What have other nurses done that have freaked you out?

Nurses General Nursing

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What have other peers done intentional/unintentional to freak you out? Good or bad. Happy or sad.

On my FIRST day as an LVN, (LTC) a res was screaming in her room as I was walking out to leave. I went in to see what was going on. She was having an anxiety attack and severe pain (post stroke). I pulled the call light, and no one came. Uggg.

So I peeked out the door and saw my CNA walking down the hall, and told him to come sit with res. I went down to get her a Xanax and a pain pill, well relief nurse was in the restroom, and relief CNA (with call light still going off) was sitting behind nurses station reading a newspaper. I told CNA to tell the nurse to get a Xanax and pain pill for res. She said OK. I go to relieve my CNA. Said goodbye to him, and stayed with res. after 10 minutes, CNA COMES INTO ROOM WITH XANAX AND MORPHINE PILL. She is soooooo shocked to see me still there, she hands me the pills and RUNS to the relief nurse. I could NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!!!!

(I did immediately call DON and tell what happened. Luckily, my CNA was still checking on another res, and saw the whole thing.--------they got a slap on the wrist! that was it!!!):madface: :madface: :madface: :madface:

Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.
The most common thing that freaks me out that I see nurses do are older nurses not wearing gloves when obviously required and saying "I've been a nurse for 35 years and haven't gotten anything yet, we didn't wear gloves when I first started"

We didn't have AIDS then... I had a colleague just about 35 years ago who got hepatitis (I think HBV) because she had a severe dermatitis on her hands and we weren't routinely using gloves yet. She was pregnant at the time, too.

I believe that was about the time the hospital started supplying gloves for non-sterile procedures.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Hospice,IV Therapy.

I had a coworker who went to the pyxis to get a stat ASA that was ordered by the cardiologist and she pulled out a Tylenol instead and insisted that it was "okay because it's the same amount of milligrams"!!

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Case Management, also OR/OB.

I've posted this before, some other thread I think... pt. with double-lumen dialysis catheter in place... spikes temp, chills. Nurse calls dr. for tylenol order (he has a temp. ya see), dr. orders cbc, lytes, etc. Nurse gives tylenol. BP continues to hover in the 80's diastolic. wbc 23,000. I come on shift next day, and we get the patient moved to the unit for septic shock due to bactremia from his line. DOH!!!

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I am currently working at a retirement residence to pay my way through nursing school and we have a locked area for the residents with severe Alzheimers. Well there is this one resident (an absolute sweetie) but boy does she have energy. She has one restraint table on her wheelchair as per doctor's orders. Well one of the NA's was getting tired of our overactive lady and tied her hands and back to the wheelchair with a transfer belt! This poor resident could not even move and she was crying until I turned around, seen what happened and went and untied her. People like that should not be working in such establishments. I could not believe it! Plus, get this, our boss did nothing about it when she viewed it on video camera.

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I had a new intern order IV Tylenol once. :trout:

we have IV paracetamol here in Ireland which is the equivelent of us tylenol!u guys noy have it over there?

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Specializes in DD, Geriatrics, Neuro.

There was a nurse working a different wing than I at a Nursing home I was working in. She called me to ask how to piggyback concentrators so she could administer 10 LPM (which I thought was really odd because he was COPD). This piqued my interest so I went down to her wing (mine was mercifully quiet). She had a 80-something male with a pulse ox reading of 48. Yes, fourty eight. He was a DNR and hospice patient. I helped her piggyback the machines and we got his readings up to 60. After trying every mask and LPM setting we could think of for about 20 min, I told her to call the wife and the hospice nurse, this guy had all but one pinky toe out the door and should be allowed to die with dignity and with his wife by his side. I had to go back to my wing to take care of my residents. What does she do? CONTINUES TO TRY TO WORK ON HIM. NOT calling the wife or Hospice nurse. She even attempted to give him a breathing treatment. He had orders for Ativan and Morphine which were NEVER administered to him. This man died alone and in the most horrific pose I have ever seen.

