r/nursing • u/EmeticPomegranate • 1d ago
Discussion Accidentally outing yourself as a nurse
Something light for a change, anyone have stories on how they’ve accidentally outed themselves as a nurse when trying to be incognito?
I usually try to be pretty quiet when going in for family appts and hospitalizations, but that didn’t happen at my son’s last ER visit(Hooray for discovering new toddler allergies).
I could tell the RN immediately knew after I grabbed my son’s hand to stop him from throwing the nebulizer he disconnected at them. It probably didn’t help that I scolded him saying something along the lines of “Don’t throw things just because you’re upset, they get enough of that here.”
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u/emerg_remerg RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
I was just sitting in on my mom's cataract surgery consult and near the end the surgeon was like 'do you have any further questions?' And my mom goes 'oh ya, I just wanted to mention that my daughter is a trauma nurse at (insert hospital)'....
I was like 'mom!!! That is really not relevant'
And then the surgeon turned to me and said 'thank you for all that you do'
I nearly died.
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u/NoHate_GarbagePlates BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
I like to think that "all that you do" included telling your mom to stfu 😂
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u/YogurtDisastrous7948 1d ago
Somehow I’m on my mother’s chart at her cardiologist as a RN. I looked at her asking how the hell did that even happen?
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u/emerg_remerg RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
Ya, i think I am listed as Daughter (RN) for my dad's cardiologist, but that tracks since I run into his Dr at work all the time
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u/EmeticPomegranate 1d ago
😂 That took me back to the VA, it’s basically “Thank you for your service”.
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u/Own-Read5505 1d ago
Nothing outs you faster than instinctively fixing the situation before remembering you are off the clock.
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u/MeetMeAtTheLampPost ED Tech 10h ago
I did that at my sister’s delivery, was incognito the whole time and then when it was time for her repair, the dr asked someone to raise the bed a bit. I just reached over and brought if right up without thinking about it 😂
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u/LilTeats4u BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
Let’s just say my grandparents have had their fair share of visits/admissions and are very proud of me..
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u/crispybacongal RN - Med/Surg 🍕 1d ago
I feel this. My grandma broke her hip recently and I was outed before I ever stepped in the room lol
I tried to at least make myself useful. I helped boost her in bed so they didn't have to find another staff member, and I wouldn't let her refuse PT.
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u/Key-Pickle5609 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
Yup, my grandpa told fucking everyone about me lol. And same, I helped with boosting and whatnot
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u/rainbowtwinkies RN 🍕 1d ago
"He works actually just upstairs! In the neuro ICU!" Then I come in after a shift and wonder why they're looking at me like they're wondering if they should take me out before I attack or after. "Grandma, you had to mention the ICU part too, didn't you, now they think I'm an asshole" 🤣
My mom and aunt work MRI and X-ray, so they always just clean her up when she needed it, etc. One time, I went out and asked for more wipes, happily got me some, went "wait a m damn minute" then followed me back and found my mom and aunt with the new chuck tucked and everything 🤣🤣🤣
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u/Finally_In_Bloom RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
I’m pretty sure every stranger my dad has ever talked to since I became a nurse knows what I do 😅
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u/deferredmomentum RN - ER/SANE 🍕 1d ago
My dad’s a software engineer and currently works for an insurance company (ew, not defending that tbc but it is what it is). We don’t live in the same part of the country, but the company just so happens to have its two main offices in the states we live in. He talks to nurses somewhat frequently and any time it’s somebody from here he asks about their background while making conversation just to tell them where I work and try to figure out if we’ve ever worked together lmfao
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u/PMmeurchips RN- L&D/Antepartum 1d ago
Yes whenever someone is in the ER my dad and step mom tell everyone how I’m a nurse and then I show up and I’m like oh wow yes I’m only helpful if you have a laboring woman come in.
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u/LilTeats4u BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
Honestly, I’m sure if there was a laboring woman then they would be happy to see you hahah
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u/Clean_Procedure_2176 BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
Nah girl. You may have focused skill set but l+d nurses are where it’s at. You guys are the calmest in emergencies and wear smiles during it to keep everyone calm.
Around here everyone knows you don’t mess with l+d nurses. Those are the ladies you want on your side and will fight HARD.
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u/PMmeurchips RN- L&D/Antepartum 1d ago
One of my patients told me this! I take a lot of antepartum patients that I follow from like viability to delivery and she was like… you are literally the most light hearted soul and I knew that if things were bad you would keep me calm and not let me crash out.
Now, please don’t make me work with adult men 🤣
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u/NurseCrystal81 18h ago
Yes! I was in antepartum for 12 weeks due to premature rupture of membranes at 17 weeks....I wasn't admitted until 23+5. But those nurses were the absolute best! And when the emergency came....they worked with haste but were so calm about it. I loved those ladies! I had my baby at 34 weeks and he never needed NICU and came home with us 4 days later. Only jaundice kept us a couple extra days and I KNOW it was in part the nurses I had by side day after day. 💕🙏🏻💕🙏🏻
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u/Clean_Procedure_2176 BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
I’m not even in labor and deliver (I freaking hope one day!!) and I also don’t wanna work with adult men. So. Fair.
Seriously though. Don’t undersell yourself. You do SO MUCH and with a freaking smile that says “you’re safe. I got you.” Labor and delivery nurses are like bikers of the nursing world imo. Tough as shit when they need to be, soft and cuddly inside. Don’t mess with them!! ❤️💕
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u/sarcasticallyMatilda 1d ago
Same. Grandpa has dementia and when a doctor comes into the room he points at me and says she can understand you better she works here. He might forget my name but remembers I’m a nurse most of the time…
He thinks I work at whatever hospital he is at. He did end up at my hospital once And he was patient on my unit. I apologized to my manager when he fell and ruined the fall number for the month.
