'They Definitely Didn't Prepare Me For This.' Student Nurses Reveal The Craziest Thing That Ever Happened To Them During Training.
1. Once I went to go check on an elderly woman in a nursing home and I walked in on poop completely smeared on every wall in the bathroom and all on the floor. She was sitting there smiling. Welcome to nursing!
2. I was taking care of a patient with late stage parkinsons disease who was bedridden. He suffered from really bad contractures which means his arms were rigidly immobilized and he barely had use of his legs. The facility had him in a brief (aka an adult diaper) and my fellow student and I were in charge of changing him after he pooped all over himself that morning. There was feces everywhere, and it seemed to take forever to get him completely cleaned up. Just as we thought we were finished, the man stopped us. He asked if we would put lotion on his testicles and pull down his foreskin over his penis before we finished. The other student and I looked at each other in panic, but we had no choice than to do what he said because he obviously couldnt do it himself. Thanks to nursing school, I can now say I have lotioned up an elderly mans balls and wrestled his foreskin into submission all in the name of learning.
3. The bullying and the way student nurses are completely ignored. My first ever placement my mentor didnt even talk to me for the first 2 weeks. Many days didnt even stop for a break during shifts. Nursing in the UK is in a really bad place, we need to protect our student nurses and stamp out the bullying. Not many students are making it to graduation between money and conditions. We should all be very worried for what the future holds for nursing care in the NHS.
4. Hello I am a third year nursing student!
Well for starters, every day is crazy. But this one time I was caring for an elderly patient who did not have much control of her bowels.
With a little help from another nurse, we lifted this patient up in an overhead sling to provide some cleaning to her bottom. This is normally a time when patients do have a bowel movement due to the more upright position that they are in. Just as we are about to lower the lift I hear a rippling sound come out of her backside and quickly step out of the way just in time to (Continued)
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dodge the missile of [poop] that came shooting out of her rectum. Of course, I kept composed and did not laugh or make any rude gestures towards her but I was dying on the inside, like literally dying.
5. On my first day on my first placement as a student nurse, I was looking after a dementia patient, and no one told me he had a fake eye. I was horrified when he pulled his eye out of its socket and rolled it down the corridor. I went running after it to give it back to him he washed it in his orange juice and put it back in his socket while I stood there in surprise. Later that week, the same man threw a bowl of soup at me. It was still hot. My reflexs got a lot better after that.
6. A confused elderly lady once cupped my balls, kissed me on the cheek, and giggled like a school girl while I checked her back and bottom for pressure sores. I couldnt face what might happen if I did an ECG so had to beg another student to do it.
7. Had a cellphone shoved up my bum hole while i was changing his plasters from surgery. i was the one who needed surgery after that.
8. I answered a call bell pressed by a patient I had assisted onto a commode thinking he was finished, instead he said he needed some help and asked me to massage his poo out for him.
9. I once had a patient who was a 10/10 for pain. When I asked if there was anything else I could get for him, he said you could slap me on my ass and get me going! 10/10 pain my ass.
10. One day when I was on my endoscopy rotation we had a patient who had radiation proctitis as a result of prostate cancer treatment and required a procedure about once a year to alleviate the symptoms. (Continued)
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Anyway, he has the procedure and is wheeled back to post op. He tells me he needs to poop. I reassure him, and tell him its just the air they pumped into his colon for the procedure. (Id been in the room with him for the procedure and his colon was definitely empty!). I hooked him up to a monitor and head off to check on someone else. About 15 min later the buzzer in the toilet goes off. As I head down the corridor, I notice that this guys bed is empty. Opening the door to the toilet, Im greeted with bloody fluid all over the floor, up the walls, and into the centre cubicle where my patient is sitting on the toilet looking a bit sheepish. Sorry Nurse, I seem to have made a bit of a mess!
It took us half an hour to clean up. He was ok too, nothing major had happened - he went back for a rescope and was kept in overnight for observation.
