#nurse gif
I worked with toddlers and pre schoolers for three years. Sometimes I accidentally slip and tell a friend to say bye to an inanimate object (“say bye bus!”) & occasionally they unthinkingly just do it.
I’m glad there’s a teacher version of “accidentally called teacher ‘mom’”
when I worked at Medieval Times occasionally I would slip in real life and call people “my lord”
One time during family prayer, dad began: “our father who art in heaven, American Airlines, how can I help you?”
One time my dad went to the White Castle drive-thru and the lady (who was supposed to say ‘Welcome to White Castle, what’s your crave?’) asked, “Welcome to White Castle, what’s your problem?”
She apologized profusely while my dad proceeded to lose his shit laughing.
Yesterday I went to Wendy’s and the girl said “Welcome to McDonalds” and then just sighed
Somebody in the elevator asked me what floor I lived on, and I answered “please open your books to page eight”, and we just kind of stared at each other, blinking.
i work retail full time and my script gets frequently messy - ill ask the same question twice, or say “$2.60 is your total” while handing back their change, or say “how are you doing today?” instead of “have a good day!” like name it ive bungled it
but anyway, this lady came thru my line buying a book and the review on the front said: “few books are well written, fewer still are important, and this book manages to be both”
as i handed her the bag i was trying to say “thanks, youre all set” and instead my brain mashed up the review and i said “thanks, youre important”
there was this short pause in which i tried to figure out what the fuck id just said. she blinked and then said “oh thank you! youre important too!”
the real kicker was one of my coworkers. when i was relating this story later his response was “at least you said something NICE. last week i accidentally combined ‘youre welcome’ and ‘no problem’ into ‘youre a problem’”
one time, since I used to work as a daycare teacher with preschoolers, i was on my college campus in my gym, and someone was running in the weight room and tripped over a machine and fell, and instead of offering to help, I just stared and said, “This is why we use our walking feet.”
we both sat there for a while until the guy nodded and said, “yeah, okay, i should’ve done that.”I’ve spent a good chunk of time working in kitchens, so I still will reflexively say shit like “behind” and “coming around” as I maneuver through spaces and around people.
Which, actually, not such a bad thing; I’m a big guy and can come across as imposing pretty easily. The position calls can help defuse that, and also help avoid collisions.
Less good is the time my brain was half functional and I let slip a “coming with a knife” while grocery shopping. THAT took some explaining.
my dad worked at a full service gas station in college and once greeted a customer (welcome to conoco, how can i help you?), pumped the guy’s gas, went around the car washing the windows, and upon coming back to the driver’s window: “welcome to conoco, how can i help you?” His coworker nearly cried from laughter.
my dad’s friend worked the information desk at a bank and on a particularly stressful day answered the phone with “Bank of America, this is Matthew, can you help me?”
Fucking crying! Shit like this happens all the time!!
When I worked fast food, I kept trying to say “enjoy your meal” and “enjoy your food” at the same time and it often came out as either “enjoy your feel” or “enjoy your mood.”
One time I told a patients parents to “sleep tight and not let the bed bugs bite” (I work in a pediatric ICU). We also have a lot of kids with respiratory illness and a big issue is having them cough forcefully enough to actually help break up their secretions/get them out so we often say “good cough” when they do a good job. I was in public and someone behind me almost hacked up a lung and I absentmindedly said, “good cough” to a stranger…
A cry pierces the sterile air
A cry so forlorn it tears into hearts
A cry so full of loss it hurts to hear
A mother crying for her daughter
A daughter who was
A daughter that could have been
A daughter that should have been
So as part of our clinical ladder in the PICU we have to get Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) Certification to take care of level one trauma patients. I went to the class this week and I was super nervous because the information was mostly adult ER and not my expertise at all. I read the book and studied but I was freaked at the end of the second day when I took the 50 question written exam and then performed a clinical simulation.
At the end of the simulation I went to give the instructors my simulation scoring packet and see if I passed (you had to pass both sections with fairly high marks to be certified) and the ladies picked up my test and started whispering to each other and looking at it. I immediately thought I had failed!! The other woman motioned me closer and I prepared for the worst. Then she said, “based on your performance in the simulation check off and the exam you have been marked as someone who could become an instructor of a TNCC class. Does that interest you?” I was shocked but I never say no to new chances and experiences! Here’s to new things, followers!
I wrote a post a while ago about fear in the ICU and how it can be a good thing and keep us sharp (see post here) but I wanted to expand on that in the light of current personal events. I am a type A personality (surprise surprise coming from an ICU nurse) but I have been feeling for a long time that I have a lot more anxiety than the average person. I remember my fiancé asking me what I was thinking about one time and I told him all of the things I was worrying about and planning for and he looked at me with a look of horror on his face. I realized then that not everybody has a constant stream of to-do lists, regrets, worries, and anxiety running through their head.
I wrote it off as a personality quirk for a while and tested the waters with friends asking if they ever felt like I did. I got mixed replies and overall just wrote it off. In the past few months I was having a lot of anxiety to the point that I didn’t want to go out in big crowds, I was getting debilitating tension headaches, and I was starting to see the impact on my relationships. I decided to talk to my PCP about it and she diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Strangely I felt relieved. I was relieved that I didn’t have to leave events early because of my neck pain and headaches. Relieved that this wasn’t just “my personality” and that it was something I could work through. Relieved when my doctor reminded me that I could be an amazing ICU nurse without my anxiety and that my skills and training were what made me good, not my disorder.
A little bit of fear and planning can keep us sharp in the ICU but please don’t delay in asking for help if you ever feel like I did. I’m sure I have other colleagues who have struggled with disorders and managing them with their jobs so I urge you to reach out to friends, coworkers, your PCP, or your counselor if you feel like you are constantly anxious or depressed or even if you are just overwhelmed. Nursing is not easy and we deserve to treat ourselves with as much care and respect as we treat our patients.