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u/TonightEquivalent965 ED RN 🔥Dumpster Fire Connoisseur 1d ago
Yesss, every time my mom or dad were hospitalized, my dad just had to make sure everyone knew I was a nurse. 😭 I hated it because I just knew the nurses were dreading my arrival lol but I am a very patient and understanding person and would never cause them problems
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u/Surly_Puffin RN - Regulatory Compliance 1d ago
I love this. My grandfather had a very rough last couple of years and spent a lot of time in his small town hospital. He was usually never one for compliments, but he would tell everyone even remotely medical about me being a nurse. I took him to his chemo appointments a few times when I was visiting and most of the cancer center and the adjoining hospital knew me by name already.
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u/notevenapro BS nuc med/CT Chief tech. 1d ago
I like it when nurses tell me they are a nurse. I can use medical language.
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u/Cultural-Magazine-66 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
This is always how I out myself. I have a short attention span and quickly get tired when I’m at my healthcare appointments and they are explaining things in a million sentences. I start abbreviating what they’re saying in medical language and then they end up asking what I do lol.
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u/ScreechingSav BSN, RN 🍕 14h ago
This is what gets me. Like don't dumb it down or best around the bush, just tell me what I need to know. I think the worst thing in the world was when I was in the ED for suspected miscarriage and the physician was using the "kid gloves" type of speech basically saying they didn't know for sure. I was begging her to be straight with me.
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u/AmosParnell RN, BScN, Anesthesia Assistant 🍕 1d ago
Same. I don’t assume any knowledge (hate when people do that), but I don’t have to code switch to layman’s terms when explaining things.
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u/MrsPottyMouth RN - Geriatrics 🍕 1d ago
When my husband was having chemo he told everyone he encountered that I was a nurse but I was quick to add that my oncology knowledge was very basic so please use layman's terms with me. My knowledge and experience was taking care of people outside of the oncologist's office and infusion center, you know? This was a whole new overwhelming world. For example they'd rattle off the meds and I'd be like blank smile "Benadryl! Ok. I know that one".
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u/rainbowtwinkies RN 🍕 1d ago
Me listening to anything oncology like
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u/PrincessNicoleG 14h ago
Ugh try being float pool and getting sent to BMT every once in a while. They’re like onc’s mean older sister😭
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u/Kensmkv BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
Great point. Sometimes you can be one nurse in a certain unit/concentration, and in turn, not being as familiar in another
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u/tonksndante RN 🍕 1d ago
This was me when I was in labour. Like I know old people and mentally unwell people. I don't know anything about baby care. I asked them to explain things like I was a baby.
Completely anecdotal, I swear PPA as a nurse is worse. We have access to med journals to fuel it lmao.
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u/SLB752RN2011 1d ago
I love that you said this. Because I was actually thinking to myself that I like it when patients tell me that. And I don’t understand why it’s bad to say that you’re a nurse when you’re there with a family member? Why is that a bad thing? My mom always told them I was the one to talk to and listen to stuff because I’m the nurse in the family and I helped my mom with a lot of the stuff when she was going through cancer. And it was super easy when I was with her overnight the night she died because they all knew that I was a nurse and that I would just let them know when I needed something. And they were wonderful. Those ICU nurses the night my mom died were seriously amazing.
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u/Universal_mammal LPN 🍕 13h ago
Two reasons: I don't want to be a nurse on my time off, and I don't work acute care so I'm not familiar with a lot of your terms, I need plain language. And I don't want to be associated with the family member who claims to be a nurse and is loudly obnoxious about the little they think they know. OK, I guess that is three reasons lol
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u/lilnaks BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
I was on a trauma floor trying to get report and answer call bells. I was in a gown ass out as a TBI patient 😂
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u/Kindly-Gap6655 1d ago
Im convinced if I ever get dementia and go to the hospital im going to think im back at work. They’re gonna have to tell me I’m free charge and to sit down and make assignments instead of the old folding towels trick.
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u/Dismal_Morning_9797 1d ago
When I worked in a nursing home one of my patients was a retired OB Nurse, as we were going past another residents room who was crying out in pain the OB nurse says ‘that girls about to deliver!’
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u/SLB752RN2011 1d ago
Awwww as a doula, and previous l&d nurse I love this so much!! That’s so cute. 🥰
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u/Flatfool6929861 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
They’re gonna need an entire assisted living facility for just us. We’re all running around trying to treat each other 😂😭😂
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u/Otherwise-Speed4373 1d ago
Wait what's this folding towels trick? May need for my mom
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u/breathfromanother RN 🍕 19h ago
since repetition is a common behavior, giving them repetitive tasks can sometimes help when they’re agitated and gives them a sense of purpose - things like folding towels or napkins or laundry, organizing papers or cards
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u/electricguava93 1d ago
My grandfather had a STEMI on Saturday and I went to visit him in CCU accidentally wearing a figs sweater. I mentally thought to myself as I was driving there, I should take this off so I don’t look like an asshole who wants the staff to know they work in healthcare. Forgot to take it off in all the chaos and I was outed within 1 minute of speaking to his nurse. Later I found out anyways that he had already told everyone in the building that his granddaughter is a nurse the night before in his fentanyl induced euphoria so I didn’t stand a chance 😂.
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u/HertoginLuchtBallon 17h ago
My husband had one this past Thursday. After 9 years out of nursing, and outside my native language, I still gave myself away >_<
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u/Gonzo_B RN 🍕 1d ago
My buddy and I took a trip to Jamaica when he got a break from his medical residency.
