Nursing is definitely a challenging job and one can explode when they cannot tolerate these problems. We have listed below some of the funniest nursing problems and memes that have been shared by different nurses around the world.
1. When the patient’s relatives starts panicking just as you are about to insert (and questions your skills!)
Have you ever tried inserting an IV cannula to a patient with a relative by their side? Isn’t it annoying when their relative starts to question your skills, asks you if you really know what you are doing, or even raises an eyebrow on you! Seems like the patient is calmer than their relative. Calm down relative, we know what we are doing. As an RN, we can assure you that we are using all our knowledge in order to provide the patient the best professional nursing care.
2. When you have to work for another shift but your body wants to go home
TGIF! You get to go home after a long, toxic 8 hours. Instead, you learned that your reliever isn’t coming for his or her shift and you get all their load. Say goodbye to your plans as you will be stuck working around the hospital for another 8 (hopefully not) toxic 8 hours.
3. When your chief nurse checks on you if you are busy…
And asks you to run on personal errands. Your face turns emotionless because you cannot say no to a chief nurse. You just got to run on whatever it is, buy them food, heat their food in the microwave or buy prepaid load for them. What’s worse is when you are visibly toxic with so many patients, and they would ask you to bring a chart from the 6th floor to the 2nd floor. Talk about being a considerate boss.
4. When you enter the room to take the vital signs of one patient, everyone suddenly asks for their vital signs to be taken too!
And what’s more annoying is that they did not come to the emergency room for an emergency case. They would usually be family relatives of a patient in bed three or someone who came with an outpatient. There are patients who needed more attention from you but you cannot say no to these requests.
5. And when you get the most difficult patient…
They would treat you like they have checked-in in a hotel and called for a room service. When you do not respond, they would get mad at you for being a slowpoke or ignoring their petty requests. Requests such as turning on the television for them, turning on the air conditioner for them, turning off the light at the comfort room or even cleaning the floor after their visitors have messed up! Well, we do not have housekeeping as a subject back in nursing school, so please.
6. When you have no choice but to smile..
But to (fake) laugh at all your patient’s joke which was said to you for over three, four, five times already. You can’t frown or ignore their jokes or you will be one of the mean nurses they would not want to meet ever again.
7. I just bought a ballpen, but it seems like I lost it…
You hear the residents calling you for something. And what they need is your ballpen! Yes, your newly bought pen. So you hand it over, out of courtesy, thinking the doctor will give it back after writing something in the chart. However, you finish your shift and all, no pen or even shadow resurfaces. Always stock pens in your emergency pockets!
8. You cannot remember when was your last sleep
Because of the crazy shifts and workloads, you cannot even remember your last decent sleep. Was it yesterday? Last week? Last month? Or when you were inside of your mother’s womb?
9. When your patient sees her BFF in you
And she can keep on talking for hours! She tells you where she plans to spend her weekend after the discharge, or maybe tells you about their children’s plans on college. Honestly, you do not care but you still have to listen, and you cannot do anything about it. Even if you have many things to do on your list, you must sit and listen. Until they finish their stories.
10. When your co-worker gets 5 patients and you are stuck with 10.
You just got to wonder, is there a favoritism going on? Why are you stuck with 10 patients, while the other with 5? Can’t you get evenly distributed number of patients? Or is just the world angry at you?
11. Who needs to pee? Who needs to take a lunch break? Nurses DO NOT.
Nurses do not have any time to spare for a bathroom or lunch break. Especially when you’re working on a night shift? Who needs to pee when you have so much patients to attend to? Who needs food when you can just skip it?
12. Stop moving please, I cannot see your vein.
No matter how long you’ve worked as a nurse, some patient’s veins are really difficult to find. So you just have to tell the patient to stop moving, as to defend yourself from trying so many times.
13. Having a hard time fitting in
Not all veteran nurses are welcoming. Unwelcoming nurses would usually eat their young ones alive. And this isn’t new in the community. Apart from sucking up to your bosses, you also have to learn new skills and cope up how the nursing system in your hospital works. All it takes is confidence, so werk it RN!
14. So many health risks.
Working in the hospital makes you so vulnerable to several hospital diseases. Apart from these, lifting a patient can also put you at risk. Dealing with needles is one thing, and working in a hospital where sudden influx of patients start with slippery floors becomes another problem.
15. RNs are not getting paid properly.
This is a widespread problem. You might have heard of the recent Nurses’ strike that happened in New Zealand because they are not only overworked but they are also underpaid. With all the healthcare risks the nurses are exposed to, it seems that the salary is not enough to compensate these conditions.
These are just a few of the inner thoughts RN’s want to be heard by the hospital management and the government. We wish we could say these out loud, but we choose to keep our mouth about these because we have to keep our cool and stay as professional as possible. We truly enjoy doing our jobs as it was our decision in choosing this career path. Please take note that the list above are just for fun and we do not truly intend to treat our patients this way.
Let’s take time to thank all the nurses for doing their job despite being overworked and underpaid. Without RN’s the world would lose a hand in taking care of the sick and proper care would not be given to patients.
You can comment your own memes below and we would love to hear your funny thought about work! Don’t forget to share this list with your fellow nurses!
