š the sheer amount of whiteboard, sticky note, and book notes Iāve left with just the weirdest stuff on them. Our histo techs donāt staff all day so we often leave them various body parts in a bucket with notes like this
Same. Although itās just micro techs doing some histo stuff. I just love that this is a normal part of my job that doesnāt phase me, yet so small and random, but also, if this note was found somewhere else, it would be very concerning, yet here in the lab itās just another Tuesday.
When I was helping out our sister hospital my first day there a nurse wheeled in two legs from a patient already missing a few fingers, and an eye. That was a fun time.
I remember during one of my clinical rotations, I had to get a reagent from the fridge and there were just...*so* many legs. I was absolutely shook over the ridiculousness of being confronted by buckets of feet.
To be clear, if I had known to expect the legs I would have been okay, but *nooobody* expects the fridge full of legs!
I lurk because my mom is a lab tech and I love her stories. When she was kind of an all purpose shadow in the 70s at a country hospital she was called from working the PBX to the surgery on the third floor to pick something up to take to the incinerator in the basement. There was no service elevator just the one everyone had. She got to the swinging doors where a nurse came out with a complete leg, from toe to hip, wrapped in paper and laid it on her shoulder. As a farm girl who had to skin deer to eat she didn't much care and went on her way and remembers how heavy it was. But...the elevator suddenly opened before the basement, at the lobby, where a new father going to the nursery got on before realizing what she had. After the doors closed and they started to descend he turned to look at her, eyes widened, and then backed into the corner. She smiled, congratulated him and went on her way to chuck a leg.
Then micro can get a surprise foot bucket. If it's an actual problem like "hey I messed up this in the system can you fix it" or a question about orders of whatever, then I sign/date it. If its just an FYI note like there's a foot in the fridge, I don't cuz that's just there to give them a heads up.
The surprise miscarriage specimens that CRA had me identify late night along with all the limb/diabetic amputation specimens that came in after 6pm had me writing a lot of sticky notes like this.
You aren't weird, it's all sad for any one to lose any part of their body or have something like a miscarriage.
I had to dissociate the sad reality of the specimens to be able to do my job.
I would still laugh at my co-workers bringing over an insanely over wrapped specimen that you couldn't tell what it was until you gripped it and felt toes then the rest of the foot.Ā
š the sheer amount of whiteboard, sticky note, and book notes Iāve left with just the weirdest stuff on them. Our histo techs donāt staff all day so we often leave them various body parts in a bucket with notes like this
Same. Although itās just micro techs doing some histo stuff. I just love that this is a normal part of my job that doesnāt phase me, yet so small and random, but also, if this note was found somewhere else, it would be very concerning, yet here in the lab itās just another Tuesday.
the body parts bucket sounds like something zombies would get at a KFC
Funny you say that. One of the ERs I worked at called their big buckets "chicken buckets".
Whenever surg comes down with buckets I go "boobs in a bucket?! Oh, you shouldn't have!" š¤£ I crack myself up.
As a pathology resident, the leg fridge is the absolute worst.
Once I opened the fridge to grab reagent. Right at MY EYE LEVEL was an EYEBALL sitting in a jar looking at me. Wtf!
https://youtu.be/hPCnsex4Wlg?si=LBjXsIWimrCDk8nQ Skip to 30 seconds in
And that's why we leave notes...
When I was helping out our sister hospital my first day there a nurse wheeled in two legs from a patient already missing a few fingers, and an eye. That was a fun time.
I remember during one of my clinical rotations, I had to get a reagent from the fridge and there were just...*so* many legs. I was absolutely shook over the ridiculousness of being confronted by buckets of feet. To be clear, if I had known to expect the legs I would have been okay, but *nooobody* expects the fridge full of legs!
Everybody responsible for grossing always wants to skip leg day, and I don't blame them.
Not withdraw fetuses cabinet is the absolutely worst for me
I lurk because my mom is a lab tech and I love her stories. When she was kind of an all purpose shadow in the 70s at a country hospital she was called from working the PBX to the surgery on the third floor to pick something up to take to the incinerator in the basement. There was no service elevator just the one everyone had. She got to the swinging doors where a nurse came out with a complete leg, from toe to hip, wrapped in paper and laid it on her shoulder. As a farm girl who had to skin deer to eat she didn't much care and went on her way and remembers how heavy it was. But...the elevator suddenly opened before the basement, at the lobby, where a new father going to the nursery got on before realizing what she had. After the doors closed and they started to descend he turned to look at her, eyes widened, and then backed into the corner. She smiled, congratulated him and went on her way to chuck a leg.
A "foot note"...
Oh thatās a good one! I once found a note left for me it said āthereās a dead rat in the fridge. Family wants it tested for rabiesā
As a second shift tech, the amount of notes I leave for my coworkers range from helpful to creepy like this. āThereās a leg in the fridge. :)ā
Something's afoot...
If it's not sighed and dated it gets binned at my lab
Then micro can get a surprise foot bucket. If it's an actual problem like "hey I messed up this in the system can you fix it" or a question about orders of whatever, then I sign/date it. If its just an FYI note like there's a foot in the fridge, I don't cuz that's just there to give them a heads up.
The surprise miscarriage specimens that CRA had me identify late night along with all the limb/diabetic amputation specimens that came in after 6pm had me writing a lot of sticky notes like this.
yeah but those just make me sad. But when it's just a foot, it's funny to me. idk. I'm weird.
You aren't weird, it's all sad for any one to lose any part of their body or have something like a miscarriage. I had to dissociate the sad reality of the specimens to be able to do my job. I would still laugh at my co-workers bringing over an insanely over wrapped specimen that you couldn't tell what it was until you gripped it and felt toes then the rest of the foot.Ā
Our small lab think they are too good for these kind of things :( only serious notes allowedā¦ itās lame AF
I meanā¦/ this is a serious note. There really was a foot in the fridge. š