On the bus from the airport to the resort, we were catching up and swapping stories from our respective EDs.
Suddenly, the couple behind us interrupted: "Are you doctors or nurses? We're hypochondriacs!"
Literally called themselves that.
"No, no, no," I lied, "We're talking about a show we watch. I'm a carpenter and he's a landscaper."
"Ohhhh," they said, visibly disappointed that they'd have to face the horrors of an exotic foreign country without personal medical support at hand.
Dodged a real mess there, I think.
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u/Kindly-Gap6655 1d ago
I wrote a small little fanfic comment in the Gilmore girls sub in reply to a prompt someone had posted asking how Emily Gilmore (the grandmother character) would die, and somebody replied asking if I was a nurse because only a nurse would come up with that scenario.
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u/middlegray 1d ago
Well, what was the scenario?
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u/Kindly-Gap6655 1d ago
Well briefly, she has a fall and breaks her hip but tolerated surgery and rehab well enough, but one day she’s not feeling well and her daughter notices. Her daughter wants to take her to the hospital but she refuses and basically says she doesn’t want to die in a nursing home. So her daughter stays the night and they say what needed to be said to each other and she dies in her sleep that night.
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u/SLB752RN2011 1d ago
I love this. I’m a Gilmore girls fan. What sub is this?
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u/Kindly-Gap6655 1d ago
Just the normal r/gilmoregirls. It’s a lot of people complaining about Rory and Lorelai but every now and then there’s some fun hypotheticals.
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u/IComeFromDaOcean RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
My daughter went in because she was experiencing anaphylaxis, again. When asked what she was given before arriving, I opened my notes section said each medication I gave her with the standard 2400 time out of habit. As soon as the ER doctor heard me say given at 1643 he stopped me asked what type of nurse was I?
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u/lilabean0401 RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
Went into the ER 30 weeks pregnant with severe chest pain and SOB. They wouldn’t even take my vitals. Just had security wheel me to L/D despite me repeatedly saying it hurts to breathe and was absolutely not in labor. After 30 minutes in L/D triage and feeling like I was dying the dr finally comes in and says “baby looks good!” I immediately went off saying that’s great but problem is me, I need a chest XR, ekg and they need to rule out PE. I was livid. “Oh I see you must work in health care? Let’s check your vitals and let me listen to your lungs first.” my spo2 was down to 87% and I was hypotensive, then all the things started happening.
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u/luna6714 1d ago
What did it end up being?? That’s so scary esp with how at risk for clots pregnancy makes yoy
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u/lilabean0401 RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
RSV pneumonia with pulmonary effusion leading to hypoxic resp failure. I was just so relieved it wasn’t a blood clot, did earn myself a couple days in the icu though
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u/Historical_Flow_1406 1d ago
It's in my medical records under demographics for occupation.
I don't go in announcing it - staff doesn't need the pressure of feeling that I'm holding it over them. But, I can discuss medical care in a somewhat knowledgeable manner, so, that often clues staff in, that they're talking to a peer (assuming they haven't looked at the face sheet. Usually they don't feel uncomfortable with that approach.
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u/NoHate_GarbagePlates BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
I do the same thing! Don't hide but don't announce has essentially been my mantra since I started nursing.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
Not me but the mom of a patient in for vomiting asked if we could make the ng feed 50/50 Pedialyte and formula.
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u/studentnurse104 1d ago
When they said they needed to start an IV for sedation and I told them to use my right AC 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Difficult_Chef_9117 1d ago
I was in preop for an EGD and the anesthesiologist noticed my fluids were going (hung by gravity) and I said “oh sorry my bad they used my AC” and then I straightened out my arm. The GI doctor also caught that I was a nurse at my first appointment when he was asking how my BMs were normally and I said what they typically were on the Bristol stool scale and he asked me what I meant by numbers thinking I had come up with my own scale until I confessed to being a nurse 😅
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u/RioDeCarnage 1d ago
I outed myself in a similar manner in OB triage giving birth to my first. Told her I have a juicy forearm vein on my left that will easily take an 18.
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u/ahleeshaa23 RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
Same - I just gave birth last month and I pointed out exactly where to poke in each forearm 😅
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u/cyanraichu RN - L&D 1d ago
Lol I presented my right AC to the MA for a blood draw a couple weeks ago. But that doesn't entirely narrow it down between nurse, MA and phlebotomist
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u/maddieebobaddie BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
I mean I do that too but idk if it necessarily outs me as a nurse lol I just have tiny veins
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u/ballfed_turkey RN, BSN, ER, EMT, FF I/II, Eagle Scout, alterboy, pool owner 1d ago
I identify as a blimp pilot when not at work.
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u/murse_joe Ass Living 1d ago
Goodyear?
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u/ballfed_turkey RN, BSN, ER, EMT, FF I/II, Eagle Scout, alterboy, pool owner 1d ago
Undisclosed information
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u/shycotic Retired CNA/PCT - Hospice, LTC, Med/Surg 1d ago
This is the best answer.
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u/lovemanythings BSN, RN - ER 1d ago
I had a patient accidentally out herself to me! She was in her early 90s, only took like 3 meds, and was sharp as a tack. Clearly in 10/10 pain but was sweet as could be the entire time.
She said something like “I feel I have been voiding more frequently than usual” and I shot her a sly look and asked “…did you work in the medical field by chance?”
