What pranks have you played on your boss?

Published

I need a laugh and perhaps some ideas. So come on all you pranksters out there - fess up.

I'll start with a couple:

1. Wander alarm - I had a coworker distract my DON while I placed a wander alarm in her pocket. Every time she tried to leave the unit the doors would lock. She called maintenance a couple of times and they assured her everything is in working order. She tried all the doors in the unit (4) and finally called maintenance a third time and after being subjected to several funny remarks by maintenance, they finally figured it out. Later that day, she called me to her office, got the wander alarm out of a drawer and just when I thought it was time to pay the piper, she casually says, "I believe this is from your unit, would you see that it gets back there."

2. Rattlesnake paper clip - I bend a large paper clip into the shape of a bow, attached a rubber band with a smaller paper clip in the middle to it, wound it up and carefully placed it in an envelope with my DON's name on it and placed it on the desk at the nurse's station. When she opened the envelope, the rubber band unwound and the small paper clip rattled the envelope. She shrieked, through the envelope down and stomped off.

To my former DONs and supervisors: Thank you for being such good sports.

Specializes in Emergency, Critical Care (CEN, CCRN).

Pulled this one on two professors at our nursing education lab. We all decided to go out for lunch together, and one professor is known for being absolutely horrible with directions. Naturally, she's driving. In downtown Detroit, no less. She proceeds to get into an argument with Prof #2 in the passenger seat, who actually does know her way; Prof #1 insists that she knows where she's going (she doesn't).

One of my lesser known talents is an ability to imitate voices. From the back of the minivan, I break out my best navigation system imitation: "In one quarter of a mile, turn left."

Prof #2: "Oh, what are you arguing about? You have OnStar!"

Prof #1: "No I don't!"

Prof #2: "But it just told you to turn left!"

Prof #1: (terribly confused, but turns left)

Me: (OnStar voice) "Proceed about three quarters of a mile."

Prof #1: "(Prof #2), I swear to you I don't have OnStar! I don't know what that is!"

Prof #2: "Well, maybe it's in your phone or something, but I know that's OnStar. I have it in my car, and that's the same voice."

Prof #1: (losing her mind)

Me: (OnStar voice) "Your destination is ahead on the right. This concludes the route guidance."

Prof #2: "See, isn't modern technology great? We're right here at the restaurant."

Me: (in my own voice) "You're welcome."

Prof #2, after realizing they'd both been had, fell out laughing and asked for an encore. Prof #1 threatened to make me walk back until I reminded her that she might need help with directions... ;)

Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.
Pulled this one on two professors at our nursing education lab. We all decided to go out for lunch together, and one professor is known for being absolutely horrible with directions. Naturally, she's driving. In downtown Detroit, no less. She proceeds to get into an argument with Prof #2 in the passenger seat, who actually does know her way; Prof #1 insists that she knows where she's going (she doesn't).

One of my lesser known talents is an ability to imitate voices. From the back of the minivan, I break out my best navigation system imitation: "In one quarter of a mile, turn left."

Prof #2: "Oh, what are you arguing about? You have OnStar!"

Prof #1: "No I don't!"

Prof #2: "But it just told you to turn left!"

Prof #1: (terribly confused, but turns left)

Me: (OnStar voice) "Proceed about three quarters of a mile."

Prof #1: "(Prof #2), I swear to you I don't have OnStar! I don't know what that is!"

Prof #2: "Well, maybe it's in your phone or something, but I know that's OnStar. I have it in my car, and that's the same voice."

Prof #1: (losing her mind)

Me: (OnStar voice) "Your destination is ahead on the right. This concludes the route guidance."

Prof #2: "See, isn't modern technology great? We're right here at the restaurant."

Me: (in my own voice) "You're welcome."

