Yes, in the world of nursing if you say it, it's bound to happen.....
If you are having a good streak on IV starts, you don't dare mention it out loud or the next vein you puncture will blow and you'll be off of your streak.... Or, if you order chinese food; the unit is bound to explode into unforeseen craziness, the likes of which will leave even the seasoned nurse bewildered.
Thus far, I've had a hard time accepting these "myths" as I don't tend to buy into such beliefs. However, I've received an initiation of sorts into the eerie world of nursing superstitions recently on the floor.
Two events happened that now have me wondering if I shouldn't just hold my tongue when certain thoughts enter my head afterall.
A couple days in a row we would reach the "nearly over" point on the floor at about 5:30 or 6:00 am where we would start to make our patient rounds one last time, tying up our loose ends and preparing for the fresh infusion of day shifters to descend upon us.... Then, just as we were finally reaching the end of our "to do" list, a "Rule Out Labor" outpatient would arrive. "Darn it"... we would think, "Why couldn't her husband have drove just a little slower and arrived at 7:30 instead???"
So, after a few days of this happening consistently.... We got to that point again one morning and I said, "Isn't it about time for our 6 AM "Rule Out Labor" outpatient to get here?"
The glares I got from my lovely and normally very friendly co-workers were just plain evil. OOPS... sorry guys... It remained quite.... The doctor who was there to witness my mishap of words had left to go to her office... It was still calm..... Then, the phone rang and the secretary took down some information and hung up. She then announced to me, "Dr. So-and-So wanted to tell you that your "Rule Out Labor" patient is on her way over." Yes... You guessed it.... That day I was the overworked, overtired nurse that morning who got the bumm assignment of evaluating the outpatient who strolled through the door at change of shift. :)
Then, a few days later it was a particularly long and arduous night made even more difficult when things stalled to a motionless halt around 3 AM... I fought to keep my eye lids from closing from exhaustion... When things get quiet on night shift, the most effective way for me to stay awake is to keep busy.... with anything... clean, stock rooms, organize, anything.......
So, after doing the dishes in the break room and sitting down the exhaustion began overcoming me.... I said to my co-worker, "I wish I had an outpatient to get me over this hump this morning."
WOW.... Did I live to regret that request.....and all of my co-workers reminded me that the mess that was to follow was "MY FAULT."
Within 45 minutes of me uttering that dreadful sentence, the unit was in mass confusion.....
First a lovely "Rule Out Labor" outpatient arrived and I gleefully accepted this assignment. I went into her room to do my initial evaluation and assessment..... But, when I walked out of the room a mere 20 minutes later the scene at the nursing station was vastly different from when I entered. The secretary was fervently pulling papers, filling charts and faxing orders.... The charge nurse was on the phone calling in all possible helpers.... There was a crew of NICU nurses assembled outside of a LDRP room complete with a warmer, neonatal crash cart and the neonatologist. And, there were all of my innocent coworkers in room 422 trying to manage the now emergent 25 week abruption patient who walked through our doors just seconds before her amniotic sack ruptured.
Yes, mass confusion ensued. Every available hand was preparing for a crash cesarean.... and I found myself standing in the nursing station with 6 babies (who I knew nothing about because I wasn't their nurse) and a labor patient to admit (because my lovely "rule out labor" was indeed IN labor).
Yes, there was no way I was falling asleep at this point. That worry was far from my mind.
So, you can see a littel glimpse into what makes us nurses believe that superstitions are alive and well...... With good reason.
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