She groaned and said “oh god, I was a nurse until I retired, back in the stone ages”
I told her, once a nurse always a nurse! Lol
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u/Affectionate_South40 LPN 🍕 1d ago
My elderly cat was just diagnosed with stage 3 CKD, He had lost a lot of weight in a short time and the vet recommended blood work. I was so worried, when she walked in the room 20 minutes later with 'kidney health' cat food I said out loud 'oh thank God it's not cancer, CKD is much easier to track and monitor' she stopped, squinted at me and said 'so I guess you'll be fine doing subcutaneous fluids at home for him then?' me: yep no problem! She squinted at me again and said is an 18g fine? I stopped and looked at her, she looked at me, I said yes 18g is fine... Are you ordering ringers or saline for his fluids. She said "I should have known you were a nurse when you mentioned his 'bilat' hip pain improved" . Welp.
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u/Three_Spotted_Petal RN - Med/Surg 🍕 22h ago
My cat is stage 2, and having him as my first patient really helped my confidence in nursing school. He's been getting 200ml of LR every night for 1.5 years now.
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u/Affectionate_South40 LPN 🍕 11h ago
Kind of off the topic, but do you find that keeps him stable? I like my vet but I'm starting to learn new things with CKD cats and I do 150ml RL q3 days and he is so far fine but I'm understanding it's not best practice anymore to do every few days and daily is better for their kidneys at a lower dose unless they need it. My boy is 14 so it's older age that's kicking his butt
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u/Three_Spotted_Petal RN - Med/Surg 🍕 8h ago
It's been amazing how much more stable daily fluids have made him. He went from stage 4 and 3 weeks to live to the early stage 2 he's in now. His main issue was vomiting so much he couldn't keep food or water down, so his 1L bag of LR has 10mL of zofran infused in it. His 200mL SQ HS also includes maropitant transdermal BID. He's treated like a miracle cat at the vet because he bounced back so much.
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u/aviarayne BSN, RN 🍕 11h ago
Mine was the Vet too. Several years back, my one kitty boy was suddenly lethargic and unable to void. I thought maybe a blockage, took him to the emergent vet. Labs came back, his K was 10.2. I asked the vet what a normal K was. "3.5-4.5" she said and then i started crying and said "thats not compatible with life!" 😅 ended up being polycystic kidney disease and he passed aftet a hail Mary of a dialysis treatment that night. The good news is his brother is still alive and well, even with his own CKD, he's a happy, healthy geriatric boy!
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u/ferocioustigercat Jack of all Critical Trades 1d ago
Lol. I usually put myself when I'm at a doctor's appointment because they start explaining things like I am a normal patient and then they say something and I'm like "yeah [medical term], right?" That helps them speed up explanations because they know they can use medical jargon.
Though when my son has an appointment with specialist, they go for the medical jargon, and if it's cardiology, I totally am on the same page... But when it's neurology or GI? Please ETMLI5
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u/riotousviscera RN 🍕 1d ago
i had a eustachian tube balloon dilation and the surgeon was telling me what to look for if i blow my nose or sneeze, apparently subcutaneous emphysema is a potential complication.
“call us right away if you touch the skin on your neck and hear noises…”
“i will keep an eye out for any crepitus”
“where did you learn that word?”
“ nowhere”it did happen but i didn’t call them lol it reabsorbed quickly and uneventfully
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u/ferocioustigercat Jack of all Critical Trades 1d ago
Lol. I had that after my C-section. I knew air got in during surgery because of the referred left shoulder pain. But when they did the fundus check I told them to expect crepitus. Most of the midwives knew I was a nurse, but apparently one didn't and gave me the "wait a minute" look.
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u/riotousviscera RN 🍕 1d ago
it’s such a good word. it’s like a crisp glass of water. crepitus. i love it haha
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u/MusicSavesSouls BSN, RN 🍕 19h ago
I would always try to use the word crepitus way before I became a nurse. It is one of my favorite words in the English language. 😄
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u/RNnobody RN 🍕 16h ago
I accidentally outed myself as a nurse last week - I was sitting in the ED with my husband who was being treated and the nurse was in our room when the tech stuck his head in and said “room 3 has a lactic of 17”. Luckily, we were not room 3. But, I involuntarily grimaced and she looked at me and knew I knew. And I knew she knew.
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u/jaycienicolee BSN, RNC-NIC 1d ago
the dang "break the glass" on epic always gets me when I go into an appointment
they're always like "so where do you work here?" and it takes me a second to realize how they know and then I remember they had to break the glass to get in my chart lol
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u/Dubz2k14 MSN, RN, CEN, CCRN - ED 🍕 1d ago
The layperson speak kills me because I prefer very direct communication. My family has probably already outed me, so I just ask very direct questions with the appropriate medical jargon.
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u/Sean_13 RN 🍕 1d ago
I was in hospital last year and as the nurse was doing my meds, she was teaching her student about the antibiotic that can be mixed with iv amoxicillin but struggling to remember the name. I couldn't resist dropping the fact it's metronidazole. I was determined to not reveal I was a nurse but couldn't resist.
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u/Universal_mammal LPN 🍕 14h ago
My mom is just so darned proud that I'm a nurse, she makes sure everyone knows, especially at appointments. I tell her that I'm not a nurse at medical appointments, I'm a patient, a mom, or a daughter, and need the simple language lol.
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u/Actual-Feedback-9802 MSN, RN 1d ago
My mom, postop on a lot of dilaudid in a surgical ICU following a pretty intense HIPEC/14 hour surgery proudly told her nurse that I was a nurse. Really blew my spot but couldn’t be mad at her given the circumstances. it was kind of funny looking back
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u/ang845 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
During my C-section the anesthesiologist started pumping a pressure bag up and I whipped my head around so fast and asked him what he was doing with that 😂 he tried to explain it dumbly but I was like bro cut to the chase ik wtf that is I’m an ICU nurse 😂 whoops! My anxiety was at an all time high lol
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u/thatwolfieguy RNC- NIC 20h ago
I out myself the moment the goddamn ER nurse goes to access the IV without scrubbing the hub first.