Prof #2, after realizing they'd both been had, fell out laughing and asked for an encore. Prof #1 threatened to make me walk back until I reminded her that she might need help with directions... ;)

:yeah::yeah::up::up::up: :D

Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, ED, Psych.

a few months ago a coworker of mine had a "box" her daughter made in shop class. It looked like an old fashioned jewelery box - nicely decorated. She told me her daughter had some nice jewelery for her inside it. Of course she insisted that i open it up. As I opened the box, a fake rat witth fake blood jumped out of the box at me....I screamed, ran, and flipped out.....

very very funny

One of my co-workers became the nurse manager of the ICU I worked in. We found that the keys to her office was on the charge nurse key ring. We TPed the WHOLE OFFICE and then some.

Another time we got into her office and rigged a large bat that would drop down to eye level when she opened the door...talk about scream! Then we gave her a hard time because Halloween was her favorite holiday and she screamed over a "little" bat.

Same nurse manager, one time I worked a 3 day 12 hour weekend and we had a little elderly lady that would call out anyone's name that you told her. So....what do we do??

With the cooperation of the night shift, we told her all weekend that if she needed anything to call for "Kathy". Kathy walks in Monday morning to the melodious sounds of Mrs. B calling out "Kathy", Where are you?? I thought Kathy was going to get us!

Specializes in school RN, CNA Instructor, M/S.

My husband did something similar do a nurse when he was in the hospital for

I & D of a particularly nasty slicing of an artery in his leg that was not stitched properly. (Surgeon missed a small artery and my husband woke up with an ankle twice its normal size! OOOPS!)

Anyway he hated this one nurse who kept refering to herself as the patient.

"How are WE feeling today?" "Did we eat all our Breakfast? etc ad nauseum Get the picture?

First of all my husband HATES apple juice. Every day he would cross it out on the menu and every morning there it was on his tray!! For some disgustingly odd reason his favorite nurse comes in and places an empty specimen cup on the table with his breakfast tray (Wait for it!!) and asked him for a urine sample. "Can we fill this for me?'' she asked.

Well my husband filled the cup with the hated apple juice and when the nurse came to get the specimen cup she said "My we are a little cloudy today and my crazy lovable husband Said this" WELL, WHY DON'T WE RUN IT THROUGH AGAIN!" and proceeded to drink the "urine". The nurse ran screaming from the room and my husband and I laughed so hard that I had to use my albuterol because I couldn't breathe!!!!

Specializes in ED/trauma.

Not that long ago a co-worker & friend of ours became our ANM, & it went straight to her head. She immediately took it too far-started prancing around & checking up on everyone & pointing out little silly things that we missed doing (things that she never used to do) even though we were extremely short staffed & it was peak trauma season. She was extremely moody & grouchy & got REALLY mad when I told her that she was acting like she had permanent PMS. She told us that we were just jealous that she was picked over us for the job-even though she was only picked for the job b/c those of us that were asked to take the position turned it down. Needless to say...we had to turn her down a notch...so when I worked that week, we unlocked her office (I had the key cause I'm charge) & we filled her office (I mean TOTALLY filled her office) with ketchup covered maxi-pads-probably used 50 or so...When we saw her face I laughed so hard I literally dribbled a bit & had to change my scrubsKinda backfired though...she is still so mad, that we have to always CYA, she is constantly looking for some reason to write us up or get us fired.The best part...when our NM found out she thought it was the funniest thing ever...

Specializes in Gerontology RN-BC and FNP MSN student.
Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

One guy on the telemetry unit decided to spray his ACM with shaving cream all in her hair. So the NM and ACM went to the store and saran wrapped his car and put maxi pads with shaving cream all over them. The prankster got pranked.

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

One night our 26-bed MS unit was down to TWO patients. Longest. Night. Ever!

So, beginning around 0530, we wrote out name tags for the spines of every single chart, put beeping IV pumps in every room, put call lights on, commodes in the hallways, Hoyers sticking out of doorways. You get the idea. THEN we wrote "22 ADMITS! HELP!" on the assignment board.

Then we hid under the desk and when the charge nurse walked in, started dialing all four desk phone # on our cells and spectra links.

+ Join the Discussion