Got to thinking about this one today, and was reminded of it when I read another thread on here...what's teh dumbest thing you've ever heard in nursing, as an explanation for a malady?
For example, the one that sticks out for me is one that I heard as a new nurse, many moons ago. I was doing an assessment on a patient, and a family member of said patient had her sone with her, who was profoundly mentally and physically handicapped. Of course, I would have never presumed to ask the nature of his complaint, but she was only too happy to volunteer it.
"When he was born, the nurse in the room had long fingernails and she scratched his head. That's why he's like this. It's all her fault. We tried to sue her, but the judge threw out the case."
I was stunned, to say the least, and didn't challenge it as hogwash outright, but I did ask,
"Did she puncture his scalp with her nails?"
"No, she just scratched him on the head. It didn't show, but she did it."
You can bet money I was VERY thorough with that assessment. Heaven forbid the lady get staph or some other dread condition because my hair or eyelashes were too long.
Anyone else ever heard a completely absurd reasoning for someone's ailments?
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
before budget cuts there was consideration to moving our outpatient transplant program to a different hospital in the city. our manager was meeting with consultants to discuss our needs in a new space. she advised that we needed offices for some many kidney transplant coordinators, this many for liver transplant, this many for heart transplant and this many for lung transplant coordinators. she also mentioned that we needed a space for the lving donor coordinator and her clerks etc. the consultant looked at her and asked what kind of living donors we look after. she said mostly kidney donors, and perhaps in the near future we would see liver donors. and apparently this guy, straight faced asked our manager if she thought we would ever be doing live donor heart transplants. she said it took all she had to explain to this guy that if we took a heart from a live donor the donor would no longer be alive....
twenty-something girl on the heart transplant list was talking to another patient who was listed for a transplant. second patient said something to the effect of "it feels rather ghoulish to be waiting for someone to die so i can live." girl was aghast -- "you mean they gonna give you a dead person's heart?!"
A social worker careplanned on a quad. patient & his needs for sexual gratification...she expected nursing to perform oral sex on him! That is one dumb thing I'll never forget!
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I had a man ask if his mom's brain death is reversable. Uh...no brain death isn't reversable. This man agreed to donate his mom's organs. We were in the process of placing the organs when he asked me this.
Not only do I not think this was a dumb question, I think it's cruel for you to be making fun of it. For crying out loud, the man was probably in shock over what was going on. Attitudes like this only contribute to people being reluctant to donate.
A social worker careplanned on a quad. patient & his needs for sexual gratification...she expected nursing to perform oral sex on him! That is one dumb thing I'll never forget!
I love it when I'm admitting a pt and when asking about health history they tell you something completely not related to the question that happened many many years ago...
me: do you have a hx of stroke?
pt: no, but when i was 7 yrs old I fell off my bike
"I dont know how that got in there" Referring to various items found in numerous rectums
"Yes Im in pain" After receiving enough narcotics to euthanize 3 grown elephants and being so deep in sleep we have to sternal rub you for a few minutes and almost mix up some Narcan
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
I work as a tech at a busy level 4 trauma hospital and down the street we have a level 1 center. We are not meant to take trauma patients being level 4 but one day a woman walked into the ER with a massive stab wound to her R thigh that was about a foot long and fileted open down to the bone and pouring out blood. We asked her what happened and she told us " I was sleeping and when I work up it was there"[/qu ............................................................................................Lordie,Lordie, doncha just HATE it when that happens???!!!!!!!!!!
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
dumbest thing I ever heard was when I was in the third grade, walking to school behind a group of eighth-grade girls: when you got married you had to let a guy put his "thing" in your "pee-hole". NNOOOOO WWAAAAYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:eek:
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Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
twenty-something girl on the heart transplant list was talking to another patient who was listed for a transplant. second patient said something to the effect of "it feels rather ghoulish to be waiting for someone to die so i can live." girl was aghast -- "you mean they gonna give you a dead person's heart?!"