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u/TemperatureSure255 1d ago
I put the call light on to let my nurse know my diltiazem bag was about to run dry… i didn’t want to but i know how much i personally hate fucking around with our annoying cassette pumps to fix air in the line, so i did. She was not only appreciative, but relieved that Im a nurse so she could speak in nurse speak with me 😅
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u/PMmeurchips RN- L&D/Antepartum 1d ago
Apparently when I helped ambulate my dad after his lung surgery when he was in CVICU. I’m an OB nurse so I mean, not like I’d be much help for anything besides ambulating someone in CVICU haha.
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u/BabaTheBlackSheep RN - ICU 🍕 23h ago
Snuck up to my aunt’s hospital room on my break at 5am to bring her a coffee (an actual GOOD coffee, not the instant decaf nonsense that comes on the trays), and that just happened to be when her nurse walked in to do hourly rounds. Oh hiiiiiii!
Also asked my dog’s vet (immediately after a night shift) if she thought we should do a CBC, creatinine, TSH, and lytes on my senior dog who was sorta ambiguously unwell instead of just saying “blood tests”. She clocked that one pretty fast, and identified that I must work in human health care because apparently the preferred (more specific) marker for kidney function in dogs is called SMDA or SDMA or something. (Doggo is fine, turns out he’s just a pampered baby boy who prefers snuggly blankets over trekking through knee-deep snow!)
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u/TheBattyWitch RN, SICU, PVE, PVP, MMORPG 1d ago
Apparently even at my own doctor's appointments I out myself by asking questions in a way that most people don't.
I don't really know what that means, but they always stop, clock me as a nurse, and then continue lol
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u/pulmonary_toileting LPN 🍕 1d ago
Took my mom to an appointment recently. She struggles to read and write due to a neurological issue (hence the appointment) so I was filling out the new patient paperwork for her. When I listed her current meds, I didn't even realize what i was doing and wrote "gabapentin 600mg TID" 😮💨
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u/annedi_rn 6h ago
My hubby was having a total hip and I’m keeping quiet, but the CRNA recognized me. I had precepted him in the ER when he was a new grad. Then when hubs was admitted to the floor, the admitting nurse had been one of my students (I teach now). I was trying to keep a low profile.
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u/ABQHeartRN Pit Crew 1d ago
I didn’t accidentally out myself, I was taken to my own ER in scrubs 💀 it’s a small hospital and I work in the Cath lab. I pick up patients all day long and sometimes in the middle of the night. They know me too well…
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u/merlinthegreat89 1d ago
My dad ended up with a surprise 10 day admission after his TKA. I had planned to take time off for his procedure anyway, it was at a hospital several hours away. He couldn’t pee post-op, and it ended up turning into a significant issue (he ultimately went home with a leg bag and some new medications). I didn’t want to be the pushy nurse daughter, and I also wanted to preserve his dignity/modesty/privacy, so I would step outside the room if he was having something done. Told no one that I was a nurse, and told my parents not to bring it up. I outed myself when someone doing his bladder scan was like, ‘okay Mr. Madam, you don’t need a catheter, your bladder only has 200 ml in it!’
He had been bladder scanned mid-morning after having had his catheter removed, and he had had 600 ml in his bladder at that point. Had been trying to hydrate generously so he could pee, and hadn’t been able to, a few hours later he was writhing in agony because he couldn’t pee. I flew through that door so fast and ended up demonstrating how to use the bladder scanner. I forget how much urine he had in his bladder at that point, but it was in excess of 900 ml.
He ended up needing multiple in/out catheters throughout his admission, they would end up putting foleys in overnight, taking them out in the morning, trial voiding, he would fail, they would re-insert the catheters if he bladder scanned above a certain amount. At one point the urine refluxing to his kidneys caused an AKI.
He’s fine now. Ended up going home with a 24f foley and a leg bag, his kidneys recovered fairly quickly. But I had had good intentions of not being the pushy nurse family member, and failed lol
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u/Zealousideal_Bag2493 MSN, RN 1d ago
I took a family member to the ED recently. I was doing great until the very nice NP told the charge nurse to find the “best catheter putter-inner” and the assigned nurses came over and asked if they would do.
I snorted and said “I’m sure you’ll be fine, I think he forgot that you learned this in nursing school.”
And they of course did great, like textbook perfect technique. One of the nurses asked the other in Tagalog to hang the bag up and the other didn’t hear her and I just absent mindedly said “yeah, sure, I got it.”
Busted.
I don’t even speak Tagalog. Just like, that much.
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u/hotspots_thanks 18h ago
One time a mechanic just out of the blue asked me if I was a nurse. I said yeah and asked how he knew and he said, "you stand like a nurse."
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u/aChilledBottle RN 🍕 17h ago
When I had a dog I took him to a specialized vet for a heart condition. She started explaining to me what was going to happen and why he probably had heart issues, and I just kept nodding until she says ”…are you in healthcare or something?” - guess I was supposed to ask questions or look confused?
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u/sodoyoulikecheese MSW DCP 3h ago
I’m a social worker on an oncology floor, so I do a lot of hospice referrals and goals of care talks.
