Scrubs

“Take on a Nurse” game

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Think you know more about ethics, triage and emergency medical treatment—not to mention U.S. history!—than your fellow Scrubs readers? This quiz is designed to be the ultimate nurse challenge. Of course, we don’t like things to be boring, so we’re also testing your imagination.

Travel across time into the past and future to see what aspects of your current skill set would still be useful in scenarios that range from historically realistic to just plain weird.

We’ve been very fortunate to have nurses across a variety of specialty fields provide their expertise in formulating the “right” answer to each question. But some of these questions are pretty tricky. Pay attention to the dates and remember that you can only use medical technology and resources that were available at that time in history. Choose your answers with care and don’t forget to share your score in the comments!

If you’re on a computer or tablet device, click HERE to play! If you’re on your mobile phone, scroll down to play!

“Take on a Nurse” Game

You’re a nurse on one of the Titanic’s lifeboats. You’ve managed to pull several people out of the icy water and onto your boat. It’s April 14, 1912, and you only have supplies such as blankets, clothing and life preservers available. What do you do to prevent hypothermia in these water-soaked survivors?





It’s February 9, 1971. A major earthquake strikes your workplace, the Veterans Administration Hospital in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. Rescue workers have extracted a number of patients from the rubble, but there aren’t enough medical personnel on the scene to treat everyone. Many survivors have serious crush injuries, including one who appears to be going into cardiac arrest. What do you do first?





A man-made variant of the bird flu that’s airborne and can be transmitted from person to person is accidentally released into the population. The fatality rate is extremely high and there is no vaccine. Your area of the country appears to be unaffected so far. As panic sets in, people in your neighborhood ask you what number-one precaution they should take. What do you tell them?





You’re an ER nurse. During a particular rush of emergency cases, you notice that a colleague forgets to sanitize his hands between patients on more than one occasion. You’re sure of your observation and remind him to wash up. He claims the emergency required him to respond immediately and he didn’t have time to sanitize properly. He doesn’t want to discuss the matter any further. What do you do?





The zombie apocalypse is finally occurring. A patient comes to you for treatment of a suspicious-looking bite wound. However, he claims the nature of his injury is private health information that you aren’t allowed to disclose to anyone. What do you do?





You’re at a children’s birthday party. There is a pool in the backyard. When the kids jump in, several begin screaming that they are burning. It appears that the water has been treated with way too much chlorine and other pool chemicals. Which children who were in the pool need to get checked out at the emergency room?





It’s the start of World War I and you’re working as an army nurse. There are no antibiotics readily available at this time in history. How do you treat a battle wound that is severely infected?





You’re working a shift at the hospital and it turns out to be a very quiet night. Two teenage girls carry a badly injured dog into the ER. It is obviously near death. They ask for your help. What do you do?





You’re working as a Civil War nurse. There is a rumor going around among the nurses that the doctors have been stealing the alcohol used to numb patients’ pain and drinking it. You strongly suspect that one of the surgeons you work with is pilfering from the alcohol supply. What’s most likely to stop the problem (at least in the short term) so the alcohol is available for patients who really need it?





You’re the only bilingual nurse available when many seriously injured but conscious patients arrive at the hospital at one time. Some speak English, but not all do. What’s the fastest way to find out which patients need your translation services most during triage and treatment?





You’re a nurse at a public school. A child appears to be having a serious allergic reaction and might go into anaphylactic shock at any moment. There is a child-dose EpiPen among the school’s medical supplies. However, the child’s parents haven’t left any instructions about allergies in the child’s file. Your school has a strict policy against administering medications that aren’t listed as approved in the child’s file. What do you do?





You’re a nurse in a large U.S. city where a terrorist detonates a dirty bomb. People who suspect they were exposed to radiation begin flooding the hospital. How do you triage these patients?







WHAT YOUR ANSWERS MEAN
If you answered 10 or more questions correctly:
You are the ultimate nurse. There’s no telling what specialty you actually belong to. Whether it’s an emergency airlift situation or a zombie apocalypse, you’re running the show for Team Humans and saving lives!

If you answered 7—9 questions correctly:
You’re a “been there, done that” nurse, and boy, do you LOVE what you do! Your experience in nursing shines through, regardless of where you are or what you’re doing. In fact, you can’t watch a “disaster” special on the History Channel without mentally triaging the re-enactment characters for the next few days.

If you answered 4—6 questions correctly:
You are an “imaginative newbie.” You may not have all the answers just yet, but your instincts are what we in the profession call “the nurse’s sixth sense.” A few more years under your belt and you’re going to be jet-setting to Hollywood to be a script consultant for the next big hit medical show.

If you answered 0—3 questions correctly:
Seriously? Go get another cup of coffee and try again.

Here’s the answer key…in case you have any arguments…

More favorite Scrubs quizzes:
NCLEX practice exam I
The portion guessing game
The nursing calculations quiz
The nurse stress test
Test your nursing photo IQ

Contributors:
Andy Craig (former ER nurse and paramedic, currently an NP and Navy Reservist)
Joanna Hysler, RN
Stephanie A. Rameika, RN, MSN, WCC (specialties: geriatrics, wound care and hyperbarics)
Nikkia “Nikki” Randle, LPN
Christy Richards (ICU nurse for 19 years)
Stacey Rorie, RN, BSN, MSN/ED

 

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