You know its going to be a bad shift when...

[Adam D. RN2005]

Just as you're walking into the hospital for your shift, you hear "Code Blue" followed by your unit.

Eight of your patients have had 13 BM's, and it is not even the first hour. (Happened to me 3 weeks ago, wound up dealing with 27 bms that day)

All of your patients are restrainted and just happen to be related to Harry Hodieni.

Your coming on shift, and you see a patient from your unit making a break for the main entrance in their Birthday Suit followed by six nurses and two techs from your unit.

When the night shift (Or day shift) who doesn't smoke hands you a pack of cigarettes and says "Here, You'll need this."

During report on 605, night nurse laughs and refuses to tell you why.

When the night shift tells you good luck.

The night shift says it was quiet and hopes your day goes the same.

When the A/C breaks down and its 102 outside or the Heater goes and its -32 outside.

You only have one patient at report.

When you come into work, and everyone is bagging the vent patients, because of no power.

When you hear a doctor go "Oops."

The the Alheimers guy in 405 tries to climb into bed with Alheimers lady in 406, insisting they are married, let alone they live in two different states.

Five nurses call O/S for the 7 a to 7 p shift, and there are 30 total care patients with no techs.

When your patient has 72 different meds to be given during the day. (I have seen this one also.)

Feel free to add

Adam, RN

Passed my Boards 7/18/2005

[prmenrs, RN]

I used to know it was going to be at least interesting if my unit (a NICU) got mentioned on the 5:00 news! (This was quite a few years ago when infant transporting was just getting started!)

[LydiaNN]

I had to go the ER for some stitches a few years ago. The staff plastic surgeon sewed me up while entertaining me with a story about his brother who did an internship in NYC and had a cab driver come in after being attacked with a machete. I'd say that qualifies in the "bad night" category, too.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

When the charge nurse says: "Oh, thank God you're here!!" and hands you a laundry list of all the tasks that need to be done.........

No kidding.......one day I came in and was given a sheet of paper with the following assignments:

IV start in 203-1

Direct admit in 222-2

Post-op knee coming in 15 minutes to 208-2

2nd unit of blood verified and started in 210

Lunch relief for 12-hour nurses between 1130-1330

Discharge patient in 201

Orders noted for LPNs taking care of 205-1, 217-1, 223-2, 224, and 226

Pre-op checklist done and LR/ABX hung for patient in 219 who's going to surgery @ noon

2 potential admits from ER

Check w/ manager if you run out of things to do before 1500.......she has some projects she wants someone to work on

[PeachyOrthoRN, RN]

You know it's gonna be a bad night when you have 4 codes called within the first two hours of your shift!!!

[suebird3]

you have 5 discharge to hospitals, at least 56 residents with new orders, and 2 doctors "just" left the facility, and 5 residents are being re-admitted.....during the aforementioned full moon! (Let's NOT even mention the code in the middle of this chaos!)

[dinkymouse]

...when you get to your nursing home and find that only 1 of the day shift aides has shown up and the rest have ridiculous reasons for being late. When an aide who is always late says it is the nurses responsibility to do the feeders and you only have 2 nurses for the entire facility. When said aide, who should have been fired long ago, yells at a nurse across the dining room and uses the f word. When you show up after 3 days orientation and find your charge for the whole facility. :rotfl:

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

When you walk in the door and the night nurse say's "Im so glad you are here, did you clock in dear".........

[PeachyOrthoRN, RN]

When you walk in for your shift and the first patient you see is someone trying to "eat" through their restraints!! Can you say Full Moon! :chuckle

[witnurse]

:uhoh21: I work in a 16 bed CAH Rural Hospital. Some of our bad nights might be tame to most of you, but here goes

You know it is going to be a bad night/shift when:

1.You are driving up the hill to the hospital and the ambulance screaming up the road behind you forces you off the road into a snow bank :angryfire

2. You are usually in 30 minutes prior to your shift but the 3 year old at home puked on you as you were leaving so you are pulling in to the parking lot 3 minutes before your shift and there are no vehicles from the night shift there but yours

3.Your DON calls an hour before your shift begging you to come as soon as possible to take two new admissions because all the other nurses are working on the last 6 admissions

4. You hear the chopper blades as you get out of the car and as you walk by the helipad you hear the ED doc yell to the pilot to move out ASAP as there is another chopper waiting to land

5. The parking lot is filled with big trucks pulling trailers full of snow machines and fish and game has a line up of folks taking sobriety tests :angryfire

6. It is cold, snowy and Friday Saturday or Sunday :)

7. It is hot, sunny and Friday Saturday or Sunday :)

8. The CEO is answering the phone at the Nurse's Station and no one else is in sight :rotfl:

9. It is prom night and there are 25 teenagers milling around the emergency room door smoking and walking unsteadily

10. You are assigned to be House Supervisor. You sit down to report and count 2 less people than there should be. The brand new traveler, the new grad, the slowest nurse on staff and the LNA who has a huge chip on her shoulder and thinks all the nurses look down on her and, finally, the only nurse on staff who actually does look down on your LNAs. (not)

P.S. All true stories!

Eeyore

[pie123]

I work in Memphis TN ER. Every August during "Elvis death week", we get bombarded with Elvis "look-a-likes" - mostly intoxicated, few Diabetics out of control, etc...One in particular, is a regular. Once his blood sugar gets closer to normal, he'll sing for us and other pts (whether we want him to or not).

Elvis death week? I have never heard of this :chuckle. I'm sure this is an interesting time at your hospital. I live in Las Vegas, & see Elvis mpersonators from time-to-time. I couldn't imagine being bombarded with them.

[JBudd, MSN]

- When you walk up to the employee entrance and 2 nurses from the previous shift are out there smoking and they say "turn around and RUN, you don't want to be here!"

- You get report that OB is taking our overflow cause we are full and so is ICU, (We are a med surg unit) Then ER calls for beds so they can keep patients till anyone has empty rooms. We had to get maintenance to get a couple of beds out of storage. This was last night! I don't want to go back tonight!

When you walk into the ER at 7 PM, and out of 20 beds plus the 6 in the hall, there are already 7 HFTN signs up on the board (here for the night) and housekeeping is hunting for hospital beds to put them on. Then you get 5 more HFTN admits, which leaves only 8 actual rooms to be used on getting patients out of the waiting room seen and moved out again, instead of 20. And the night docs are fussing that there are too many charts waiting, and they should be brought back faster because the evening docs will be leaving, so there will only be 2 on instead of 4 to split up the load, and since we have "empty" beds in the hall because the HFTNs are on hospital beds why can't we use them? (Ah, because they're in the back hall, and I don't have that many nurses? or monitors?)

[mbrester]

A skunk sprays the AC unit outside and fills the entire

second floor of the hospital with scent, including the sleep study bedroom. LOVELY at 2am. This happened to my husband last week. He was not impressed.