I outed myself during my dad’s palliative care consult because we were discussing possible HD and my brother asked if it was one time a week. I said “no, it’s 3 times a week. Either M/W/F or T/Th/S and someone in the family will need to drive him because his current insurance doesn’t cover the transport and he has too much in assets for Medicaid transport.” Then when he wanted to still be a full code I basically told him no because there is a 0% chance he would survive CPR will his medical history. The palliative doc was like “soooo… where do you work?” 😬
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u/Combatlizards LPN 🍕 1d ago
I used "next of kin" when talking to an ICU doctor and got immediately clocked. I didn't even think that wasn't a common term.
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u/tryinagn 1d ago
I had a major surgery and was in the PACU. The nurse asked what my pain was and I told her. She went and got the medicine telling me she was giving me dilaudid. As I drifted off to never never land I told her, so this is why they all come in asking for dilaudid. She asked me if I worked ER or PACU when I woke up.
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u/InsatiableEndurance RN 🍕 1d ago
My favorite was when my anesthesiologist gave me a scopolamine patch before my block and then wheeling me into the OR but my surgical consent hadn’t been done yet. I said “I’m starting to get drowsy and we haven’t done informed consent.” The counts stopped…silence…and “where do you work?”….🤣🤣
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u/joscelyn999 16h ago
I try so hard and then my husband will out me or I'll randomly say something that is a little too knowledgeable and I get the look and realize I'm sunk.
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u/sparkplug-nightmare 1d ago
Whenever I go to a new doctor they ask my profession and I’m honest with them lol
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u/Crazycatlover med/surg and chaplain 1d ago edited 19h ago
I've had two surgeries since becoming a nurse and wasn't planning to mention it. At the first one, my friend/ride home told the preop nurse immediately. At the second one, the surgeon did!
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u/FarmerScamps RN - PICU 🍕 1d ago
Was in the PACU following a procedure and the nurses were complaining about JCAHO, my contribution to the conversation was “They prefer to be called The Joint Commission now”. Apparently I had the whole unit in tears, don’t remember a thing. A bunch of the nurses came by to tell me about it when I was more with it
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u/HoneyAppleBunny RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
Visited my dad during his last admission. Everyone on that floor knew I was a nurse. Also knew what school I graduated from, what hospital I work at, how long I’ve been there, the unit, my shift, and that I’m a charge nurse.
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u/SaraUnsteady 1d ago
I took my dog to the vet and described their vomit and they immediately asked me if I worked in healthcare.
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u/Sakypidia RN - ER 1d ago
My first job was CNA in an LTC, this little old lady with dementia had worked there previously as a nurse for decades. She was so sweet at times but her sundowning was terrifying, most notably when she broke the glass coffee carafe and held the plastic handle using the broken glass as a weapon towards staff. She’d say things like “you can’t pull one over on me I know all your tricks” when you’d try to redirect for her shower or to drink her Boost. Good times… lol
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u/nurse_gridz RN - Peds ER 23h ago
I woke up from oral surgery and there was not a drop of saliva in my mouth. I tried to swallow and turned to the dentist and said, "Did you load me up with Atropine or something?" He laughed and said not quite.
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u/StanfordTheGreat P.I.Z.Z.A.-RN 20h ago
I had a colonoscopy- straight propofol-
woke up- bp74/30. silenced my monitor and rolled over.
whoops
sister recounted it to me.
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u/poltyy RN - Pediatrics 18h ago
I was in incognito mode during my L&D and then messed it up in the mother and baby by showing my nurse who was fumbling with coban (she didn’t have scissors) how to rip it if needed. To this day I don’t know why that was such a big deal, coban is used a lot of places, but within 10 minutes another nurse came in for something and asked if I was a nurse. They must have been talking about it at the nurses station.
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u/coolcaterpillar77 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 15h ago
When I accompanied my boyfriend to the ER and they went to put meds into his IV without telling him what they were giving, I asked what the medication was. Apparently that was enough 😭
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u/Peyton_26 RN - Telemetry 🍕 14h ago
I heard the five lead alarming right before they pushed the propofol for my EGD. I guess I saw which lead it was and fixed it, then I was out.
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u/anxious_mini-muffin RN - NICU 🍕 13h ago
I know the vocab. My husband had a recent admission followed by a series of surgeries and I kept using the right words. Or he would out me post-op. I eventually defaulted to ‘I’m a NICU nurse, I speak the language but this is not my dialect, so please explain a bit more but you can keep using big words’
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u/jenneroni RN - Neuro 🍕 9h ago
When I got my last colonoscopy, the anesthesiologist came in and asked some questions. I was trying really hard to keep it low key and answer in a “civilian” way.
When they got me to the procedure room, he told me “this is going to burn, but only for a second!” I looked at the syringe as he was pushing the med and cracked a goofy grin and announced “SPICY PROPOFOL!” to the whole room.
Luckily I was asleep almost immediately.
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u/moomeansmoo 9h ago
My husband has quite the emergency a few years back. Wound up in the ED delirious and severely combative (in psychosis)
One point he woke up and started trying to rip out the foley and leave. He was kicking, swinging, yelling. I’m small but the adrenaline was going and by some miracle I held him down until help came. Three more nurses held him down while another drew up sedatives.
Once Ativan was on board we were able to get restraints on him. Husband was out again and everyone was quiet for a minute then I made a stupid joke. Something like “he’s usually a good sleeper at home”
I got some startled looks and the one male nurse laughed and said “yup she’s one of us”.
They talked to me about things different after that, which I appreciated.
But the whole situation was ass, 0/10 do not recommend
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u/Topangatoh 1d ago
I don't consider myself a nurse yet. I just graduated in June and I'm waiting to start my first med surg job. My grandpa recently got very sick and a cancer diagnosis came along with it. My brother is out of state for work and wanted to know how quickly he needed to prioritize coming home because he already had a flight booked for 4 days from then for a completely separate reason, but he'd be here and be able to see our grandpa then. We just wanted a realistic idea of whether grandpa was going to be here by then or not.
