Why is it? Things nurses do other people can't

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Why is it.......

Nurses can be cleaning a patient up that just had a huge code brown and at the same time be thinking about what to have for lunch?

Anyone else have any quirks that you do in the course of your nursing day that would make normal? people sick?

Pam

Specializes in Acute Care.

Deciding that an unused, washed out urinal makes an excellent beer stein at your graduation party.

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Specializes in Wound & Ostomy care, Hyperbarics, Neuro.

:chuckle lol, I was just thinking this the other day..wolfed down my lunch literally 2 minutes before I went in a patients home to do a Vac midline wound dressing - with a distinct odor of pseudomonas :bluecry1: Didnt phase me though AND kept the chicken nuggets down!:up:

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Specializes in OB.

Was sitting outside of ER with a fellow OB nurse discussing a patient's difficulties with breastfeeding - talking over various techniques and didn't even realize we were doing the "hands on" demo thing (as in "I've found that this position/hand hold works well..") until a peds nurse walked out, said "I don't even want to know!" and went right back inside.

Or when a fellow nurse emails you serial pictures of her postop knee "You can see the bone in this one" so you can follow her healing progress.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.
WHY were you looking at pics of baby poo?

At a breastfeeding seminar, they show various pics of breastfed baby poo....to know how much is enough, and what BF baby poo looks like vs bottlefed baby. Been there done that.

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Sitting at home eating dinner watching antomy videos, Discections and sugurys when a friend come in and is grossed out. They wonder how I can be eating.

Can watch an anatomy video then go to lunch. Can describe nearly anything they see or smell at the hospital in food terms. (That's me.)

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I have talked about the G.I while eating lunch, in great detail til someone told me to shut up. (revision)

I told the tale of a woman who had poop on her hands and was trying to touch my hair and face, then go and eat Chocolate.

I speak to causal about my studies, forgetting others don't like the grossness of the human body! :OP

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Specializes in Med surg, Critical Care, LTC.

I have to be careful. My children grew up with me talking about my job, so "gross' things don't bother them.

My husband is an EMT, so those types of discussions are rampant around our dinner table, my daughter in a CNA going for her RN - so need I say more.

Recently, my daughters boyfriends parents were coming to our house for dinner, we hadn't met them before. My daughter gave us a brief lecture on being careful on what we talk about at dinner. She's right, we sometimes forget that not everyone does what we do for a living, and not everyone can tolerate those types of discussions.

I, even after 8 years in the ER, have difficulty listen to my husband talk about body removals and the condition of the corpse, or tragic MVA's with teens involved.

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Specializes in Peds (previous psyc/SA briefly).

Babs - yes! I just ditto you.

Nurses can mold their children into mad scientists before the age of 5! But not always in a good way, I guess.

Hubby is a medic who is now in the cath lab... he brought my 9 year old daughter to see me on Christmas Eve - and unfortunately caught me walking out of the trauma room during an unsuccessful code of a very young MVC victim...

My older child has already volunteered on the floor - and seen a GREAT external fixator (a sort of messy one) in close detail that would make most people barf. She thought it was cool and helped do pin care. She's tried to start an IV on me. She likes to watch Discovery Health (not the 39 children shows.)

I sometimes think we warp her. But she's a cool kid. REALLY! And I have never understood why people can't stand talking about hospital stuff - I mean, what, were they born in a barn?? ;)

But yeah, I do NOT miss my husband being on a truck. I so hear you.

Take care....

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Why is it.......

Nurses can be cleaning a patient up that just had a huge code brown and at the same time be thinking about what to have for lunch?

Anyone else have any quirks that you do in the course of your nursing day that would make normal? people sick?

Pam

As a male I have never met a group of females who are as willing to talk about personal issues as female nurses. During lunch I've had coworkers telling about their constipation or gas problems.

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Specializes in progressive care telemetry.
Can watch an anatomy video then go to lunch. Can describe nearly anything they see or smell at the hospital in food terms. (That's me.)

A coworker of mine does the same. Yesterday our pt's urine was cherry colored, today it was watermelon colored. Made me want some fruit salad.

:chuckle

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