Thank you for...

your stories! This week, we’re leaning into the Thanksgiving spirit and giving thanks to all of you who have such amazing stories to tell. We asked you to submit your funny, crazy, or inspiring stories with us to share in this week’s special Thanksgiving edition of The Handoff. Today, we share them with the entire Handoff community!

A run-in with the white stuff; no, not powdered sugar —

"I spend the majority of my time providing patient education, and let's just say there are some things that my patients do that never fail to shock me. Part of my daily duties is to perform health assessments, evaluate health history and medications, and finally administer a drug screening. After going through all the steps and completing one woman's visit, I administered an oral drug screen, and we chatted while waiting for the results. After I ripped off the label, I saw that she tested positive for cocaine. She looked at me dead in the eyes and said, 'Ohhhh, I know how that happened. When I went to clean my son's room, he had that stuff on the floor, and I tripped and fell into it.' What did I want to say to that? 'Honey, unless you took a nose dive into the cocaine and snorted on your way up, that's not how it works.' I had no idea how to respond... it was great!" - Anonymous, Plasma Nurse

Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground —

One time, I was about to give a 4-year-old a bicillin shot for his case of strep throat. The patient was wailing loudly because we had just told him about the shot he needed. The tech, who had been watching the patient, turned around for less than a second, and the patient lept off the bed and ran out the room. We had pulled down his pants and underwear so that I could access the dorsogluteal site (his pants and underwear were down around his ankles). Stumbling wildly, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him through the hallways of the ER, screaming at the top of his lungs 'She tryin' kill me! She tryin' kill me!' I ran after him, trying to catch him, right into my manager giving a tour of the unit to our CNO and several other VIPs. The looks on all of their faces were priceless." - Anonymous, Peds Nurse

Bieber said it best: "never say never" —

Yes, nurses are in high demand, but that doesn't mean that top positions aren't competitive: "About two years and 59 'we-regret-to-inform-you' applications later, application number 60 was a-go! I finally landed my dream job at MedStar Washington Hospital! (And yes, look at that- they gave us a panic button!) Orientation is today :) #Techie #FutureRN #FirstSteps" - Anonymous, Patient Care Tech & RN Student

A surprise visit by a not-so-old friend —

"My parents came to visit me in Atlanta, and I thought it would be a fun idea to go on bicycle tour of city to see all the cool landmarks by bike. We were the only people on the tour, so it was very intimate between us and our tour guide. Our guide was a 45-year-old man who bonded with my family, as we spent the whole day riding around, eating, and chatting together. Fast forward less than a month later, and I was doing my male GU exams in patient simulation - testicular, penile, prostate, and sexual health. I enter the patient simulation room, and guess who’s meeting me in the gown and all... the bicycle tour guide. I died inside; there was no way he didn’t remember me, so I just pretended we hadn’t met before. He went with it, making the whole thing even more awkward. For the following 30 minutes, we did a whole patient scenario, going through an entire testicular, penis, and rectal exam together. Rough." - Anonymous, RN & soon-to-be NP

Anything but a shot —

"I spent the majority of my shift taking care of the cutest 6-year-old who was admitted for overnight observation. She was in with her dad (who was clearly on dad duty and taking all cues from me). We had the hardest time getting her to take PO meds (literally hours and multiple apple juices, popsicles, and jellos later), but she finally took them, and we were about ready to DC her. She asked her dad, 'Are we ready to go now?' He said, 'Well, we have one more medicine.' (A flu shot.) She responded with, 'Ugh, is it going to be yucky again?' His response? 'Oh, you won’t be tasting this one.' Her entire face crumpled, she threw herself on the ground and shrieked, 'Not a shot!!!' That’s one smart 6-year-old. But yeah, you can imagine how quicklAnonymous, y she learned the beauty of PO meds." - Anonymous, Peds Nurse

Baby warmers double as —

"One year, I was busy making tiny turkeys out of handprints and footprints when we got a unit-wide text letting us know that the turkey and ham provided by our leadership team was ready for the potluck. I walked into the breakroom, and in true NICU fashion, found the meats being kept warm on a baby warmer. (Spoiler alert: they’re not actually that effective as a meat warmer.)" - Anonymous, Peds Nurse