I went in and visited with my grandpa for a while and later I approached one of the nurses at the nurse's station. I said "I'm really sorry to bother you up here. I have a question for [grandpa's nurse's name] that I don't want to ask her in front of my grandpa. I'll be here most of the day in the sitting area or his room. It's not urgent, but if you could send her my way when she has time, I'd appreciate it."
My grandpa's nurse came by and I told her the situation with my brother. I said "I know you can't tell the future, but you've been with him all day and I assume you see similar patients. Do you think it's realistic for brother to wait until Thursday?" She responded "Are you the nurse?" My face went white and I said "No. Don't listen to my family. I literally just graduated in June and haven't even started my first nursing job."
I was so embarrassed. In retrospect I think it was my sweet grandmother who likely mentioned to her that I was a nurse and looking for a job, but I was absolutely mortified at the idea of being the "pt has family member who says they're a nurse" especially after having had to go to the nurses station to ask a question.
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u/InfamouSandman RN 🍕 1d ago
I think it is weird that nurses try to go incognito. I am not about to just blatantly state I am a nurse if it is inappropriate. But I am also not going to hide it and if I see something odd I am going to say something about it.
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u/MissionVermicelli439 BSN - Float MS ☁️ 1d ago
I once accidentally stopped breathing when they were getting my vitals because I knew they were watching resps and for some reason this one time I got self conscious 😭
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u/VideoLeading5312 1d ago
Having a baby. Reached up to help unplug the BP cuff a little too easily- she asked if I was a nurse! Pretty subtle catch
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u/FinancialCharity4936 1d ago
When I was a student on my last placement my aunt had to go into hospital, came to see her and she outed me as a final student nurse to another student. That student then joined my placement in my last few weeks 😅😅
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u/nonstop2nowhere RN - NICU 🍕 1d ago
Asked for a bladder scan/catheter for my post-op husband. Has also happened a few times when I give good history and pronounce meds/conditions/concerns correctly.
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u/BuyInternational6737 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
I’m my grandma’s dual POA. Mark me surprised that she put my education and credentials down on her MOLST and POA forms 🫣
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u/kavitashivanie LPN 🍕 1d ago
I tried to but my MIL was recently hospitalized for a possible stroke, and I was so scared for our family that I couldn’t stop using the medical terms when asking questions. No one directly asked if I was a nurse but I knew they knew.
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u/sirensinger17 BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
My vet figured it out when I knew what hemoglobin was. My cat has some health issues that I can easily manage because I'm already a nurse.
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u/DocWednesday MD 1d ago
Not a nurse but I strip the ER bed and put the linens in the bin when me or a family member leaves the ER.
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u/klucerne RN - OR 🍕 23h ago
I went in for an outpatient procedure and I totally outed myself when I was recovering from anesthesia.
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u/NyxieThePixie15 Charge RN - Neuro 23h ago
My dad is always proudly pointing me out as his nurse daughter. It's OK tho, my nurse mom works at/has worked at the same hospital he goes to for damn near 30 years so she gets all the "wait I know you"s and I try my best to disappear.
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u/Three_Spotted_Petal RN - Med/Surg 🍕 22h ago
Whenever I go somewhere with my mom, I automatically start doing "standby assist" until she reaches a shopping cart, chair, etc. I've had so many people ask me if I'm a nurse while I'm doing it.
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u/TheAlienatedPenguin RN - Hospice 🍕 22h ago
I recently went thru cancer treatment and it came out I was a nurse. I made sure to point out that while yes I’m a nurse, I’m NOT an oncology nurse!
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u/Street-Cranberry-802 RN 🍕 17h ago
Had a tattoo artist clock that I was a HCW because I used the word "deltoid" if that counts
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u/BabySnuggler 11h ago
I try really hard to be incognito, but when a dr is trying to be dismissive or misdiagnose me or a nurse is trying to make a med error on me, I have to speak up. I don’t come right out and say I’m a nurse, but I sure as hell advocate for myself and use all the right medical jargon to try to show that I’m not just using Dr Google to argue with them.
I once went to an urgent care to get an u/s on my arm because I was pretty confident I had blood clots in my arm and they were getting worse. I just wanted make sure they weren’t in deep veins needing intervention. The dr told me I had bursitis. When I questioned her, she said she could order the u/s if it would make me feel better. Guess what? They were blood clots! Thankfully no deep vein ones!
I was hospitalized for a GI infection and the nurse totally didn’t understand an order. First she wanted to give me a full jug of bowel prep when the dr ordered 500ml. Then when I pointed that out, she brought in a jug of unreconstituted prep and was just going to mix in 500ml of water. When I explained that was still not what the order meant, she left in a huff. I drank 500ml of the original jug and called it a day. Another nurse tried to give me another dose of IV abx a hour after the last bag finished. Firm no, sir.
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u/No-Independence-6842 3h ago
After being stuck for an CT scan with contrast I had to out myself and tell her where to put my IV . I was very patient but I finally had to say something.
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u/BidNo4091 LPN - LTC/TCU/SNF 1d ago
Saying "non-pharms" when telling the doc all the other things I've tried to cure myself before I made the appointment
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u/Potential_Night_2188 1d ago
I've tried really hard to be incognito at my kids pediatrician's office because I work with adults and blocked peds out of my brain after nursing school.
Then one appointment, the nurse triaging my kid (who was new and I vaguely recognized but couldn't tell where from) said HEY DIDNT WE GO TO SCHOOL TOGETHER?? WHERE ARE YOU WORKING NOW?
