What did you learn today as a nurse?

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Greetings fellow nurses, I thought it would be interesting to have nurses tell what we have learned at our place of work in the course of our shift....

Yesterday I learned that 2 nurses should indeed check a heparin drip calculation upon learning the PTT as our facilities protocol states! If not...yikes and well just one wrong calculation not caught will throw off the rest of the calcs!!! and NOT good for the pt and could possibly lead to some serious problems...GI BLEED:uhoh21: :nono: And since I am an LPN I usually am not too involved but an RN kindly gave me an inservice on how to follow protocol, which is pretty self explanatory on the paperwork provided by the hosp. and WHY it needs to be followed EXACTLY!!!

I learned that one of our residents thinks it is funny to pull his nitro patch off and stick it to the back of your neck when he pretends to hug you... guess he likes to see people fall down.

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I am learning about a new drug that came in to our facility today for one of our people. Lyrica. It is newly approved for adjunctive treatment of adults with partial onset seizures. It is the first new treatment for epilepsy in 5 years.

It is also first prescription medication approved for management of 2 commom forms of pain, painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy {diabetic nerve pain} and posttherpetic neuralgia {pain after shingles}.

In some studies it was given in varying dosages up to 600 mg total per day.

I'm still reading up on it, to get familiar with it.

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I am learning about a new drug that came in to our facility today for one of our people. Lyrica. It is newly approved for adjunctive treatment of adults with partial onset seizures. It is the first new treatment for epilepsy in 5 years.

It is also first prescription medication approved for management of 2 commom forms of pain, painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy {diabetic nerve pain} and posttherpetic neuralgia {pain after shingles}.

In some studies it was given in varying dosages up to 600 mg total per day.

I'm still reading up on it, to get familiar with it.

It sounds similar to Neurontin?

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I learned that God is most precious and allnurses.com is the place to be.

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I learned that pedicare is like speed to an infant. I also learned that if you freeze a fentanyl patch then scrape the medicine out from under the plastic cover and take it sublingual that it will kill you.

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wow burnout, today is my day off, and I try never to learn on days off;) but THAT is fascinating stuff. Makes me think you work er perhaps?

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It sounds similar to Neurontin?

Very similar.

And the person to whom it is prescribed already is on Neurontin.

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haha this is funny I just posted a blog about my day from hell and the things I learned... my friend laughed and said "how did you not know this I know we were taught this in school"

Things I learned at work yesterday..crazy but true:

1. Bacon is pork, never give it to a muslim or they will throw it in your face..literally.

2. When you are asked time and time again for a prescription for "xanies" and the mom is passed out cold...it is likely she overdosed herself on xanies..

3. When a mom threatens to leave her child and gets on the elevator and the child (3) goes running down the hallway crying never pick the kid up and take him back to his room....apparently its considered kidnapping... lol

4. Asking a CNA to do her job and asking her what is the problem when she flips out about it is considered unproffesional what a ***** lol

5. Apparently I"m a brain surgeon... don't ask

6. Its not good for a child to drink a whole bottle of baby oil..

7. I can eat a tuna sandwhich in 4 bites lol and 3.5 seconds lololol

8. Lighters lit and on the floor may cause a fire.. and apparently you have to explain that to people.. fire + flamable objects + oxygen = explosions... retarded people

9. I am a liar

and last but not least...

10. I should be able to fix any of the childs illnesses....what the **** am I god? lol

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg, critial care.
I also learned that if you freeze a fentanyl patch then scrape the medicine out from under the plastic cover and take it sublingual that it will kill you.

What the...? How do people come up with these things?

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Specializes in med-surg,dementia care, management, VA.

I learned I am costing my facility a lot of money with MDS coding. At least i wasn't alone!

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

AWSOME thread!!!!!!!!

Okay what I learned today...a technical and ethical in one shift!

The techical..I pulled out a picc line for the first time today. I worked AFL for many years and recently back to med/surge...so that was fun for me to learn..basic yes..but still fun!

The ethical...had a patient who is in her late 60's and was admitted three days ago with constant N/V. Well...she just couldn't stop vomiting, and after a day didn't have anything to throw up! Well here I am at day three...she was drewling badly, pale as a ghost, VS getting unstable...and her sugars...oh boy! (she is diabetic with insulin). I was very concerned about her...we tried so many things...motion sickness patches, phen, zofran...the works...then I walked in unannounced accidentally..and saw her sticking three fingers down her throat which she denied right then and there! I mean..hello! I just saw that! I was very nice and sympathetic with her but she clammed up!

This scene happened 5 more times..I changed her room near the RN desk (when one was available, I asked for that after time two)...and she still was doing it under the covers!!!!!!!! Guess she has been doing this for a while!

This patient has a history of alcohol and meth use 10 years prior...so basically it was like pulling teeth to get the MD's to really sympathize and help her. I finally said very sternly that I heard the plan was to D/C her to home and she lives by herself and will die! That she has a serious probelm...and maybe she was using meth so many years ago to stay thin too! I said be it anorexia, bulema, some masochistic deal, a cry to have care 24/7, a misunderstanding that that isn't right even if your stomach aches, or her electrolytes off balance making her not very rational...she needed a psych consult to find out or it is our butts! (had to use that to burr the MD's at that point!).

I got the psych consult!!!..but why does this woman who is obviously very unstable be allowed to do that for crimes she committed on her body 10 years ago??? Even if she was a user two days ago...isn't it our job to help and not judge????

So I learned to advocate yet again, and use that old charm on MD's to get what I wanted done done....

I do admit that the hospital has been totally utterly nuts...so they are slammed. But one pt at a time...and I think more with this one is warrented...

There also was a denial that she could have an eating disorder because of her age!!! Ummmmmm sorry but I have worked with the geriatric population for many years...they can be the WORSE eating disfunctional group EVER! I watched 80 year old men complain and yell at their wives for gaining 3 lbs because "you don't look like you use to, and being an 'old geezer'". and this causing them to vomit or not eat! Yeah right...anerexia or bulemia (if this is the case) is not age specific!!!!

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wow burnout, today is my day off, and I try never to learn on days off;) but THAT is fascinating stuff. Makes me think you work er perhaps?

nope ICU. But this actually happened to one of my 16 year old daughters classmates. A day later another one of her classmates died from scraping the coating off of extended release morphine tabs and died while spending the night at a friends house. Where do they get the drugs, where do they get these ideas?

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