TIFU by calling a hospital code

Submitted by justrightkinda t3_yr2b3l in tifu

Obligatory this happened a few months ago.

I'm a medical student, and at the time I was completing a neurology rotation. It was my last day, and I was taking a final cathartic lap around the floor when I peeped into the room of one particular patient. I was under the impression that this patient was unable to move, but they were somehow half off the bed?!!? (still not sure how this happened)

I called out to the Nurse Practitioner (NP) nearby for help. This 4' tall NP is literally the backbone of this floor. She is the actual sorcerer of lumbar punctures. The woman could probably get spinal fluid out of a rock. AKA she is very intimidating to me, a literal weenie of the hospital. She rushes in the help me, and commands me to "PUSH THE RED BUTTON."

"Uhhh... the red button...?" I look around nervously.

"YES, JUST PUSH IT."

"This red button...?" I motion to the only red button I see--the "CALL CODE" button on the wall… I didn't think this was that serious? But I am not one to question the Goddess of the Subarachnoid Space, for I am but a worm.

She doesn't look up as she's helping the patient. "YES JUST PUSH IT."

I hit the button. The floor siren starts going off. You can hear people start sprinting toward the room, yelling out commands in the hallway. The NP looks up, sees my scared-shitless face, and starts laughing. "Not THAT red button! The nurse call button on the remote!" OH. DUH. I think my face is redder than either button at this point. I quickly hit the cancel button, but it was too late. People have already arrived to see me at the scene of the crime, finger only 1 inch from the button.

Thankfully everyone is laughing and joking about how they got their workout in for the day, although I'm sure they were thinking about how much of a dumbass I was. The NP was really kind about it and told everyone she misguided me. But bon voyage to any future career in Neuro!

​

TL;DR I was instructed to hit the nurse help button, but I accidentally called a code instead, further establishing my oafishness as a med student

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grixit t1_ivrsujz wrote

Hmm. If this were Grey's Anatomy, you'd find yourself assigned to special observation duty of that patient while having to study their case file until you could explain how they got halfway off the bed. But you'd do such a good job of it that you'd be drafted as assistant to the chief of neuro and in three years you and that nurse would designing a new handheld gadget to measure CNS activity in coma patients.

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triceratropes t1_ivrv3uz wrote

Years ago at the dialysis clinic I worked at we had a brand new charge nurse, fresh graduate with zero prior clinical experience, doing rounds on the patients. She gets to the last patient in the row and all of a sudden I hear her screaming bloody murder "CALL A CODE! CODE BLUE! HELP!". So everyone on the floor scrambles to grab the crash cart, hit the alarm, and call the paramedics. As I run up to the poor guy, not only is he breathing, but he's fully sat up in his chair and is yelling at the CN about waking him up from his nap. Apparently she just saw his eyes were closed and when he didn't immediately arouse from saying his name once she freaked out and thought he was dead, didn't even try a sternal rub or shake him awake. The medics arrived before we could call them off and they were much less understanding than OP's co-workers lol

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wolf_boi_ t1_ivs0k2s wrote

I mean, this is not as bad as the time I really had to shit when I was at another office in another building. I was not familiar with the layout at all. So while I was frantically looking for a bathroom I pushed open an emergency exit door and the siren blasted through out the quiet office, and everyone turned towards me and saw the moron who did this. It was a big office so there were like 100 people staring at me like who is this idiot.

For that brief moment my urge to poo went away.

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RugbyTX t1_ivs1m3o wrote

This honestly happens all the time, especially in the emergency department. It's nbd. Typically more funny than anything

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place_artist t1_ivs5hoj wrote

Push the button, Kronk!

WRONG BUTTTTOOONNNNNN!!!

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SnakeBeardTheGreat t1_ivs5thd wrote

The NP screwed up. The nurse call button is the nurse call no matter what color it is. The red switch on the wall sends a signal to they nursing station that requires attention fight now. It does not Sound a siren in the hospital. I find your story funny but untrue. I worked on these systems for twenty years as a hospital engineer along with everything else to keep the hospital running smoothly.

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SnakeBeardTheGreat t1_ivs7lha wrote

Replying to RugbyTX (#490,362)

Where I worked we had certain fire alarm pull stations that would get pulled by kids or idiots. So we put covers on them. when they pulled the cover off it would sound a loud alarm put the cover back on the alarm would stop. Saved a lot of false alarms to the fire dept.