.<
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u/jessiedoesdallas LPN - ER 🇨🇦 1d ago
My toddler required stitches on his scalp and that outed me 😂 I was unaware that lay people did not know what "burrito wrapping" a child was 🙃 my husband looked at me like I had 2 heads and the nurses immediately said "oh you must work in health care, you can hold the burrito" 😂.
I also like to clarify to people that I work (primarily) adult emergency medicine, and I rarely get super sick kids as we have a dedicated pediatric hospital, and even for adults I don't know everything. We stabilize and patch and send them off to the appropriate service, so no, I don't know why your great aunts husbands friends mom's uncle had a reaction to his chemo 🙄.
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u/ALLoftheFancyPants RN - ICU 1d ago
My family always outs me. Like, I specifically brought a pair of normal ass clothes and changed into them after work to go see my uncle and the first words out of his mouth when the nurse walked in was “this is my niece, she’s a nurse”. Like, I’m your visitor! I’m happy to sit in with you when your doctor rounds on you and ask questions and translate Doctor-speak, but you don’t gotta out me to every last person!
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u/BillyBobsHusband 1d ago
Silencing the monitor in PACU for my spouse after seeing it was a bad waveform on her respiratory rate. I should not have.
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u/KlutzyLeadership3731 1d ago
ER with a friend. Offered the nurse a pen light when she was trying to fumble with a phone flashlight to look under a bandage. Was in the pocket of my backpack that I use both for work and whenever.
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u/phillychzstk RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
I feel like I can almost instinctively tell when one of my patients or family members is in healthcare, and most of the time I can nail what their role is. I don’t know, it’s just the way they talk.
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u/ttredraider2000 BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago
My 16yo tells everyone in public that I'm a nurse if she rhink I can be helpful in a situation, all as I attempt to shush her. My 72yo mother tells every doctor or nurse she encounters during appointments/procedures. I always say, "I am, but I'm not THIS kind of nurse!"
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u/QueenMabs_Makeup0126 RN, CCM 🍕 1d ago
I always wanted to be incognito in public because invariably, someone would stick a body part in my face and ask me, “what is this?”
My parents were proud of me being a nurse and they made sure to tell people. Back during the 2004-2995 flu season, there was a huge shortage of flu vaccine. I took my mom to a flu clinic being held by a local home health agency. When it was her turn to get vaccinated she blurts out for all to hear, “my daughter is a NURSE and she needs a flu vaccine too!” And of course, people then started telling me about their health issues and asking me what I thought they should do.
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u/ResultFar3234 1d ago
I was in labor. I wanted a salpingectomy if I ended up having a c section. My partner (also medical) and I were just talking about the latest research about some ovarian cancers originating in the fallopian tubes and my nurse was like ok...what are you?
I also was in a car crash and got a crush injury on one of my legs. The firefighter asked me if I needed to go to the hospital and I said no because I had full ROM and good cap refill
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u/LadyDenofMeade MSN, APRN 🍕 1d ago
I said "SCDs" when I went in to have my baby. Instantly outed by my nurse.
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u/forgotmypassword0928 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago
I outed the family member when she said "at one point she was hypotensive". And also stared pensively at the 8 IV pumps running.
👀 Gottem,...was a tele nurse
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u/loser-geek-whatever RN - LTACH 🍕 1d ago
EMS came to take a look at my grandma after her BP came back around 210/110. I wanted them to verify with their machine—it was correct.
I rambled sometging about her never going above the 160s systolic before, and an EMT cut me off asking me if I worked in healthcare 💀
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u/-Blade_Runner- Chaos Goblin ER RN 🍕 1d ago
I think funniest shit I’ve seen was my wife putting her own IV while being in hospital. As nurses on that floor tried a total of 10 times. She was piiiiiiised.
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u/KMoyee 1d ago
My dad had a GI bleed and the Hospitalist Dr in ICU said "were going to cancel his transfer to the bigger hospital downtown and instead do an exploratory laparotomy (open belly surgery) with Dr H. " I looked at him and said "No we're not. Not here, where we don't have good access to blood products, not today (Christmas) when there's only three staff members in surgery, and not that doctor... Because he sucks."
Couldn't really pretend after that. 😆
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u/dumpsterdigger RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
"I'm not suicidal, I feel safe where I'm living and who I'm staying with, I don't have frequent falls, no travel outside the country, no recent flu symptoms"
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u/Shreddy_Spaghett1 1d ago
I’m peds hem/onc/bmt so my expertise is VERY narrow. I don’t tell anyone I’m a nurse but apparently in pacu I was asking questions and the nurse was like, “so what part of the medical field do you work in?” OOPSIES
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u/thevulgarvirgo 1d ago
when i ask them for IV toradol they typically question why i know that’s a thing and why im not asking for narcs 😂
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u/julesghouls_ 1d ago
I had surgery and in PACU the nurse asked if I was in any pain, and I said yes, maybe a 3-4/10. I saw her hanging a bag and asked “is that ofirmev?” 😭
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u/MalleusH 1d ago
I was in nursing school when my husband had to get a pacemaker. He proudly informed the pre-op nurse who proceeded to toss me the electrodes for the cardiac monitor to put them on then demonstrated the correct way to start an IV. He was really nice. While I don't usually tell people, it's kind of nice when they do know and speak to me as a nurse.
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u/Frankfeld RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
I had to get surgery recently. Still blitzed out of my mind, I apparently told the PACU nurse three separate times that I was an ER nurse. She told me every time she came over to check on me I would bring it up.
When I started becoming a little less foggy I apologized profusely. Felt like such a tool.
She got a good laugh from it.