What's the scariest thing you've ever seen as a nurse?

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I'm Curious... What's the scariest thing/experience you've ever seen or had as a nurse?

Mine was when I had to tell a pt husband to leave as there was home/?abuse issues. The husband and patient got extremely angry and I had to call security to escort him out. When pt husband left I was very shaken over this situation as I was only a nsg student at the time. So I told the charge I was going to get a coffee and step outside for some air. When I went outside, the husband was pacing in the parking lot staring at me. It looked like he was going to go postal. I was stiff with fear and I didn't know wether to stay or run. Finally security ran out and escorted me in and the husband finally left. Man was I ever shaken up about that!!!

The way I look after a 12hour shift.

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..

There are 4 that come to mind. The first one was when I saw my mother's intestines laying out on her legs. She had a farm accident. The lever from a hay mower entered her intestines when she slipped on a dew covered step to get on the mower.

The second one was when I was captain of our ambulance squad and received a late night emergency call to expedite with the ambulance. When we arrived at the scene, I saw a single vehicle accident where my cousin was killed. He was run over by the vehicle he was driving. Because they weren't wearing seatbelts, two of the victims were ejected from the vehicle. My cousin was found under the upside down vehicle in a culvert. He was bleeding out. He didn't survive. My patient had multiple injuries. A chunk of flesh was gouged out of her head, she had a fractured nose, a fractured jaw, and two fractured ankles. Thankfully, I had just taken an advanced Critical Trauma Care course about a week earlier since we didn't have all the needed supplies. I asked a junior fireman who was with me to assist me in getting her wrapped up with what supplies we did have, including using swaths as tie downs for her head.

The third one was a baby that was cyanotic when we arrived and wasn't breathing.

And the fourth one was when my uncle was what we call being kneecapped by the fender of a car. He was crossing the road to show the congratulatory letter he had received from President Reagan on his 90th birthday, when he was hit by a car. He was so disfigured we didn't recognize him, and he was a charter member of the fire company I belonged to at the time.

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Saw a brain injured patient rape a coma patient...not a pleasant situation. It happened at the first CNA job I had and will remember the events in detail for the rest of my life!

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Specializes in Home health was tops, 2nd was L&D.

Four times for me.. 1..Labor and delivery,, single mom all alone, Dr using vacuum assist device, baby comes faster then Doictor thought and he froze and did not turn off vacuum and dropped baby, I scooped baby off the top of his shoe before it hit the ground, kicked the vacuum cord out of the wall and never broke eye contact with mother all while smiling to mother who was asking if baby was ok? Then Dr waits till I leave the room and confronts me in hall with the this little incident will be "our secret"? Right? Yeah right!!! (Baby was great and Dr did not even get slap on wrist)

2. 300 lb mom on a stretcher receiving mag sulfate for preterm labor and she seized..OMG! Ended up in neuro ICU with brain damage.. not my patient. But I will never forget that image

3. Home health..visited this older man for weeks, one day no answer but gut said he was in the locked trailer.. so neighbors were starting to break in, I called for police, they finished breaking in..they followed me to back bedroom where man was stark naked, out of his mind and when they helped to pull him off of the headboard he was sitting on the loaded gun fell down!

4. Home health again..doing wound care visits on younger than usual patient, go to home, has three friends there, table covered with cocaine, money and guns..apparently middle of drug deal (in good neighborhood)(Right out of TV show!). I just did his wound care, talked sweetly and wished every one a happy day. After getting into car and a block away police stop me to ask me what was going on inside.. apparently they had been "keeping an eye on him" and everyone forgot to tell the nurse!!

Nursing..never a dull moment!

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Specializes in Cardiac Cath Lab, LTC.
Not really scary...had a pt that decided to melt and inject his methodone. All of the flesh around both anticubitals had rotted off requiring an I&D in the OR. The dressing changes were quite painful. You could see every ligament/tendon and part of the bone.

Got one better.......had a pt we found in his bathroom with his own needles (brought in by a friend) and he was cooking down his Dilaudid to shoot up right there in the hosp!!! Gives good reason to watch your pt's swallow their meds, huh?

BTW, security was called and he was transfered to another unit the next day :yeah:

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

My reflection in the mirror after working 26 hours.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care/Rehabilitation.
My reflection in the mirror after working 26 hours.