11. We were learning how to do dressing changes at a local nursing home. Mr. Smith had a non-healing skin lesion on his chest that turned out to be skin cancer. It ended getting so bad that his chest wall, skin, muscle tissue, and sternum eroded away. Essentially he would sit in the corner of his room and you could see the pulsation of his heart through the big, pink hole in his chest. Our brilliant nursing instructor tried to teach us how to change a dressing, but forgot to dilute the cleaning solution before switching out for the new gauze. She essentially soaked gauze in undiluted bleach and stuffed it onto his heart. He lived. She got fired.
12. Just a little background, if placement where I am isnt NHS they can be a bit funny about leaving you on your own because they dont think our trainings good enough, so we usually dont get left alone, particularly with patients with challenging behaviour.
I was sat with a patient having lunch surrounded by staff and other patients, this particular patient wasnt very happy with their options, cup and plate went flying, staff scattered, no one presses the alarm and I get punched and scratched in the neck while the patient grabs my top. Im left being held by the top, looking like Ive wet myself covered in their drink and trying to find a member of staff to help me out. No one turned up and Im still being held so I decided to strap in and deal with the situation myself, by the time a member of staff shows up to help; the patients calm, Ive been released, were chatting, my legs are feeling very cold and I get told off for being alone with a patient.
13. My patient rang his bell saying he needed the toilet. As soon as he stood up (Continued)
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the floodgates, front and back opened. Luckily I had a pad on me, what I didnt know as a student was that pads werent designed to capture free flowing liquid straight away. At this point I was on my knees panicking and praying it wouldnt get on my face because it kept going and going and going. Lets just say my late shift couldnt have ended any worse.
14. Whilst doing the morning wash round, an elderly gentleman asked me for a wash bowl and a razor. I thought this was pretty weird as he didnt have any facial hair but gave him it anyway. A few minutes later i popped my head in to ask if everything was okay and to my horror he had one knee up to his shoulder and was shaving his balls. He just carried on and started a conversation like it was nothing.
15. I trained as a midwife so slightly different, but I was once performing a vaginal examination on a client at the exact moment her membranes ruptured (waters broke).
It was like a log flume, my clothes were soaked through- right down to my underwear! I had to change into some highly attractive paper pants we give to women postnatally?
16. Used to be a student aide in a nurses office in a middle school. One of my kids hands me a bag with his clothes in it and asks me to carry it around for him while I was chaperoning him for the day (he had seizures). Well, I started smelling crap. It was not from the common core crap they have now I asked him did you have an accident in your pants bud? He said no, in the clothes you have in the bag I did though. I about died. Ill never hold a bag for another kid again lol.
17. I was looking after a child who had been putting push pins into a nerf gun and using it to pop balloons. I guess one of the pins got stuck so he turned it round to look down the barrel and Yeah. Pin in the eye.
18. I was on ward round on a urology Ward. They doctor told me prior to going into a patients room that the patient actually had a (Continued)
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hydrocele (sack of fluid that firms around the testicular area). I had no idea what this was but nodded along politely and when into the room. The patient whips his pants down without a being prompted and revealed that I can only describe as a space hopper between his legs. I was in stunned silence and dont know where to look. Reminded me of Randy Marsh in that South Park episode!
19. There was a physio on the ward and doing exercises with a patient; specifically squats and this lady just took a massive dump in the middle of the ward. All the other patients got up and left the ward space.
20. As a student you are expected to do a community placement, I was with the district nurses (nurse who come to your house if you are unable to reach your gp surgery) from November to Febuary.
In the 2 weeks before christmas the whole nursing team bought the same christmas jumper and worse tinsel in their hair. My mentor and myself adore christmas and strung fairy lights in the car as it was our office and the regular patients we saw we couldnt resist the temptation to sing christmas carols as we knocked on their door before going in to treat them. We got so many mince pies and chocolates in those few weeks! Yum yum!
21. I was once placing a urinary catheter in a male patient with dementia. Halfway through the procedure, he raised his hand, put a hand on each boob and left them there. I asked him to let go but he wasnt complying. I could do nothing about it as I was gloved up at the time with lubricant all over my gloves, and there were no other nurses within calling distance. So I spent the next ten minutes finishing off the procedure, with his hands on my boobs.
