on a saline flush cap. I'm awesome!
I've stepped on those before. Dangerous when wearing Danskos. Especially when speed walking to/from the supply room. I nearly twisted my ankle. I always made sure to pick those up if I saw them on the floor.
In nursing school, I learned the hard way that the sprayer device attached to the toilet is not necessarily a great way to rinse out a bedpan full of loose stool. Whoosh!! Poop all over toilet seat, floor, walls, ceiling. Poop on me. I'll never do that again.
Yup I did the exact same thing in nursing school. Will never make that mistake again!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
These types of threads should have a disclaimer:
WARNING: This is a funny thread.
Do not drink or eat while reading this. Doing so may result in laughing, eye watering/tearing, coughing, choking, and/or spitting out mouth contents resulting in a wet keyboard, computer/phone/tablet screen. Your coworkers may think you are weird when you burst out laughing for no apparent reason. This thread may also cause stress incontinence. Depends are suggested. Read at your own risk.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
While in nursing school I was to give meds via a OG. I was giving lactulose and some other pills. Filled my syringe up with 20ml to flush first and remembered to keep a little air in the syringe. No problems. Draw up another 20ml with the pills, lactulose and water mixed. Forget to keep a little air in the syringe..attempt to push the meds in and get resistance. Next thing I know me and my pt and my clinical instructor are covered in lactulose. The most sticky stuff in the world.
Gamecock73
33 Posts
Guilty as well. Felt like like a total dummy in front of my pre-op pt who was totally with it and watching my every move...