Work Stories

Yesterday I was the only nurse working and I had 3 kindergarten exams! That means each child needs a urine sample, eye check, hemoglobin (finger poke), blood pressure, height, weight and usually 3 shots. Kindergarten exams are a lot. Yesterday I was taking one back and he had his whole family with him. His mom, dad, little brother and his sister who looked like she was about 7. So every time I would go to do something the little girl would ask me "if this was the shot part." Now usually I don't get as annoyed, BUT I was the only nurse working, our waiting room was filled with patients. I was tried, and I had just went to a friends viewing the night before. I knew if the little boy thought I was giving him shot he would freak out. Trust me, I know 5 year old's. So I asked him to pick a finger for me, so I could check his hemoglobin. I usually don't tell the kids i'm about to poke their finger, or they freak out and I'm unable to get it b/c they won't give me their finger. So he picked a finger and I started cleaning his finger off with an alcohol wipe. And his little sister was like "this is the shot part huh? This is when you give him a shot in his finger?" and the kids started panicking and I said "no, it's not a shot, it's a quick poke." (Sometimes a poke sounds a little bit better then getting a shot.) So I poke his finger really quick, and got a blood sample and he was fine with it. So I go to take the family in the next room where they'll see the doctor. They all come into the room and the little sister was like "This is the room he's going to get his shots right?" By this time I was so tired of her bringing up the shots, and the parents weren't telling her to stop. So I asked her "Would you like a shot? Do you want me to get a shot for you? I'm sure I could find one!" and she finally shut up after I said that. 


Yesterday a 10 year old boy came in as an emergency. He had cut his knee open. I took them back to get him cleaned up and his laceration was about as long as my ring finger, on his knee. It was bleeding really bad. He was a tough kid, even when I was washing it out. This laceration was pretty bad, but I loved it! I loved cleaning it out, and talking with the kid. What had happened was he was on his parents bed and I guess a spring was sticking out of the mattress and he scrapped his knee right on it. His parents were going to get a new bed that day after that accident happened. He had to get a total of 7 stitches.


A couple weeks ago we had another emergency come in. This boy was helping set up for a drama act and he was standing by a ladder, on top of the latter there was a hand drill. Some how the drill fell from the 6 foot ladder landing right on his neck and made a puncture wound on his collar bone. When the mom called when she was describing it, it sounded a lot worse then it really was. He came in, it didn't break his collar bone and he had just a little puncture wound that was about the size of a thick tip of a pen. He needed 2 stitches, and had a bruised neck. He was lucky!


We have one of those head thermometers.

 Sometimes I don't feel like it's very accurate, but it works really fast. One time when I was checked a boys temperature I went across his forehead with it and it started peeping and he was like "Did that just check how smart my brain is?" I thought it was pretty funny. 


I love working with the kids! Sometimes the parents not so much ;) It used to bother me when I would come in the room with the shots and they would call me "the mean nurse" or "here comes the mean lady". I finally just got over it and kinda chuckle now when they say it. I hear it a couple of times a day, it can get old. 


Yesterday when this boy found out he was getting shots he asked me "is it ok if I scream when you give me my shots?" and I was like "Yes! of course, you can even cry if you need to. You can do whatever." Then I stopped and thought about it and I was like "Well... you can't do whatever. No swearing or anything like that." You never know. I had given a 12 year old girl a shot and she yelled out "shit! That hurt." I guess you never know.