22. When I was a student nurse I worked on a long stay ward for people with learning disabilities who had mental health problems. One afternoon I was charged with dishing up dinner. Every other day there had been gravy to go with the food but on this particular day there wasnt, instead there was a (Continued)
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creamy sauce. There was no dessert either
I dished up and poured the sauce on the food. Half way through, one lady said I dont like semolina Turned out, Id put the semolina dessert all over the cauliflower bake!! Oooops.
23. My strangest delivery (I was a student midwife) was dealing with a concealed pregnancy where no one in the family knew the girl was pregnant. The girl had gone to A&E with her mum after telling her that she had twisted/broken her ankle but she was actually in labour. The whole time in the delivery room, the girl was in denial and her mother was crying. It was by far the strangest and most awkward experience of my life.
Sometimes you only need to experience something once, to know it's a never again situation.
I always say, try everything once.
Well, now that I'm older, a caveat to that is... try it all within reason.
How many things have we all walked away from saying the one time experience will suffice?
In fact, knowing when to say no is one of life's wisest choices.
Redditor Croakied wanted to discuss the times we've all said... "once was enough!" They asked:
"What is one thing that you will NEVER do again?"
Love. Did it. A few times. Moving on.
Stay Still
"Jump off a moving train."
DenseDriver6477
"My dad used to jump on a train when he was little to go to school. He broke his nose like twice doing it. He also would not recommend."
Darphon
“vaportini”
"Smoke alcohol. Me and my friends bought something called a 'vaportini' in college where you could pour alcohol into a bulb and after low heat separated the alcohol from the liquid, you could inhale it thru the glass straw you inserted into the bulb. Basically you got drunk directly into your bloodstream/brain and it never hit your stomach."
"If you did too much, your body wouldn’t make you vomit or something, there wouldn’t be a simple self regulation/safety measure. You’d just get alcohol poisoning. Felt very dangerous, the drunk wasn’t a regular drunk feeling. We used it once and were like okay, never again. I’d be surprised if you could still buy it, although it would be incredibly easy to replicate at home."
michelangelho
It’s heartbreaking...
"Fall in love with a drug addict."
Rains_Lee
"Good call, don’t do it. The drugs will always come first. Can’t go out unless their 'ok' with how much drugs they have and money left over if any, cant make love unless they have their fix for the night and even still it never feels normal, can’t trust them after the lies to get drugs and the manipulation they put you through, and you can’t change them no matter how much you try and wish they would. It’s heartbreaking."
Cvilla411
More me time...
"Give up my life for work. F**k going the extra mile for a place that doesn't value you and pays you crap even though you go the extra mile for them. You have 1 life with only so much precious time to enjoy it and slaving away at some job is not worth it. Do what you can to reduce your workload and find better employment, or hell try to change the working conditions at your current job to improve things for everyone if you can."
Mrhappytrigers
Well Obvi...
"Donate a kidney."
ToffieMonster
"Well, you could donate the remaining one. You just won’t be around to say anything about it."
shavemejesus
This is definitely list I can relate to. No thank you on a lot of this!
I Quit
"Smoke cigarettes, it's been two years since I quit."
SuvenPan
Forget It
"Climb mount Kilimanjaro. Toughest thing I've done and it's not worth it. I'm all about tough treks and camping but to put yourself under tough conditions and suspectable to altitude sickness only to get to the top for 10 minutes for a picture. No thank you."
Monks_
"I agree, it was memorable. Once was enough for my husband and I. Thankfully we stayed at American style hotel run by the US Navy with a hot tub and bar. Alcohol was definitely needed after all that."
Whatsherface112
I'm living alone!
"Sign a lease with a stranger without hanging out with them a few times beforehand. My past roommate experiences in college were terrible. Roommates either ignored me, hosted parties til 3 AM on weeknights, made the house the hangout and drug-den for them and their buddies. Meet up once and they'll put on an act for you. If you can, try to see how they act drunk or frustrated."
"Try to hang out with their buddies too so you can see the type of people who could be coming into your future place of residence. As soon as I can afford it, I'm living alone! Now, I investigate a potential roommate's social media and hang out at least twice before signing a lease with them."
fleursdefer
Stay Away
"Take back a cheater. Know your worth my brothers and sisters."
santichrist
"Ughhhhh going back and forth on this one. My boyfriend of 5 years has cheated on me. Several times, actually but says he’s really changed and is ready to settle down and wants me to move in with him. I’m on the fence. So they never change???"
madlecroy
Sleeptime
"Take a laxative and sleeping pill at the same time."
karmaredemption
Once, twice, three times... I'm out. Bye.
