Would Love to Hear Worst Student Nurse Fumbles

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Hey All!

I'm an I.C.U/ E.R. nurse about to get into the precepting game. While it's not quite the same as teaching newbies (I'll be teaching mostly experienced nurses) I would absolutely LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT SOME OF THE TRICKIEST, STICKIEST AND MOST UNBELIEVABLE SITUATIONS YOU HAVE FOUND YOURSELF IN WITH A NEWBIE!!

Thanks so much-

Looking for lessons to learn from and get a chuckle or two while I can-

Sonny

Specializes in Paediatrics.

I was working on an ENT ward and we had a patient admitted with severe vertigo, a newly qulified nurse was asked to give paracetamol suppositories, I entered the room to find a them sticking out of his ears.

Another incident, I was standing in the nurse station after a ward round (alot of nurses and doctors in the station) when a first year student on her first placement ran into the ward and straight to the nurse manager 'Mr M is suffering from constipation, he has not had a motion for 3 days, I asked him what he takes at home and she said Semtex, with a very proud smile, followed by producing his chart 'will I get the Doctor to order it'? Everyone laughed and she just stood there not knowing- I would like to point out she is now a nurse manager and a very good one.

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I was working on an ENT ward and we had a patient admitted with severe vertigo, a newly qulified nurse was asked to give paracetamol suppositories, I entered the room to find a them sticking out of his ears.

Dear lord, that completely made me bust a gut. I could not imagine actually being there to witness that. It would have doubled me over.

Last semester we lost a classmate. It was her second time taking the class, but now she is OUT of the entire program.

Here's why:

She passes the instructor and a fellow student in the hallway during clinical.

The instructor asks how she's doing.

The student tells the instructor all's well but her pt is bleeding.

Really?

Yup.

The student seemed rather blase about it and this rather alarmed the instructor.

The instructor asks the student, "So what are you going to do about it?"

The student replied, "Change the bedsheets."

:uhoh3:

So the instructor and fellow student hurry to her patient's room where they find a low o2 sat and bp...

Ok.

After the patient was stabilized, the instructor gives this student ONE LAST CHANCE to redeem herself:

"So, Student X... NOW what would you do?"

The student:

"Well... I guess I wouldn't change the sheets..."

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

This was a 2nd year student, btw.

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

Another incident, I was standing in the nurse station after a ward round (alot of nurses and doctors in the station) when a first year student on her first placement ran into the ward and straight to the nurse manager 'Mr M is suffering from constipation, he has not had a motion for 3 days, I asked him what he takes at home and she said Semtex, with a very proud smile, followed by producing his chart 'will I get the Doctor to order it'? Everyone laughed and she just stood there not knowing- I would like to point out she is now a nurse manager and a very good one.

Ok You get to laugh all over again because I have no idea what SEmtex is! (I hope I'm not the only one!)

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

I don't know what Semtex is either.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
I don't know what Semtex is either.

I've never heard of it either.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

I am not a nurse educator but as an ICU nurse I often precept senior BSN students. On night the student and I where getting report from the ER nurse on a young female trauma patient. As part of the report we where told she had a cervical fracture. The student nurse turned to me with eyes wide open and said "HOW DID SHE FACTURE HER CERVIX!?"

It only took a second of reading the look on the ER nurse's and my face for her to realize her mistake. That student now works in our ICU and is a fine nurse but I occasionaly like to remind her of the patient with a factured cervix.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I don't know what Semtex is either.

*** A type of plastic explosive. Like C-4.

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

....remember the old Saturday Night Live episode in which they talked about "Colon Blow"? THAT is Semtex!! :hpygrp:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
....remember the old Saturday Night Live episode in which they talked about "Colon Blow"? THAT is Semtex!! :hpygrp:

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: ----eee-yup, I remember! Some things are just indelible. Was that the one with the song to the tune of "Fever" by Elvis Presley? "Fiber, bulk and roughage, fiber all through the night, gimme fiber. . ."

My class must not have been terribly fumble prone- the only one I heard was from two red-faced classmates at lunch. The first one was asked to assist an elderly gentleman with the urinal, however, due to an unfortunate combination of skin folds and small genitalia, she couldn't locate his member- and asked another student to help. So both were in there lifting skin and peering in getting more flustered as the man patiently waited. . . poor guy. Not sure if they ended up calling the instructor to help them. In a way I hope not- even if he wasn't a/o- if it takes 3 people to find your organ that's gotta hurt your pride.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

Very young inexperienced White nursing student (early twenties) in her first semester of nursing school. For her first clinical experience, she was assigned an older African American gentleman. Student to patient, "Hi, I'm ____. I'm going to be your student nurse today and you're going to be my guinea pig!" :eek: :eek: :eek: I about fell through the floor. The elderly patient, however, did not seem offended and took it all in stride. Of course, I was quick to correct the student once out of earshot of the patient and other students.

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Specializes in community health.

when I was in nursing school a fellow student, who was on thin ice already, dragged the end of an IV line thru a trash can and across the floor prior to going to hooking it up, in front of our our clinical instructor, who was the dean of the nursing school... the instructor had to physically stop the student form hooking up the IV. the girl was booted form the program

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

when i was a brand new graduate being precepted, i needed two ice bags (they weren't disposable back then) and there were no more in the utility room. hmmm?? what to do? my precepter was tied up and i decided to apply some critical thinking. i grabbed four ziplock bags, put one inside the other and... voila! two ice bags! they worked just fine until the stupid ice was about half melted. fortunately, the patient thought it was funny. so did my preceptor, who coughed, excused herself, and beat a hasty retreat to the hall.

i was still a student and we still used glass thermometers. after use, we peeled the covers off and soaked them. the dirty ones were kept in a case to protect them until cleaned and sterilized. unfortunately for me, that oblong holder fit into my pocket. my instructor assigned another task before i had taken them to the dirty utility room, so into my pocket they went. as i was leaning over a patient, helping transfer her, the container slid out, opened, spewing thermometers everywhere. the good thing was that they went onto the bed with the patient and not onto the floor and none broke.

my instructor that semester was scary. just imagine a cross between nurse ratchet and hot lips houlihan. i can still hear her needle sharp voice in my head, "katherine! what have you just done?"

moral of both stories?

honor level grades do not guarantee common sense on the floor.

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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