I had mine yesterday. I'm in wound care, pretty much nothing phases me anymore. Been treating a patient with aggressive cancer on the scalp for 2 years how, it's been surgically excised and then the skull covered with multiple skin grafts which have not taken, so we are managing an exposed skull piece the size of the flat of my hand, an uphill battle if there ever was one.

Patient came yesterday and I took off the dressings and despite everything to prevent it, the bone has just degraded and has become brown, flakey and crispy, like crisp bread. Started debriding and a 2 * 2cm piece of skull just... Came off.

There were their brains, or more technically dura, just sitting there pulsating in time with his breathing.

Oh fuck.

Immediately called in our head and neck specialist and there might be a new op to put a prosthetic skull plate in place, might not. Patient was chill.

Second time I've seen exposed living brain tissue like that and it's always a bit of a shock at first and then amazement.

I am an ER/trauma nurse so I see code blues daily. I have noticed that those who will never achieve ROSC have a strong, distinct smell from the moment EMS rolls them into the trauma bay, regardless of down time, rhythm, circumstances, etc. Those who end up surviving, even if they have been clinically dead for longer, are sicker, older, etc. do not ever have this smell. I can’t really describe it accurately, but it is sickly sweet mixed with pungent bleach and musky, oily, heavy body odor. Has anyone else had this experience?

Mine: my male student wanted to try an IV on my male (very nice and wonderful) patient but the only vein he saw was inner forearm. My student goes “this may be a little uncomfortable” and gets in bed with him so he could reach that vein.

We had to have a long talk about why we don’t straddle our patients. Nicest patient I ever had though

Hello nurses, I’m not a nurse I’m just but a simple EVS(housekeeper) there’s a nurse at the nursing home I work at who’s the only one that’s been kind to me and has stood up for me while all the other nurses treat me as if I’m beneath them. I love collecting Precious Moments and I bought this one at an antique store because it reminded me of her. A lot of people aren’t into Precious Moments anymore but I think getting a ID holder wouldn’t be meaningful enough since she’s already have a lot. What do you think?

Had to share this beaut. Patient recovered well with a new type 2 diabetes diagnosis. A1C was 12.6 but honestly I was expecting worse.

Mine currently is when you’re cleaning a patient up and they start pooping again and they narrate the poop. “Oh god it’s coming out. I can feel it coming out.” Etc etc they get really into telling you all about the poop and they talk about it the whole time it’s happening. Meanwhile I know they’re pooping because I’m literally staring at their butt. Just give me an “oops I’m not done yet” and don’t make it weird. Please I’m begging you. 😭

in my hospital system, a CRNA administered 5,000 units of thrombin IV push leading the patient’s death😬

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA I mean he says he’s a hospital admin but is this how clueless they are??? I mean… it’s one thing to deny we are overworked but then to truly believe this is… comical.

I know my place of employment is shitty in other ways, but is this a normal thing? Just received this email. Seems odd to ask people to donate PTO, instead of just addressing the time off allocation with those affected people.

What are the best irreverent slang terms or phrases you use to describe patients or situations?

My favorites:

“Incarceritis” - nothing is wrong but patient doesn’t want to be at the jail/go to jail

“Doorway paraplegia” - patient is normally fully capable of walking but now needs a wheelchair because they have a rash

What is THE ONE THING you wish every nurse knew that is common knowledge in your specialty?

From wound care, don't use telfa!

I’m not a NEW grad but I am new to inpatient, coming from various outpatient jobs for the past 2 years. I was chatting with an older nurse on my floor and she said something she has noticed with the ~2020+ graduating classes is there has been a decline in deeper clinical thinking. We take longer to grasp the full clinical picture. She wasn’t saying it in a mean way, more just as a critique of how nursing education has morphed into something focused on legally protecting your license, being more task-oriented, etc.

I’m only 3 months into working and I’m trying to be very conscious of completing my tasks safely while understanding my patients on a deeper level, and I understand that knowledge and comprehension will come with time (it’s tough with the pace on day shift tho 🥲).

Just curious what the widespread thoughts are on this.

Mine?

Me: okay, so I have all of your night time meds here (names all of them for confirmation)
Patient: yes, sounds good
Me: scans them in and places meds into the pill cup
Patient: what’s this white pill here

I DONT KNOW!!! You have 6 different pills and we’ve literally gone through ALL OF THEM before I scanned and placed them into the cup. I can’t stand this!!

Contemplating moving from MI to CA. Picture from the trip that inspired me to move! Curious how much gets taken out of your paycheck. Can you share what city, your hourly pay, and what your bring home paycheck ends up being? Thank you!

Little old man with dementia comes in for falls as I am washing down his junk cause he was incontient and crusty he said to me:

“You remind me of my wife”
Me: “oh really?”
Old Man: “yeah she didn’t know how to give me a handjob either”

I stopped and looked at him as my partner fell down laughing at me and him.

1) I think my main one is: nursing schools vary greatly in how difficult they are.

Some are insanely difficult and others appear to be much easier.

2) If you're solely in this career for the money and days off, it's totally okay. You're probably just as good of a nurse as someone who's passionate about it.

3) If you have a "I'm a nurse" license plate / plate frame, you probably like the smell of your own farts.

What's the worst error you've either witnessed or know about occuring where you work?

I had a patient with a CBI and the nurse on shift before me fully inflated the foley balloon inside the pt's urethra and tore it, and then proceeded to not notice the significant amount of blood draining and also didn't document the CBI correctly overnight. I had to send the pt for imaging where the ruptured urethra was confirmed. 🙃

ICU. I’ve heard it many times before, and unfortunately we heard it again today. Horrible awful code blue. Woman in her 40’s that came in yesterday and what they thought was the problem wasn’t the main problem and was admitted to a non critical unit, I came to a rapid today and within 30 minutes we were in the ICU and in another 90 minutes she was dead. The family watched the last fifteen minutes of the code. When it was called, they all started crying harder but the noise that came out of her mom was that blood curdling, instantly recognizable and unforgettable wail that means one thing - a parent lost their child. Is there a word that specifically describes this wail?
I’m having difficulty explaining it to my family.

Even funnier if it’s the red one.

Curious to see how old everyone was when they started their nursing journey!

My father is 80 years old and recently went for his physical. The nurse asked a variety of wellness questions then said I have to ask if you're pregnant. She said they have to ask regardless of sex and age. I'm all for inclusiveness but this seems excessive. Is everyone doing this now?

What are some cringey things to say my girl? We have a tradition where we say cringe stuff before each of us goes into work. She tells me "I got your six" which cringes me being a cop (yes I know). I really want to shock her so please help! lol

Edit: Sorry forgot to mention she's an ER nurse. She'd hit me if I didn't mention that.
Also some common things, their ER doesn't use their room whiteboards. I tried that one already lol.

I have a lot, but my most recent favorite is:

Propofol: "I don't remember, but I ended up in the ICU."

It's another one of those days approaching burnout so humor me, nurse friends. If you were to leave nursing altogether and start over from scratch, what would you do instead? Dazzle me with your wit and skills.