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People Imagine How They'd React If Their Significant Other Wanted To Sleep With Other People
There is an age old question that has been getting more traction surrounding sex for partners the last decade or so.
And that is... "is just one enough?"
Were we really meant to only be with one person forever?
There are so many flavors to taste.
What if your partner wants more cookie dough with your strawberry?
Redditor Pineapple-Status wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on opening the bedroom to others. They asked:
"What would you do if your long term SO suddenly wants to have sex with other people?"
I say I'd be ok with it, but I'm remembering my last relationship and I feel like I'm not a "put my $ where my mouth is type" on this issue.
Bye
"Wish her well and spend the next 2 years getting myself back to a place where I am ready to get hurt again."
wickedblight
It's Time to Roll On...
"Personally I would leave them."
"I think they're the ones leaving you. I don't think the relationship changes at that point; I think it ends. If you have a monogamous relationship, they are telling you they want to end that. They might be suggesting starting a new, non-monogamous relationship, but that is a separate thing. The original relationship is over."
octopoddle
ethical non-monogamy...
"OP, it's no different than anything else they want: you either agree and stay together, disagree but stay together, disagree and break up, or even agree and break up. What you're talking about is called 'ethical non-monogamy.'" The seminal book to read is called The Ethical Sl*t."
"It basically boils down to be whatever you want, just don't lie about it. The tricky thing is that this is something that was not present before, but is present now. So it's a potential fork in your road. If you're against it, it's up to your SO to decide if sex with other people is more important to them than a life with you."
Tokugawa
a different story...
"I think it depends too how intently they're interested. If it's a thing they bring up because they're curious but it's not a dealbreaker for them, I'm fine with that even if I don't want to proceed. A solid relationship involves open communication, and it'd make me happy if my partner trusted us and our bond enough to voice that curiosity with me."
"If it's something their heart's absolutely set on, then it's a different story. Either way, it's kind of strange to me how these posts always assume simply asking your partner how they feel about opening the relationship means they're now wholey invested in the poly lifestyle and they'll resent you or cheat if you say no."
donkeynique
Others
"Happy that we have common interest, sad that it's different 'other people."
i_lick_icicles
Sex is always an issue. Remember when it was just fun?
Mine
"Leave her. I’m far too possessive and jealous to be able to mentally accept polyamory. If she has a desire to be with other people I’m not going to stand in her way but I’m not going to be there when she gets home either."
Thiek
Not Me...
"Break up. My parents were poly and it's just not for me. I've been honest with every relationship I've been in that I'm not interested in any type of open relationship. If they want to be with someone else that's fine but we'll be over. My husband is aware of this and on board (and has been for over twenty years!). So if he came to me with this yes I would be heartbroken but I'm not willing to budge on this and it would be the end of our relationship."
GoldDustWitchQueen
Let's Talk
"Counseling time! We're married. I'm chronically ill (stage 4 breast cancer) and have no libido. We try to make intimacy work, and obviously in that case it wouldn't be working. So. Time for a pro to sort out the marriage, and possibly a sex therapist for me."
insertcaffeine
Awkward Positions
"I’ll put myself hypothetically in this position. My partner and I only want each other. We’ve made this abundantly clear to each other. However, if she came to me with desire to open our bedroom and she wanted to sleep with people outside our marriage."
"I would simply express how I vehemently do not an open bedroom and that it would kill any desire I have to want her, be with her, love her, etc. Our couple dynamic has been working well through our ups and downs. Involving some stranger in the ONE thing I find most sacred with my partner is the best way for me to lose any interest or passion for the relationship."
RedFlaim
Farewell
"Break it off, because they definitely already have someone in mind and you telling them no won't change the fact that they were only one step away from following through with it."
Caressticles
Well it feels like a lot of people still believe in one partner, happily ever after. Good for y'all. But big props to these couples who have open and honest conversations about their wants and needs.