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braebrae11 t1_ivs7zf6 wrote

My first shift on another ward as a brand new nurse of one month was a night shift. I was doing my sheet waiting for handover when a nurse strolls out of the bay and says oh hey, can you call a rapid response, and then grab the trolley please? I froze for a second, then remembered exactly what to do. I punched the buttons on the phone and said "R...Code Blue!!" and even got the bed number correct. Phew!

I ran to get the trolley, dropped the cone in the corridor and when I came back about 20 people were all there just looking at a patient who was sipping iced coffee and looking quite chuffed by all the attention. All eyes turn to me.

"Oh...oops"

Dies and hopes to fall through the floor

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reallybeefymaistaken t1_ivs88xs wrote

Replying to lekoman (#490,528)

At our hospital, a rapid response meant the floor/charge nurse and a respiratory therapist would arrive to assess the situation and determine next steps while a full code brought the calvary.

You’d call a rapid response if something seemed ‘off,’ aka increased/labored breathing, syncope, onset of acute confusion, possible stroke, etc.

You would call a code if it the person died or seemed very close to it.

When in doubt, generally a rapid response gets called first and then they decide if a code needs to be called.

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EsquilaxM t1_ivsaxyk wrote

Definitely not your fuck up.

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bo-ba-fett t1_ivsd7va wrote

Don’t let r/residency hear you say nice things about an NP……

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Kchopz2go t1_ivsdz2n wrote

The hospital I worked for has Code blue buttons that are BLUE for that reason. BUT they also have rapid response if you pull the call bell out of the wall (made to do that) as it means you or the patient needs help NOW.

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Palpou t1_ivsidwk wrote

Replying to RugbyTX (#490,362)

Ah yes, the same in France in my hospital emergency. I used it thinking it would open a door once. But I've seen it used multiple times for agressive patients and once for a heart failure.

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TheDamnAngel t1_ivsie5m wrote

Replying to lekoman (#490,528)

I work on the code team for my hospital.

A rapid response is called when a patient isn’t doing well. It can be called for just about anything. Trouble breathing, chest pain, abnormal vital signs, neurological changes, etc. In my hospital, a team of critical care nurses arrives along with respiratory therapists and a doctor.

A code is called when the patient either stops breathing or goes into cardiac arrest, so it’s more serious than a rapid response. Sometimes we call a code when they are still breathing but are doing poorly enough that we need the ICU team to come intubate them (place a breathing tube). When a full blown code is called, the rapid response team and the ICU doctors show up, as well as a pharmacist with a cart full of critical medications.

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triceratropes t1_ivsjjsc wrote

Replying to ArmEagle (#490,894)

She worked med-surg for about three months before getting hired with us, not sure if she had any other patient care experience. I hate to say it but she just wasn't really cut out for nursing, she couldn't control her anxiety and had a bit of an attitude problem. She stayed with us for less than a year and left to go back to school.

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grixit t1_ivsl1nj wrote

Replying to kynthrus (#491,196)

>!Meredith's oldest was just diagnosed as a prodigy but after making some college visits, has decided to go into engineering instead of medicine. However, her special interest is robotics which will probably lead her into bionics. The rest of Mredith's brood isn't in high school yet, so who knows? !<

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Nashiwa t1_ivsl42j wrote

Could have been much worse! I remember about 10 years ago when I was working as a volunteer in the ER of my local hospital, one of my colleague (a volunteer as well) had a patient that was getting a little agitated and seemed a bit threatening. So he called the main desk to ask for a code blue (=please send security backup), but got his colors confused and called a code purple (=armed threat with possible hostage situation). I can let you imagine the chaos that ensued.

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Nadamir t1_ivslsl4 wrote

Replying to SnakeBeardTheGreat (#490,591)

Good lord. As an engineer you should know just how many things are different and still compliant with government standards.

Some things sure are the same, but many times government regulations are like “have a thing that does XYZ” and leave it up to you entirely how to implement that.

One need only look at the different EHRs.

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Gadgetman_1 t1_ivsmhpg wrote

When someone tells you to push the RED button, you push the RED button. And you hit the biggest, most visible red button you can find.

The RN should have told you to push the 'nurse call' button.

So, no you didn't FU that day.

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MINIMAN10001 t1_ivsq81q wrote

Replying to Nashiwa (#491,222)

Jeeze and I thought it was bad people at work have twice confused fire code with hazmat code. It's all just announced so like... when you hear maintenance being called to a fire, you know you can just ignore it.

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golem501 t1_ivsqaev wrote

communication is key! I would think both of you learned of this!

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MINIMAN10001 t1_ivsqbuw wrote

>She doesn't look up as she's helping the patient. "YES JUST PUSH IT."..."Not THAT red button!"

Who designed this shit lol

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maimou1 t1_ivsu6p4 wrote

Replying to ThatBoxerLover (#491,123)

meh. one thing I never aspired to, marrying a doc. I was 20 years old and in nursing school, not necessarily pretty in the face but I had a rocking body. even though my name tag clearly said Mrs nursing student, I got hit on a bit. nah, dude, I spend all day with doctors. I got a great husband and I ain't switching him out.

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Aussiealterego t1_ivsv0wy wrote

You are not alone. As a nursing student on a hospital rotation, I did exactly the same thing, for the same reason.

I think my face was as red as the button.

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QLevi t1_ivswl8e wrote

Replying to xmu806 (#490,231)

Same for my hospital. If it were a code blue it'll also be broadcast thru the entire fucking hospital to summon the team. Which would be fun for OP.

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xmu806 t1_ivswvcq wrote

Replying to Arrasor (#490,644)

No. A rapid response team is called when your patient is going down hill. It can be called for basically anything where your patient is becoming less stable. An ICU nurse, respiratory therapy, lab, x-ray all show up. A code is when the patient is having cardiac or respiratory failure. It includes everything from the rapid team but also a critical care doctor (who can write orders, which can be VERY important when things go south).

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cheeseontoasts t1_ivsx8ap wrote

Eh it happens, our emergency bell and the off button for the call bell are beside each other and i have accidentally hit the emergency. Everyone is well used to it

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DarkShogun34 t1_ivszo3d wrote

I would think a code blue button would be...blue.

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curiouscuriel t1_ivt2xgt wrote

Don't worry man, I've met plenty of oafish doctors. As long as you are humble and willing to listen and learn, you have nothing to worry about.

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Geomichi t1_ivt9uno wrote

No one cares if you over use the button. It's if something goes wrong and you don't press it that there's a problem

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sorry97 t1_ivtbri4 wrote

Don’t sweat it, this happens all the time.

I was once doing consults with my psych resident, there’s a panic button under the desk and he’s pretty tall, so he accidentally pushed the button when he crossed his legs lol.

Accidents happen, I’m 100% sure we all prefer an accidental panic/stroke/AMI button press over the real deal, everyone just laughs it off and moves on.

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Joshrie t1_ivteef4 wrote

just remember to say "this is a drill, this is a drill" when you make funny "mistakes" that are harmless - they love it so much

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angelerulastiel t1_ivtezee wrote

Replying to triceratropes (#491,156)

What level of nursing? I know RNs with their bachelors have multiple rotations. And I can’t imagine that an associate’s level RN would be able to graduate without any rotations or get a charge nurse position with only 3 mo experience.

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Lallo-the-Long t1_ivtiqeb wrote

Man... Last month I went out to line up a drill and did a dumb thing, leading to the drill being off several degrees, and we missed our target. Cost the company like $100,000. I'm still employed. I think you're going to be alright.

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Nadamir t1_ivtk6f7 wrote

Replying to censorized (#491,512)

I’m not even mostly American (technically I am) but I’ve worked on your bloody EHR systems. And even I know that specifying colours is generally only found in aviation and other transportation regs.

Which makes sense as even a “Code Blue” is not universal.

But even in countries where there is a unified universal health system, such as Britain’s NHS or my own Ireland’s HSE, federal/national governmental regs don’t get that specific and each Trust or Hospital Group has substantial control over these sorts of things.

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ilyatwttmab t1_ivtph4e wrote

Honestly, if you were going to make a mistake, it’s better that way than in reverse. If she had meant “that” red button, and you pushed the nurse call button, it would have meant losing vital time for the patient, i would think. I’m not in the medical profession at all.

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iotashan t1_ivtq3pb wrote

She gives instructions like my wife...

W: "Take this and put it anywhere over there"
Me: "Anywhere?"
W: "Yes, anywhere"
Me: [picks a spot]
W: "OMG Anywhere but THERE"

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pwalkz t1_ivtuaw5 wrote

Seems like you will be fine

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SCPutz t1_ivtuc4r wrote

As a staff nurse I was always told “better to overreact than underreact” by my manager. If you call a code in error, well, shit happens but everyone’s okay. If you don’t call a code and you should have…well, death.

Maybe you’re a little embarrassed but everyone else probably just had a little chuckle and moved on.

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[deleted] t1_ivtxs9x wrote

In a hospital and Cardiac Cath, 30 years (on a break, by the way). In my opinion, you never screw up when you hit the Code Button. Yeah, it was a dud and I've gone to those, but what if it wasn't? I'd rather hit it and be wrong than to lose heart muscle dithering on whether to call a Code or not. No my friend, it was no trouble whatsoever calling it.

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regular_gnoll_NEIN t1_ivtzlvp wrote

Lmao this is why 2 important buttons with vastly different purposes should NOT BE THE SAME COLOR

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jsellars8 t1_ivu208i wrote

Meh I’m a nurse, it’s fine. Those things get accidentally pushed all the time. I pushed one on accident one day while unhooking some oxygen from the wall. Not sure who’s bright idea it was to put the code blue button next to the oxygen hookup.

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Nashiwa t1_ivu27vm wrote

Replying to sassysequin (#493,729)

Right? I had to learn and remember something around 6-8 different colors for different events, if not more. And I think throughout my 2 months of volunteering there, I heard these codes being used less than 4 times

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birdieponderinglife t1_ivu3lw1 wrote

I’m sure after the confusion dissipated everyone was really glad there wasn’t actually a code. You might be embarrassed but this isn’t a fuck up in my book :)

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PaxonGoat t1_ivu3o3x wrote

It's ok. One time Ortho cancelled the surgery on my patient for their open fracture because they thought the patient was brain dead. Patient was a whole GCS 6 and probably could have been GCS 8 if the eyes weren't completely swollen shut. It was the first week in July. They got confused by the OPO note. (All patients admitted with a GCS 3 get auto referral to organ procurement)

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knopflerpettydylan t1_ivu97cm wrote

Replying to skeptic_slothtopus (#491,172)

It unfortunately took me 17 seasons and like 3 more episodes to stop and decide I couldn’t care enough to finish the whole thing after all that lol

The drama and emotion really ramps up later on though, there’s some big events

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triceratropes t1_ivuakrl wrote

Replying to angelerulastiel (#492,532)

She's a BSN. So she wasn't hired as a charge nurse, at my facility all nurses share charge duties. She also didn't immediately start day one as charge, when you get hired you get at least eight weeks of training and nurses have to be OK'd by the nurse manager before they can be charge. At the time we were short two nurses so I wouldn't be surprised if they expedited her approval for charge duties.

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GenerousPour t1_ivue7fu wrote

Code strokes and rapids get called all the time for nothing. I wouldn’t worry.

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Agreeable_Solution28 t1_ivundmv wrote

This happened to me once while I was working with an agency nurse. I asked her to pull the blue cord and instead she pushed the blue button. I Immediately started laughing, thinking she got it half right!! Luckily, at the time we had this little old lady who found out a great way to get lots of attention was to walk into patients rooms and press the code button so Instead of actually calling the code they called the floor to ask if she was up to her old tricks. No harm, no foul!

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the_whole_loaf t1_ivup4g7 wrote

ER nurse here- we all would have chuckled and immediately forgotten that it happened. Your future in Neuro is still bright! Mistakes like that happen to everyone and it doesn’t even register on the Richter scale, especially now. No harm, no foul

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Twoyurnipsinheat t1_ivuplez wrote

In a way the button you pressed in the situation was the best outcome given the directions.

Had the call nurse button been the incorrect button pressed I'm guessing precious seconds would have been lost.

Everything went fine from what I read.

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ItsNotButtFucker3000 t1_ivusm77 wrote

Replying to kynthrus (#491,165)

I couldn't take it anymore in the season before covid happened and stopped watching it.

It jumped the shark waaaay long ago, and then continued to do so every other episode, but I won't post spoilers, you can subject yourself to it. It goes downhill once they start killing off main characters, which they fix by killing off more main characters in more ridiculous ways and then introducing new characters with some terrible backstory and tragedy and then they kill someone else off because none of the actors want to be on it anymore.

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x-dc t1_ivv3mey wrote

I hold the arrest pager at my hospital and don't worry... this happens on the daily (probably more than daily, tbh). Our hospital has these buttons in bathrooms labelled "Staff Assist" which are actually the arrest buttons... needless to say patients press them all the time to get the Nurses to help them in/out of the bathroom. They used to be wired to directly activate a code... nowadays they don't unless the code is backed by a phone call, but I swear some day they'll label the buttons in a less retarded manner.

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BritBuc-1 t1_ivvqxsj wrote

I’ve been on the other side of this a few times. So from experience, everyone will laugh at you and probably call you a dumbass to your face. Then we remember the times we’ve done similar or the same dumb shit, and go back to wondering how the hell this band of misfits is responsible for keeping people alive.

Bad news is, you’ll do something else dumb in future, learn to laugh at yourself and you’ll fit right in. Go get ‘em you crazy, magnificent bastard.

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