Should have never happened as far as I'm concerned. Administer the Ativan and Morphine, call the wife, call the hospice nurse, and have a CNA volunteer stay with him until either his family came or he passed away.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.
There was a nurse working a different wing than I at a Nursing home I was working in. She called me to ask how to piggyback concentrators so she could administer 10 LPM (which I thought was really odd because he was COPD). This piqued my interest so I went down to her wing (mine was mercifully quiet). She had a 80-something male with a pulse ox reading of 48. Yes, fourty eight. He was a DNR and hospice patient. I helped her piggyback the machines and we got his readings up to 60. After trying every mask and LPM setting we could think of for about 20 min, I told her to call the wife and the hospice nurse, this guy had all but one pinky toe out the door and should be allowed to die with dignity and with his wife by his side. I had to go back to my wing to take care of my residents. What does she do? CONTINUES TO TRY TO WORK ON HIM. NOT calling the wife or Hospice nurse. She even attempted to give him a breathing treatment. He had orders for Ativan and Morphine which were NEVER administered to him. This man died alone and in the most horrific pose I have ever seen.

Should have never happened as far as I'm concerned. Administer the Ativan and Morphine, call the wife, call the hospice nurse, and have a CNA volunteer stay with him until either his family came or he passed away.

You are a better person than I, I would have had her job. There is no reason for anyone to be in pain nor die alone.:angryfire that is just awful.

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Specializes in orthopaedics.

Ok here's one... I was with a nurse in the med room while she was getting her insulin ready for a pt. She stops while she is looking around for something and comes out of supply with a 5mL syringe. She then asks, "4 units is the same thing as 4mLs right?":trout:

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Ok here's one... I was with a nurse in the med room while she was getting her insulin ready for a pt. She stops while she is looking around for something and comes out of supply with a 5mL syringe. She then asks, "4 units is the same thing as 4mLs right?":trout:

As a diabetic, I cringed when I read this. So scary!!

tvccrn

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, ER.

Ok we had a patient once on a backboard from a minor MVA. Soon as the patient landed in the bed, I asked her nurse to grab VS. Shortly after, I asked what they were (was temp charge for a few minutes lol). She gave me the bp - when I asked for the hr, she told me she didn't know yet as the patient wasn't on the monitor yet!

C'mon - where the BASIC nursing skills folks? I was like.. what? you can't COUNT? This was a newer nurse .

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Specializes in Cardiology.

I've got several...

1) A CNA falsifying records (You emptied that foley bag at 2:30? Reaaaaallly. It's now 3:00 and the bag is about to burst. Dang, what diuretics is THIS guy on?)

2) Not taking the clear plastic backing off a Duragesic patch before applying it to the patient (that one was mine, folks!) :imbar

3) RN sent a transfer to tele from extended care with a brand new bag of TPN--which she had poked through with the spike and was leaking ALL OVER the pump, stretcher, floor, etc. It takes forever for pharmacy to make TPN anyway, never mind on a transfer.

4) ICU RN calling cath lab because a patient 2 hours post-cath has a "gigantic hematoma." Upon arrival, we see the RN with his fist in the patient's groin applying full weight of his upper body to the site. Pt is vagaling (sp?), c/o nausea, bradycardic, dropping BP. Site is assessed by cath lab team--absolutely NO bleeding, swelling, oozing, or unusual findings. The source of confusion? The nurse saw the green tint of the skin prep that had been used to prep the patient from lower abdomen to halfway down the thigh and assumed it was a hematoma. Did not palpate the site or otherwise assess anything (much less think that a hematoma would not be green within two hours--try several days). Didn't even recognize the patient's vagal response. And this is an ICU nurse!!:trout: :banghead:

I can think of so many more...just give me time!

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Not on my watch, meaning it is hearsay, a patient died after a nurse hooked up tube feeding to an IV line.

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