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Many of us sometimes fantasize about what we would do to our worst enemies, especially in the moments when they're actively making our lives worse.
While most of us would never actually do any of the things that we contemplate instead of screaming at that super annoying person at the office, we do get pretty creative with the ideas.
Redditor take_me_there_ asked:
"What WOULD you wish on your worst enemy?"
This One Would Hurt
"A conscience. Let her realize the horrific things she’s done."
- Jenny010137
"Seriously. Introspection, self awareness, and empathy are traits that would improve a lot of sh*tty people."
- el_muerte17
"Oh I wish I had thought of this one. If my enemy had a conscience, wow life would be much different."
- Shelbysouth43
No Pearly Whites For You
"I’d like all their teeth to turn really yellow and stay yellow no matter what they do."
- toothfixingfiend
"What did I ever do to you?"
- Spideredd
"I don't even know you! Give me back my enamel!"
- AngryMustache9
Everything You Own Is Orange Now
"Permanent Cheeto fingers. Just orange cheese dust getting on everything."
- cocoapuff1721
"This has to be one of the most evil things I ever heard, yet absolutely hilarious."
-Merk0411
"The Midas Touch: Snack Edition"
- MaryVenetia
Ouch, But Forever
"Stubbing and breaking their toe and right as it’s about to be done healing it happens again over and over for the rest of their pitiful time on this hell we call earth."
- No-Bee-2971
"Sisyphoot"
- Alpha_6
"More of a Toemetheus imo"
- PykeTheDrowned
Self Reflection
"For them to realize how big of an a-hole they are."
- mayhemanaged
"Same for me. The trouble is mine probably knows what a tremendous a-hole he is, and just doesn't care (it's what defines him, is his outlook more than likely), so, give mine a conscience as well, he undeniably lacks one."
- RhoadsOfRock
"a crushing moment of self realization is something that can destroy you mentally. I wish that on them."
- chancetodream
Bury Them Under A Mountain Of Minor Inconveniences
"Always being hungry two hours after eating no matter how large the meal. Slow internet. Traffic jams no matter the location. Self doubt. Allergies. Favorite shows spoiled."
"Nothing major enough to be life altering but constant, low grade inconveniences that wear on your soul every day."
- I_Love_Small_Br**sts
"Every bite of food they eat/drink they drink being slightly the wrong temperature."
"Coffee? Warm but not hot. Cola? Cool, but not cold. Muffin? Ever so slightly frozen."
"Not enough to ruin their life, but just enough to not quite have full enjoyment of anything.."
- HappiHappiHappi
They'll Never Be Able To Use Their Computer Again
"Quick scan with McAfee on their computer."
- halflife_3
"You f**king monster."
- Orion_2kTC
"The constant pop-ups from McAfee is too far."
- _Land_Rover_Series_3
That's A New Level Of Evil
"Bed bugs."
- thrawn1825
"Currently dealing with bed bugs, and I can absolutely confirm this is the kind of thing I would wish upon my worst enemy. It is miserable and painful, and I've tried everything to get rid of them at this point."
"I would easily wish this upon my worst enemy, x10."
- ArbitrarilyStagnant
"Oh hell no, you went there... Hopefully they aren't living in an apartment complex or you've cursed everyone in the building."
- expect_less
Well of course I know him. He’s me.
"$100,000. I sure could use it."
- Sparklesperson
"'It’s no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy'"
- FishyVonFishenHymer
"Lol I thought this was that deep sh*t like 'pray for those you resent to have all the things you want in life….' Then I realized."
- No-Chipmunk9527
Forever Constipated
"That they can never have a satisfying poop. They always feel like they have to go to the bathroom and when they do nothing comes."
- [User Deleted]
"Wow. That's evil. Always feeling the need to pee would be good (as in horrific) too."
- ipakookapi
We definitely don't recommend implementing any of these plans (not that most would actually be possible), but here's some new ideas for the next time you're stuck in a meeting with your most annoying coworker and need a little fantastical escape.
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I grew up poor, and I remember the little things that made me smile when we just happened to have enough that week.
The little things that a truly rich person would not think twice about.
Ah, the luxury of it.
