10 things only short nurses understand

Shutterstock | Roger Jegg – Fotodesign-Jegg.de

Struggling to reach something on the highest shelf at work…again? Standing on your tiptoes for what feels like half your shift? Having to find a stepstool so you can do chest compressions? Vertically challenged nurses, we feel your pain!

We asked our petite Facebook fans for the little on-the-job things that only their fellow short nurses would understand…get ready to chuckle and nod your head in agreement!

10 things only short nurses understand

1. Having to adjust all the IV poles at the start of shift so you can reach the bags!
—Julie Autumn

2. Doing chest compressions while standing on your tippy toes.
—Tracey Amell

3. Pushing a med cart down the hall…and having to look around the side of it to see what’s ahead. LOL! I had a resident say to me once, “What are ya, 4 foot nothing?”
—Donna Goodman

4. Using a footstool to hang anything is almost a requirement. Asking taller nurses to get items off the top shelf of the Omnicell because you cannot reach them. Using a marker to adjust your touchscreen monitor because it’s too high to reach. Having patients question the fact that you will be moving them out of bed: “You’re too small….”
—Krystal Quinlan Actis 

5. I have to stand on my tiptoes to be able to read my MAR when I’m passing out meds—I need a stepstool…or my med cart needs to be lower!
—DeAnna Miller

6. Having your body stretched across a bariatric bed to reach your patient…[e.g.,] Foley placement!
—Gretchen Eder Sloan 

7. Transferring a patient from one bed to another, I always wind up in the bed with the patient.
—Lisa Bechard Meyer

8. One of my vertically challenged nursing school classmates said that the biggest drawback was that her nose is closer to ALL of the bad smells!
—Brenda Mackel

9. Getting tripped up by isolation gowns because they go to your ankles. Although, on the bright side, you are completely covered and protected.
—Rachel Cole

10. Scrub pant bottoms that collect more bacteria and gunk on them than a pair of latex-free gloves!
—Jonna Renée

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What else would you add to this list? Sound off in the comments below! And if you’re at the other end of the height spectrum, check out 10 things only tall nurses understand!

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