Possibly the best question ever...

[GravyRPH]

I had what I think may very well be my all time nurse question to date that I had to share....

While working yesterday morning, one of my most inquiring nurses in the OR called to ask me a compatibility question....
"Gravy, is Zofran compatible with blood?"


My response was, " I sure as well hope so."


Gotta love it.

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[baggywrinkle]

You protect them from themselves - that's why you make the BIG bucks. The question which she didn't ask - the one that would scare the hell out of you, is how does she grind up the tablets fine enough so as not to clog the IV line. Yes, I know Zofran comes in IV form, and no I'm not joking. Just think Maalox IV push and we are talking about the same nurse!

Just the same, they are sweet in their innocence.

All nursing programs are not created equal. The nurses of Mount Mercy College take gross anatomy and dissect their own cadaver - two to a body. The nurses of the University of Iowa take a single drug class open to freshman called "Drugs their nature action and use" This class was popular as an elective among pharmacy seniors. They could sign up for the class then only show up on exam days for an easy A......

 

[gdk420]

A nurse once ask my friend, "Hey i don't have vitamin B12, can I use 2 vitamin B6?" Another nurse told my pharmacist, hey I see u are taking cyclosporin, when in fact, my pharmacist was taking cephlasporin for a bacterial infection.

 

[jdpharmd?]

These are all really funny, but we have to remember that nurses do a lot more than drugs, and they probably save our butts on rotations more than we imagine. They do a hard job and don't get nearly the respect or the pay that they deserve. That being said, keep the funny stories coming!

 

[baggywrinkle]

Nurses, God bless em, are the backbone of healthcare.

Nothing could be accomplished without them. Ever wonder what happens to the leg during a total hip replacement? Does it flop on the floor, do they throw it in a box? No, a nurse stands there holding the leg patiently waiting for super surgeon to pull his finger out and connect everything back together, no matter how many hours it takes.

It is my personal feeling that no physician should be allowed to practice till he has done time (say a semester) under the watchful eye of a charge nurse on the general medical floor. It would do wonders for their ego and bedside manner. I can say this because I served my time and I know what they do.

You know you are a nurse when you can step down the hall with a fresh bedpan in one hand and a peanut butter sandwich in the other with no worries mate!

Be good to your nurses. They need you.

 

[Dr JPH]

How about this question from a pharmacist...

Doc to pharmacist "I realize that it is a high dose of steroids, but the patient has multiple myeloma."

Pharmacist to doc "Multiple myseloma...I see...so whats wrong with her liver again?"


You figure it out.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Or how about the physician that ordered calcium CARBONATE to be added to his hyperalimentation...

you figure it out...

 

[Triangulation]

Or to my primary care doc at SC student health who I had to correct regarding generic vs trade. She was convinced that the difference bw generic and trade was the PERCENTAGE OF DRUG!!!! I don't know htf she was writing scripts for fluoxetine. "You were taking 1 prozac per day, but your insurance will only coverage generic so take.....lemme see....1.28 tabs per day of fluox"

There's nothing to figure out there JPHazelton. That doc was just dangerously misinformed. Save your stories for other people that are misinformed.

 

[Triangulation]

Oh yeah, and I agree don't start bashing on nurses. The brightest person i know is a nursing administrator at UCLA. She runs her own dept that she helped design, makes 90K and gets to travel whenever she wants. She's 27 yrs old and graduated with a BS in nursing from the University of Washington.

I'm sure the nurses have plenty of stories about doctors and pharmacists with their heads up their @sses too.

 

[GravyRPH]

Of course they do! But that doesn't mean we can't laugh a little while at work. I wasn't trying to bash nurses, far from it, but we do get some funny questions at times that I thought we could all get a smile at.

Bah.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Originally posted by GravyRPH
Of course they do! But that doesn't mean we can't laugh a little while at work. I wasn't trying to bash nurses, far from it, but we do get some funny questions at times that I thought we could all get a smile at.

Bah.

I know exactly where you are coming from Gravy. There are several categories of nurses. Those you admire, those that you fear, those you wouldn't mind dating, those you pal around with and tell dirty jokes to, and those who make you shrug your shoulders and say a silent prayer for in wonder and worry.

That last category. Don't look too deeply into their eyes. You might see the back of their head....

OH COME ON, lighten up.

It's okay to be their guardian angel and still have some fun. I remember a pedi nurse that absolutely drove my partner and I to drink she was so frustrating. We bashed her all the time. But she was a pain in our butts because she cared for her kids and we missed her - I never thought I'd say that - when she left.