What spells luxury for you?
Redditor ConAir161057 wanted to compare notes about the things in life that feel like items only money can buy. They asked:
"For people who grew up with little money, what always felt like a luxury?"
New clothes. I had so many hand me downs and thrift store clothes... new seemed like a dream.
Anxiety
"After growing up in a home where every unexpected problem was a financial emergency, my idea of wealthy became 'I just want enough money that if something breaks I don't get anxiety about how to deal with it.'"
Obiwan_ca_bl**me
Literature
"Getting to buy something from the scholastic book fair."
Rich*itch3232
"My school, at the end of it a bunch of books were 'donated' and then spread out on a table in the library. We all got to go pick one book. So even if kids didn’t get to purchase a book, in the end they had a chance to still get a book. It’s actually how I got my first Harry Potter book. Was a cool idea for any school staff or parents active in their kids’ schools."
glass_pillow
Christmas
"Getting new clothes at Christmas from relatives. I don't know if that is exactly a luxury or the kind of answer you are looking for, but we never had a lot of money when I was in middle school. I went an entire year wearing the same pants everyday. The funny thing was my parents didn't even buy them for me."
"I got them for Christmas from my Grandparents. All the kids use to give me so much sh*t for wearing the same pants everyday. I always told them that I had 5 of the same pair which made me feel good inside and kind of made them ease off even though I know they didn't believe me."
"I remember I fell on the school bus one day and the jagged floor cut a hole right in the knee cap and the panic that went over me was just insane. It was one of the worst feelings of my whole life because I knew that I didn't have any other pants to wear and that now all of the kids in my school were going to know that I only had 1 pair. Needless to say I could not wait for the last month of school to end."
themagicman_1231
I'm Away
"Summer camp, or basically any school trips that had to be paid for. At my school the kids who couldn't afford to go on trips that happened during school hours still had to come to the school, we just sat in a room and did extra work like it was detention."
Helpful_Yams
"I was lucky. If you taught at the day camp your kid could go for free. That was just day camp though not sleepaway camp. My mom found a camp teacher who had no kids of his own and he signed me up as his kid so I could get free day camp. Did that all through elementary school."
randtcouple
Big Deals
"Going out for pizza was a big deal. Those free mini pizzas for reading books were huge."
Shroom4Yoshi
Food is always an issue when you're broke.
Damage
"Being able to turn on the heat in the cold and pay a professional to fix damaged appliances, plumbing, and other issues."
Liggettef
Spoiled
"When my grandma would come pick me up and spoil me. My parents didn't have much money and were addicts so when my grandma would come get me I would come back with new clothes, video games, toys, etc. I used to think my grandma was rich but she actually just had a stable income."
nawlepen
"I was in this position when I was younger. I always thought my grandma had SO much money… but all she did was go to work everyday. Always made sure I had clothes and all my school supplies. I miss her pretty bad."
Keywork29
Water
"I am from a small island in the Pacific. While I mostly still take cold showers, I have always felt that a hot shower is the finest luxury one can experience. I had my first hot shower when I was 22 years old and I can never forget it."
FSMPIO
"This is the kind of luxury I think people take for granted, I always avoided showers in the winter as a kid since most of the time they where cold showers and the temperature here was around 12c° during those times."
PowerfullDio
Showerware
"Towels. Honestly, I was almost 10 When I realized people didn’t just put back on their dirty clothes after a shower because my family was so large (12 kids total including myself) and extremely poor. I thought towels were just for hotels or were maybe a prop on television. I went to a friends house and she asked for my help folding her towels. I remember laughing and thinking she must be rich."
"Long story short, I wasn’t sure which way to fold the towels, and begged my mom to buy them after I revealed that my friend, Simone, had them. She bought a box of used ones from a local auction and I walked around with them on my head feeling like a frigging empress after that, even though—-let’s be clear… these were second hand towels!"
shakezula1025
Or BK...
"Grew up poor and when I was a kid I used to think you were rich if you had a dishwasher and a millionaire if you had one of those refrigerators that have a button for ice. McDonalds was also a luxury, a couple times a year on our birthdays."
chinderellab*tch
Everyone should have access to all of these things. Why is life unfair?
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