I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I seem to have a knack for remembering pointless things.
I remember the names of restaurants that I've eaten at on vacations, the servers' names, and other useless information that I will never need to recall in my life again.
This also applies to my time in nursing school, which admittedly wasn't that long ago, but long enough that a lot of the non-vital "nice to know but not need to know" information that we learned has become a little hazy.
The one random nugget of seemingly useless information that I remember from nursing school is what a scleral buckle is and what it is used to treat. It was briefly mentioned in my second semester of nursing school and for some reason it stuck with me. I've never encountered someone that has had this procedure in clinical OR in my personal life and I really have no justification for remembering it, but I do.
Does anyone else care to share a random nugget of information they learned in nursing school that they still remember, but never actually came in handy to know?
19 years ago, 3 days after the birth of my eldest...I had 5100cc (yes, that is 5 liters) drained out of my bladder continuously and without a bladder spasm...I did have a foley for 2 days to allow the bladder to return to normal size... (no nurse actually assessed my bladder or even fundus in the two days I was in the hospital..they only asked me if I was peeing and the honest answer was "I was")
One of my many instructors was a little petit older Pentecostal lady that one morning preceded to the front of the class and write pu$$y on the board. We was all blown away, some of the class was giggling. She then looked at the class and said "this is not a medical word"! It's either gross/moderate/scant pus,or pus like! Pus-sy is not a medical description! I don't believe I'll ever forget this because of whom wrote it on the board that day.
I was warned- seemingly every clinical day- by one of my clinical instructors that if you push reglan too fast, it will cause feelings of impending doom.
I've never pushed reglan too fast, and I've never heard anyone complain of impending doom after getting it, but I think about that warning every single time I give it.
I was warned- seemingly every clinical day- by one of my clinical instructors that if you push reglan too fast, it will cause feelings of impending doom.
I've never pushed reglan too fast, and I've never heard anyone complain of impending doom after getting it, but I think about that warning every single time I give it.
I have to admit, I'm kind of curious what a drug-induced feeling of impending doom actually feels like.
19 years ago, 3 days after the birth of my eldest...I had 5100cc (yes, that is 5 liters) drained out of my bladder continuously and without a bladder spasm...I did have a foley for 2 days to allow the bladder to return to normal size... (no nurse actually assessed my bladder or even fundus in the two days I was in the hospital..they only asked me if I was peeing and the honest answer was "I was")
I thought 5 liters WAS the normal size of a Nurse's bladder...
I have to admit, I'm kind of curious what a drug-induced feeling of impending doom actually feels like.
I was discussing this tidbit at the time with a regular on the floor I worked on as a tech (a super-regular- we often took care of him for months at a time, and I considered him a friend) who got reglan very frequently, to see if he'd ever experienced it, and he hadn't. And the next time we were on that floor for clinicals, he tried to convince me to push his reglan fast to see if it did cause him a sense of doom. But I was too chicken. So I guess I'll never know.
Its not useless but I haven't needed this information in 6 years as a nurse.
It wasn't even talked about much, but I never forget "red man syndrome" which is an allergic reaction to vancomycin where the upper body, usually especially the face, turn red soon after the start of an IV vancomycin infusion. Edema and itching can be seen as well.
I have given vanc sooo many times and it always pops into my head but I've never seen it. I think properly diluted vanc can help prevent it though I am sure it still happens.
I learned about autonomic dysreflexia in school. I NEVER saw it until like 40 years later when I had a paraplegic who was impacted and his BP shot up. I immediately knew what was happening, called doc. I think I saved his life.
Its not useless but I haven't needed this information in 6 years as a nurse.
It wasn't even talked about much, but I never forget "red man syndrome" which is an allergic reaction to vancomycin where the upper body, usually especially the face, turn red soon after the start of an IV vancomycin infusion. Edema and itching can be seen as well.
I have given vanc sooo many times and it always pops into my head but I've never seen it. I think properly diluted vanc can help prevent it though I am sure it still happens.
I have seen red man syndrome many times , Keep looking for it.
Not clinically related, but on my first day of LPN school in 1976, the director of the school (a founding member of the Crusty Old Bat Society - she signed the charter in the blood of former students) dismissed the two male students from the room, closed the door and told us:
"Do NOT wear your uniforms anywhere but straight home to change after clincals. Men are turned on by white stockings and caps and you will get raped."
blackribbon
208 Posts
19 years ago, 3 days after the birth of my eldest...I had 5100cc (yes, that is 5 liters) drained out of my bladder continuously and without a bladder spasm...I did have a foley for 2 days to allow the bladder to return to normal size... (no nurse actually assessed my bladder or even fundus in the two days I was in the hospital..they only asked me if I was peeing and the honest answer was "I was")