You know you’re an ER nurse when…

Recently, many of you participated in medmagazine.com’s “You Know You’re a Nurse When…” contest. Although we were only able to pick four winners, many entries were so good that we wanted to share others.

Many of you suggested ways to know you’re an ER nurse. Here are some of our favorites.

You know you’re an ER nurse when…

1. You answer the phone in your kitchen with “[Name of your workplace], your own name and ‘How can I help you?’”
—Stephanie S., RN

2. You run out of Scotch Tape to wrap a gift and think nothing of using the roll of silk tape you found in your scrub pocket.
—Donna Holt, RN

3. You check out people’s veins when you’re at a cocktail party!
—Sandra Schutz, RN

4. You understand the word “Diahlia” and your patient means “Dilaudid.”
—Kathleen Mefford, RN

5. You know you’re a great emergency room nurse when you can go eight hours without using the restroom despite those three cups of coffee you needed to get through your shift!
—Lori Duncan, RN

6. You open a package of steak to cook a romantic dinner with your honey, and the aroma immediately reminds you of fresh GI bleed.
—Rachel, RN

7. You’re at a big amusement park surrounded by hundreds of people and you are categorizing them by their level of triage.
—Stacey Simeon, RN

8. You can go all day with no food and no bathroom break and still smile at your patients when they complain they haven’t eaten all day, and they have only been there for two hours.
—Sherry Sindle, RN

9. You can talk about brains and blood and EAT SPAGHETTI!!!
—Dawn Kilby, RN

10. You can assist with a finger amputation then have a hot dog with ketchup for lunch.
—Julia Meachem, LPN

11. You’re on the job and you cry because you’re happy AND sad!
—Debra Elmore-Nesheim, RN, PHN, BSN