r/nursing • u/_neutral_person RN - ICU 🍕 • Jul 24 '22

Nursing Hacks Silent Knight Pill Crusher

It sucks at crushing pills. That is all.

414 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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508

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '22

The old school nurse I work with puts the meds on the counter and smashes them with the pill crusher, cave man style.

121

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '22

I’ve used door jambs.

66

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '22

That’s pro old school points! Almost as hardcore as opening flushes with your teeth.

71

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '22

Hahaha. I had a charge who had been a nurse for probably twice my lifetime at one point. She was a “we used to clean the metal bedpans” nurse. She would open the flushes with her mouth because her arthritis was so bad and ask the others to open the k packs.

37

u/lilsassyrn BSN, RN 🍕 Jul 24 '22

And they have seen everything. Full of knowledge too.

84

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '22

Oh for sure.

We’re losing so much generational knowledge in the corporate healthcare race to the bottom. It’s maddening.

80

u/lilsassyrn BSN, RN 🍕 Jul 24 '22

It’s so sad. 10 years ago, we had nurses that had been working over 30 years and you could go to them for anything and everything. Had a coworker in the ICU who came in to help me with a combative patient who pulled his IV out (with a tube and on sedatives of course). He jumps up on the bed, holds the guy down, gets an IV right away and literally spit the cannula on the ground. In like less then 2 minutes. I was blown away. I know not exactly the same type of story but I just know we won’t see those types of super experienced, somewhat jaded but smart nurses again.

41

u/badtux99 Jul 24 '22

That was almost literally one of my relatives. She left hospital healthcare after being illegally fired for reporting patient dumping to the state. Turns out that HCA had bribed a majority of the state oversight board and they laughed at her report rather than taking any action, then told HCA so HCA could fire her.

10

u/TriceratopsBites RN - CVICU 🍕 Jul 25 '22

Another reason to say Fuck HCA!

4

u/North_Ad_4136 Jul 25 '22

I had an old school CNA teach me the trick to transferring a combative patient with long nails- she would let him grab her arms, ignored the nails gouging into her skin, and swing him into bed.... It was probably the safest he ever transferred 🥲🫡

29

u/cornflower4 BSN, RN, Hospice 🍕 Jul 24 '22

Yeah, I’m one of those oldies ;) We took our metal bed pans, covered with a cloth, to the utility room where there was a bedpan hopper. So gross. I can’t imagine walking in the halls of a hospital now with a pan full of stinky poop.

18

u/imacryptohodler BSN, RN 🍕 Jul 24 '22

The good ole days. No such things as wipes either, soapy washcloth to clean incontinent BM. Jesus, I remember using two flat sheets as the bottom sheet with nursing corners before we got fitted sheets.

8

u/galaxyriver RN - PCU 🍕 Jul 25 '22

Our unit is low enough on linens half the time that we do that anyway. And make makeshift pillow cases with flat sheets

4

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '22

We had fitted sheets, and we just got flat sheets again. Almost none of the nurses learned how to do corners because they didnt need to learn those in school. Fucking flat sheets. I want my fitted back.

4

u/pink_gin_and_tonic RN - Psych/Mental Health 🍕 Jul 25 '22

Wait a minute - hospitals have fitted sheets? I've never seen fitted sheets!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '22

My had (Germany nurse). And I guess they were too expensive or just thinner matherial so they decieded to bring in flat sheets. They still have the top sewn together so you can put them on like fitted sheet, but the rest you must do on your own.

5

u/whofilets RN 🍕 Jul 25 '22

I work In the UK now and flat sheets with corners is the norm! I felt kinda silly when I started like 'I am a nurse for real... But I don't know how to make this bed' It's kind of annoying with just one person but goes easily with two.

11

u/whotaketh RN - ED/ICU :table_flip: Jul 24 '22

I can't even do this now with the mask in the way