Working in medicine has to be one of those professions which requires humor.
Without a little bit of humor—or at least the ability to look at the brighter side of things—surely the work would become too much for anyone.
Fortunately for this nurse, she has a funny story to carry with her, and her fellow staff, for a long time.
Reddit user "nettii24" explained, as a nurse, it's important to have a set of phrases to fall back on. When the hours are long and the patients are coming and going, it's best to go into the patient's room with a little conversational backup.
However, as the nurse points out, sometimes you find yourself tongue-tied anyway. When you're exhausted, or the patient throws off your usual routine, it's easy to get something mixed up.
As this nurse also discovered, these instances of being tongue-tied tend to be the most hilarious.
You can read her story here:
from tifu
Many fellow Redditors chimed in, some nurses, ready to share in the humor, and some even to share their own horrifyingly funny stories.
"We're not allowed to say little prick. We have to say something like 'sharp scratch', over they years I've had it pointed out that I 'always say sharp scratch', to which I reply 'well, we're not allowed to say little prick anymore'. I've had patients crying with laughter at my response. Sometimes people feel so low in hospital that it doesn't take much to make someone's day." - compoface
"Had a nurse grab my penis as she was about to insert the catheter say, 'oh, it's just a little one.' She assured me she was talking about catheter. Uh hum." - DystopianB*tch
"Former ED RN here. When listening to a patient's lungs I used to place my stethoscope on their chest and instruct them by saying, 'big breath' each time I needed them to breathe deeply. That was, until I saw a shocked look on a family member's face seeing my (male) hand apparently on the patient's chest and commenting about her 'big breasts.' I immediately changed to saying, 'deep breath.'" - Gonzo_B
"To be honest, you were about to do something that could have been incredibly unpleasant. You made his day better. Good on you." - drkirienko
Like anything else in life, it can typically be made better with a little humor.
Though this nurse currently feels like she'll never live this down, she'll surely reach a point where she can look back on this and laugh.
@LeeMerrittesq/X
@bob_moss/X
@jelanijones/Bluesky
@Aurkayne/X
@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky