[commonrn]

Taking off my elderly patient’s socks like

[kdougs95]

I’m going to hell for this one.

[nurselovinsxo]

I laughed way too hard at this, but seriously though.

[sterileapparel]

Had a patient say this through his trach last weekend, but didn’t chart it lol

[thegraymethod]

When a nurse floats to you from another unit and starts adjusting the lights and thermostat, and complaining about your coworkers, and telling you not to eat at the station

[jettii-kenobi]

Who even does that?

[copingnurse-deactivated20240217]

Management: “Did you update the whiteboard?” Me:

[moniquill]

So I’m a phlebotomist. And sometimes, I work at a site that is directly adjacent to an endocrinologist. Which means I see and take blood from a lot of folks that are trans, or nonbinary, or gender nonconforming.

Do you have any fucking idea how easy it is, in customer-service speak, to respect someone’s gender?

I mean, I’ve had super awkward situations where I have to say things like ‘I’m sorry, that name isn’t coming up in our system. Is there another name…“ And without fail they provide their deadname and I plug it in and I say ‘Ok, that came up, do you want me to fix that in our system?” And they say ‘Yes’ and then I ADD IT AS A SYNOMYMOUS NAME. Same as I would for someone recently married or divorced. The end.

I have never experienced a situation in which I have felt motivated to ask someone’s pronouns.

I have had situations in which I have thought to myself ‘I have no idea if this person is ‘sir’ or ‘ma'am’ and instead have gone ‘Next patient please?’ or ‘I can help who’s next’ or ‘I can help you now’ while looking directly at them.

I have had situations where I’ve gone ‘I’m like 90% certain that I’ve been given a record with this person’s deadname because this name does not match at all the gender presentation of the person I’m looking at’ And I say ‘Ok, can you spell your last name for me? Ok, spell your first name? And your date of birth?’

and then I quietly write ‘preferred name [the name they just spelled] on the top of thier record.

THIS IS NOT HARD.

And if this is not hard for me, as a person working in medicine who has to make certain that the person I’m talking to is the same person on the medical record that I’m looking up, how much easier must it be for, say, a barista who doesn’t give half a fuck who you are? I’ve BEEN a barista in the past. If a Barista is asking your pronouns, that person is an asshole.

[miridai]

[lamentations44]

Deserted but not Alone.

It was one of those shifts. One that dragged on and on and was mostly spent with the nurses huddled together at the station, giggling over something ridiculous a patient said.  It was low-key and low drama.  Perfect for seasoned nurses; a real bore for new ones.   Our manager, a gem of a lady, came through handing out shots of expresso to boost us.

We were all laughing and having fun when my charge nurse said quietly, “ Do you think we could move this group into bed 7?”  

I looked at her surprised.

“How come?” I questioned immediately.  Her response was equally quick.

“He was just made comfort measures, they are starting morphine … and he has no family here or that’s coming.”  

We all immediately stopped lounging and got up.  Our orientees dogging our steps, we filed into the room.  All 9 of us on the floor.  We took turns murmuring our hellos or simply squeezing his hand.  He peered at us and nodded.  He had been on our unit for a few weeks and we had all, at some point, encountered him.  He was simply adorable.  His wife had severe dementia and didn’t know him anymore.  His only son was estranged.  His neighbors had already said their goodbyes.  

One of the nurses who had him the most leaned over to him and said quietly in his ear.

“Your wife is ok.  She will be taken care of…” she paused and squeezed his hand, “You’re with friends now, ok?”  

He opened his eyes and looked around glassy eyed as his oxygen levels dropped.  9 figures in blue surrounded him.  He nodded briefly and closed his blue eyes.

“My friends.” He repeated to himself over and over.

Tears clouded every eye in the room and the ones closest laid a hand on him as we watched silently as the color drifted from his cheeks.

The new nurses looked around nervously as death came into the room.  The rest of us were stoic with shimmers of tears threatening to spill over as we watched the last bit of life drain from his face.

I stepped back and discreetly surveyed the room.  All eyes were either looking down or at him.  Bittersweet smiles on their faces as they knew he was at peace.  9 nurses, side by side, grieved for this man whose family was unable to do so.   It was in that moment that I could see how lost the hospital would be without nurses, how sterile and heartless it would become.   I stood with 9 of my coworkers who work short staffed constantly and nearly half have been hit or bitten since I have worked with them.  They are degraded, ignored and yelled at by patients, families and staff… and yet they are the most humane, sincere group I have ever known.

This patient died without family.

But he did not die alone.

[licensetomurse-deactivated20200]

This is beautiful. This is why I became a nurse.

[nursingistheshit]

Dealing with that useless doc who doesn’t answer pages, doesn’t put in any orders, and writes notes without seeing patients

[nbcnightlynews]

WATCH: Utah nurse forcibly arrested for refusing to give a patient’s blood samples to police – http://nbcnews.to/2gvCHAb

[licensetomurse-deactivated20200]

I saw this last night and my first reaction was shock. Then came the anger. Then outrage. The hospital policy was clear. The nursing supervisor even said over the phone that the police department had agreed to the policy. And let’s be very clear, hospital policies are not written on a whim. They are reviewed by a legion of attorneys and then reviewed again.

The other thing I cannot wrap my mind around is why the blood draw was so damn important? The driver of the tractor trailer was not at fault from what I could ascertain. The suspect being chased crossed over intro oncoming traffic and his the semi head on. So, why the urgency for the blood draw? If the officer had cause, then a judge could have easily signed a search warrant in a matter of minutes.

This soi-disant police officer should absolutely lose his job. He is clearly incapable of using his position of power responsibly. I understand that people make mistakes, but this goes far beyond that. When a police officer abuses their position they further erode whatever trust the public has left in law enforcement.

More importantly I am proud of the nurse! She protected her patient and for the millions of people who have watched that video, they clearly saw how one profession protect a member of the public while the other profession abused their power.

Nurses are the most trusted professionals in the United States and this video is just an example of why nurses have been at the top of the list for the last 15 years.

[copingnurse-deactivated20240217]

When we think we’re getting a mess of an admit, but they’re fine when they arrive...

[confessionsofanewgradnurse]

Trying to persuade someone to help me out in my iso room...

[nurse-x-ramblings]

The next time someone asks you why you didn’t become a doctor instead of a nurse, tell them you will give them $5 if they can actually list 10 things a nurse really does. Then tell them you will give them $100 if they can list a singular valid reason why one job is considered more important than the other. Then tell them you only barter in Monopoly money, since you don’t gamble with life or stupid questions.

Health Care Life Hacks 💵💰 (via nurse-x-ramblings)

[licensetomurse-deactivated20200]

When the defibrillator is done charging and you're ready to deliver the shock

[mother-trillest-archive]

[tattooednurse01]

When people ask me what I’m doing on my days off. #nurseprobs #nurse4life #nightshift #iworkallnightandisleepallday #nightnurse (at Valley Medical Center)

[copingnurse-deactivated20240217]

Me, when visitors violate my patient’s privacy by staring as they walk through the unit...