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?
If a patient has a colostomy bag, eating a lot of leafy green vegetables will mask the smell of the feces. The chlorophyll from the plants emits a more pleasant odor when broken down in the body.
Wasn't covered in class, was just something that I read at 2am one night studying. Random.
There are actually chlorophyll tablets. We occasionally see orders for one to be dropped right in the ostomy bag. Sad to say I never really found it effective. Maybe it works better if it is ingested through the natural plant source.
Next thing I remember is waking up in the ER, intubated. She never did call a code. When my doc remarked that the Epi would have bought me 15 minutes and might have avoided intubation, the response was, "I didn't have an order." Which she would have. If she had called a code, since I did stop breathing.
It's pretty bad when you need emergent care in a hospital and can't get it without a respiratory arrest Glad someone paid attention to you!
Ok, so this wasn't actually taught in nursing school, just coincided well...
We were studying abdominal disorders around the time Regretsy, a website mocking Etsy items of questionable taste/talent, popped up. Also, Twilight was popular.
One of the posts was of this - apparently a witch biting out some guy's umbilicus.
I will never forget Cullen's sign (I just pretend the "witch" is actually a vampire).
Ooooooh, I loved Regretsy! I never laughed so hard in my life. I was so sad when April got a job and stopped doing it. I really miss it, but I sure get a lot more things done.
I was a candy striper some 30 years ago, and to this day I balk at rolling an empty wheelchair forward into an elevator.
I think we were the only nursing school that learned, "Oh, our old, trusty truck acts funny; very good vehicle anyhow." I do use that one sometimes.
And then there's OLDCART to assess pain: onset, location, duration, character, aggravating factors, relieving factors, and treatment. Like we have time for all that in PACU! Gimme a number, preferably one that matches your face and what we did to you... (I'm kidding; please take it as the joke it is!!)
Loving this thread! Interestingly, a lot of the items people remembered are actually very useful, everyday info for me, but maybe I'm just a geek working in a strange field...
I don't care what the article says, several years ago, a nurse I worked with changed a foley cath because the one that a female patient had in was blocked. This nurse, an LPN, inserted the new foley cath and when she saw urine left the room. The patient put out almost 1,000 mL's of urine in less than 20 minutes. The patient became shocky and had to be sent out to the hospital. She died shortly after that from shock.
tell me it's an old wives tale all you want...I know patients can go into shock and die from it.
My med-surg instructor made us gather around to watch her do mouth care and what happens when you don't do mouthcare. It was most gross. Fortunately, I have never come upon a patient like that who hasn't had mouth care. I have had many opportunities to teach the importance of good mouth care and the consequence of avoiding it.
Glad someone paid attention to you!
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(I'm kidding; please take it as the joke it is!!)
kbrn2002, ADN, RN
3,967 Posts
There are actually chlorophyll tablets. We occasionally see orders for one to be dropped right in the ostomy bag. Sad to say I never really found it effective. Maybe it works better if it is ingested through the natural plant source.