Diary of a Trauma Nurse

Monday, January 08, 2007

Ya Gotta Be A Little Nuts To Work Nightshift SERIES - Story #1

Story #1

I was just reflecting on some fun times working Trauma on the night shift and thought I'd jot them down for no other reason than maybe to make me laugh again down the road and to help some of my friends realize why I'm the way I am (lol)............

The freshly graduated newbie nurses that thought they "knew it all" coming into a Level I Trauma Unit were the perfect victims.......... Obviously being a Level I Trauma Center we unfortunately have many deaths....and you will find anyone that works Trauma or ER will have a very dark sense of humor. I think it's necessary for survival.... anyway this is something that we always did to the newbies but this time in particular was funnier than usual. Not at first, but each time we told the story it got more priceless and more comical.

When a patient would die, the "newbie" was required to help do "post mortem care" (get the body ready for the morgue for those of you that don't understand medical jargon......) to get experience for when they had a patient pass. So.... while the primary nurse and newbie #668,785 are bathing, tagging and placing the body into the shroud, newbie nurse is asked to go to the supply center for an "extra bag" for personal belongings. Concurrently, another nurse (ME) is slipping into another shroud and being put on a stretcher. So off the seasoned nurse and the newbie nurse go to the morgue pushing what else but........stretcher #2!! Trauma is on the 10th floor and the morgue of course is in the basement. At the elevators, seasoned nurse has to "run back" because she forgot something and presses the button "B" and says she'll "meet them down there." After about 2 floors, the "shroud" moves a little, just enough to make the newbie think she's crazy which is usually what happens although we later found out this new nurse had never even SEEN a dead body much less been alone with one in an elevator. (Naughty, naughty Trauma nurses!) Another floor and the shroud sits straight up on the stretcher. Normally, we get a shreik or two and then a very nervous laugh as the shroud is unzipped but this time, nothing........wait......nothing..... nothing at all........ other than a THUD! Yep, a banging, clonking, whacking THUD! When the elevator opened on the basement level and I saw my coworkers face, I thought she'd seen a ghost. She may as well have.......there stood the Trauma Surgeon who STARTED and RAN the Trauma Unit. It may as well have been God. Then all three of us looked down as we realized that newbie was passed out on the floor. Thankfully, Dr. "M" just shook his head and headed for another elevator. (What in the hell was he doing in the basement at that time of night anyway??) We actually had to take newbie to the ER and explain what happened as they scanned her head to ensure no intracranial hemorrhaging had occurred.(Wimp!) (This little incident cooled our jets for a little while) but I guarantee it's still going on today........ (watch out newbies.....)

CoryTraumaRN posted today at 9:43 AM

Comments:

I just laughed so hard I cried. Hopefully I'll work in a unit where I can pull shit like this.

# posted by

J : 8:31 PM

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