LOL...I know what you mean

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Other nurses!!!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Psychiatric.

I work in Psych and the scariest thing I ever saw, was a very large male client came up to a tiny female client that was sitting in a chair. He yelled at her, said it was his chair and proceeded to pound her on the head repeatedly. Now, before I became a nurse, I served in the Marines for 6 years and have seen alot of crazy and scary things. This was by far the worst, though. I was frozen with fear for this poor lady. The only thought going through my head was, "Oh my God, he's going to kill her!" Luckily, he didn't. She DID suffer fractures to her fingers as she protected her head with her hands, and a mild concussion. Psych is usually interesting and rewarding work, but this one time really made me think about my choice of field.

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last week a young kid was involved in a serious MVA. I heard the call go out over my scanner (I'm also a volunteer FF/EMT) and ifugred we would obviously get the patient and he'd be there by the time i got there. Make a long story short, came up from the OR with an SBP of 40...Epi, levo, fluids w/o. blood w/o, Iv's where ever you could stick one. Came in o nthe unit for 5 min with a full OR team, 2 Anesthesiologists, 2 Trauma Docs, 2 Trauma PAs, 3 RNs, an RRT..PT brady's down to 30s, pulseless, CPR, died within 10 minutes. Massive massive trauma, blood everywhere coming out of every single hole you could imagine. Father came in, couldn't look at me (who was doing compressions) or anyone, just said thank you over and over again, was bawling his eyes out. Just simply awful, and the the images of this kid are just burned into my retina's. I've done EMS for 10 years ad been an RN for 1.5 years and i'd rahter code 8740273647162 old people, than code someone so young. There is nothing easy about it..on a quick side note, would it be out of line if i went to he funeral mass ? I think no but if someone could PM me with an answer or advice id appreciate it..thanks

Milk Of Amnesia

I think it's a beautiful gesture, and if you feel it in your heart to go, I say by all means do it. I can't imagine what a parent goes through when dealing with losing a child in such an awful way. Trust me, your face is burned into that father's retinas, also. I don't think it's ever inappropriate to show someone that there is still good in the world. Although you didn't know their son, I think they would probably feel very touched knowing that in those few minutes that you were with him, he touched your life.

It's so nice to hear a story from someone who hasn't let this job turn them to stone. Your story is everything that makes me want to quit Nursing, and everything that drives me to continue!

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One of the scariest incidents that I ever dealt with happened when I was a fairly young nurse of 2yrs experience. It was the perfect storm. A woman was brought to the ER in the family car with a baby crowning. It was a little hospital and we had no gurney and no doctor in the building. The back seat doors were not operational and I had to climb over the backseat to get to the mom (in a dress and cap, I might add.) I had to deliver the baby onto the backseat with no sterile anything, by the light of the moon. It was 23 degrees outside and steam was rising from the baby's body. I put the baby on her stomach to induce some contractions and shortly delivered the placenta. Did i mention I had no light? Someone brought me a blanket and the husband helped me get the mother over the front seat and into a wheelchair. I had no idea if she was bleeding in the dark, if she was HIV positive , or the extent of her prenatal care. Only after I got her inside did I find out that she was a type 1 diabetic and this was her 11th baby :eek: She actually did very well and was discharged with her baby 2 days later. But I just about had a brown-out!

Incidently, I asked her why she waited so long to come to the hospital. She said she didn't wait. She said she had 3-4 contractions at home and came straight away. Then she told me her LAST baby was also delivered in the car. :uhoh3:

Wonder why she went to the hospital at all, better at home then in the back of a car.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
I work in Psych and the scariest thing I ever saw, was a very large male client came up to a tiny female client that was sitting in a chair. He yelled at her, said it was his chair and proceeded to pound her on the head repeatedly. Now, before I became a nurse, I served in the Marines for 6 years and have seen alot of crazy and scary things. This was by far the worst, though. I was frozen with fear for this poor lady. The only thought going through my head was, "Oh my God, he's going to kill her!" Luckily, he didn't. She DID suffer fractures to her fingers as she protected her head with her hands, and a mild concussion. Psych is usually interesting and rewarding work, but this one time really made me think about my choice of field.

just curious... w/ur training as a marine don't they teach you techniques to takedown/disable someone even if theyre bigger/stronger... just wondering if u stepped in to help her is all

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