We asked some of our nursing friends to tell us about their most embarrassing moments at work.
The results were shocking, cringe-worthy, and some . . . just downright funny!
What is your most embarrassing moment?!?! (*hint* we are asking you to share…. in the comments below or on social media )
It wasn’t me but I died laughing and the patient thought it was funny.
We were hanging blood and it wasn’t running well so a coworker went to extend the pole up and wasn’t paying attention.
She took it so high that the line pulled out of the blood and the bag of blood went all over her! She looked like Carrie from the prom scene. It was so funny we about all peed our pants.
Housekeeping didn’t find it funny though….
I had a patient call 911 on me
I was removing a male patient's catheter and the balloon would NOT deflate! I was told to cut the catheter and instead of cutting at the balloon port I cut the actual tube….balloon was still intact!
So now I was stuck with a Foley, no bag to drain into, and a very upset on-call urologist. The patient had to be taken to surgery to have it removed.
***side note surgery was imminent anyway bc when the patient came in intoxicated and the ER placed the cath said the patient thought it was a good idea to swing the Foley bag around in circles causing an internal “kink”
My coworker had a patient that had some sort of esophageal repair and the patient had NG tube that was sutured in.
Somehow it came out, and she instinctively put it back in… which caused the patient to bleed, tear the esophagus, and go back to the OR! Ahhh!
I called a patient’s wife his mother
Once I had a post-op CABG that had his external pacing wires still.
I was getting him OOB and one of the wires fell and got stuck in the bed, when he stood up it popped out! So I inadvertently removed his pacing wire early!
I told the CV surgeon – expecting to get yelled at – and he was actually nice about it and said that that patient did go in and out VTACH in the OR and he wanted to leave them in a few extra days….
. . .but it was too late now!
I sprayed chemo pee on my CNA.
I was walking a liver patient in the hall… a very confused man.
We called him the pirate because he talked like a pirate . . .
Halfway down the hall, he starts pooping all over the place. We had nowhere to put him, nothing to stop the mess . . . it was terrible.
I asked a double amputee where his socks were.
Once I had to push activated charcoal down an OG tube. I pushed so hard the pressure caused the OG tube to fly off the syringe.
Black slimy charcoal sprayed all over the patient’s face… and the bed, floor, wall, monitor, etc. The patient was on a vent and we couldn’t get the tubing to come completely clean.
I had to admit my accident to the whole family who was already mortified that their beloved 20-year-old was vented, but now she was vented and looked like a horror story.
What is your most embarrassing moment as a nurse or nursing student?