1. Go slow when you prime your IV.
When you go full blast with the flow,
there’s a good chance for tiny air bubbles to form within the tube. To avoid this,
you can clamp the tube first, fill the drip chamber and let the fluid flow slowly.
See also: 50 IV Therapy Tips and Tricks
2. Use gauze to prevent hair pulling when using a tourniquet. The friction
a tourniquet creates against hair can be painful to patients. To address this, try
placing a thin sheet of gauze in between the tourniquet and your patient’s skin.
3. Prevent pinching. Fold a washcloth and tuck it under the front of the
bedside commode seat to prevent pinching.
4. Use hydrogen peroxide for blood stains. While we technically have no
problem seeing blood, having them on our white uniform or your favorite scrub
suit is a different story. Instead of wearing blood stains as your battle mark the
entire shift, you can apply a few drops of hydrogen peroxide as a stain remover.
You can remove them from patient pillows too. Image via:
Pinterest
5. Didn’t hit the mark? Try double insertion of foley catheters. Missing
the mark isn’t only common to new nurses. The truth is, whether you’re a
veteran or not, we’ve all had our fair share of the experience. When inserting a
foley cath to a female patient and you fail to get a return, leave the first
catheter in place and try the same procedure with another Foley catheter,
aiming higher this time.
6. Powder a bedpan. Powder a bedpan before you put a patient on it for
easier evacuation; especially useful for obese patients.
7. Patient have needle phobia? Have the patient take ten slow and deep
breaths before sticking him for blood extraction. Breathing helps
lessen fear and anxiety. If that doesn’t work:
8. Wiggle toes. As a form of distraction, let the patient wiggle his toes to
divert his attention to it.
9. When the patient has a Foley and ambulates… Tie a clean glove or
tourniquet to the bottom of the IV pull and hang the Foley there.
10. Try the triple gloving method when handling code brown. This trick
doesn’t only save time, but it also limits the chances of your bare hands getting
in contact directly with your client’s excretions. The first pair of gloves is meant
for cleaning your patient’s poop. Strip the first pair and work with your second
pair of gloves when putting on his new diaper. Take the second pair off and use
the remaining pair of gloves on your hands in placing a fresh sheet on his bed
and in disposing of waste.
Not just once but thrice!
11. Can’t stand the smell? Add grounded coffee beans in your
station. Coffee powder is a good odor neutralizer, whether it’s coming from
your emesis basin or a whole room. To do this trick, you can just put a small
container filled with grounded coffee beans right at the center of the area.
12. Use alcohol swabs if you’re feeling nauseous. You can swipe an alcohol
swab under your nose for instant relief from nausea. You can also use this trick
if you’re suffering from sinus pain.
13. Put peppermint oil in your mask for stinky situations. Place a few
drops of peppermint oil in your face mask and breathing through your mouth.
Helpful for patients who feel like vomiting from the bad odors, too. Or you
could…
14. Wear two masks. Grab two masks and smear toothpaste on the inside of
the second mask. This helps you tolerate the smell and stops from getting
toothpaste in your face or mustache.
15. You can also use alcohol on matted hair. “If a hair brush can’t get
through my patient’s hair, I use a bit of alcohol to remove tangles. It works like
a charm”, a veteran nurse shared. For this trick, you need to apply a few drops
of alcohol on the area. The alcohol works by breaking any substance that’s
causing the tangles. Make sure to gently but thoroughly rub it on the hair.
16. Try KY Jelly for dried blood. Aside from lubricating certain body parts,
you can also use KY Jelly to remove dried blood stains from your patient’s skin.
It lifts the blood off of the surface to make it easier to swipe with a cotton ball.
Make sure you’re still wearing your gloves while doing this trick and remember
to wipe a good antiseptic on the area as well.
17. Clamp catheters with a syringe barrel. In case you ran out of Kelly
clamps, you can use a syringe barrel. Just take the needle part off, pinch the
tube between your thumb and index finger and insert it into the barrel. This is
particularly helpful when your patient is on bladder training.
18. Avoid mess and dip to lube that Foley. Instead of squirting the lubricant
from its syringe into your Foley, remove the plunger off and stick the tip of the
Foley directly into the barrel. This gives you more control and a well lubricated
Foley tip without the mess.
19. Give hovering and overly-involved family members a job to
do. Families are often overwhelmed with the feeling of not being able to do
anything, involve them in patient care even with minimal tasks to help them
feel like they’re participating. This is also an excellent way to establish rapport.
20. Place a urine bag before sticking a pediatric client. “Put a urine bag
on the kid before lab comes to stick ’em for blood. They’ll scream and usually
pee themselves – BAM! Urine sample.” -HerpieMcDerpie/Reddit
21. Pause before leaving a room. Before you leave a room, take a few
seconds to check to see if there’s anything else you need and can do at that
moment. This is particularly useful if you’re gowned, saving you a few minutes
by simply pausing.
22. On priming a new tubing. When you’re priming new tubing, clamp the
tubing first, spike the bag, and slightly fill the chamber before priming. That’ll
help prevent any air bubbles in forming in the tubing.
23. Count the respirations when you’re taking a patient’s pulse. When
you’re checking respirations on a patient, don’t tell them what you’re really
doing. Instead, act like you’re assessing his pulse and count the respirations. If
you tell them you’re counting their respiration, they’d be conscious and will
immediately begin to breath more which will give you an inaccurate reading.
Much better if you could place his arm across the chest so you can feel it’s rise
and fall.
24. Make wound assessment easier. When doing a skin assessment on a
person with a bunch of wounds, bring another person with you to write each
one down with measurements and what dressings you put on while you call
them out on them. Doing so will prevent you the need to touch your pen and
paper or regloving.
25. Shaving cream to remove stuck feces in body hair. If you have a
patient with BM stuck in their body hair, lather the affected area with shaving
cream then wipe it off with a wet cloth. It will come right off.
26. Removing rings with an elastic strap. Use an oxygen mask’s elastic
strap to remove rings without cutting them off. Here’s a video on that
technique.
27. Warm your stethoscope. Nothing gives a jolt than a cold metal brushing
through your skin. Warm your stethoscope by rubbing your hands together to
form heat in your hands then cup your stethoscope.
28. Calm elderly or confused patients by giving them heated
blankets. The feeling of warmth will relieve restlessness and keep them from
roaming around or getting out of the bed.
29. Keep a second uniform in your car for emergencies. There will be a
time you’ll need one so always keep another set of scrubs.
30. For salt water drowning victims. Place a sheet over the pillow and bed,
use dry cloths with baby powder and the sand will be removed easily; roll up
the sheet and remove.
