We asked our petite Facebook fans for the little on-the-job things that only their fellow short nurses would understand…get ready to chuckle and nod your head in agreement!
1
> Having to adjust all the IV poles at the start of shift so you can reach the bags!
—Julie Autumn
2
> Doing chest compressions while standing on your tippy toes.
—Tracey Amell
3
> Pushing a med cart down the hall…and having to look around the side of it to see what’s ahead. LOL! I had a resident say to me once, “What are ya, 4 foot nothing?”
—Donna Goodman
4
> Using a footstool to hang anything is almost a requirement. Asking taller nurses to get items off the top shelf of the Omnicell because you cannot reach them. Using a marker to adjust your touchscreen monitor because it’s too high to reach. Having patients question the fact that you will be moving them out of bed: “You’re too small….”
—Krystal Quinlan Actis
5
> I have to stand on my tiptoes to be able to read my MAR when I’m passing out meds—I need a stepstool…or my med cart needs to be lower!
—DeAnna Miller
6
> Having your body stretched across a bariatric bed to reach your patient…[e.g.,] Foley placement!
—Gretchen Eder Sloan
7
> Transferring a patient from one bed to another, I always wind up in the bed with the patient.
—Lisa Bechard Meyer
8
> One of my vertically challenged nursing school classmates said that the biggest drawback was that her nose is closer to ALL of the bad smells!
—Brenda Mackel
9
> Getting tripped up by isolation gowns because they go to your ankles. Although, on the bright side, you are completely covered and protected.
—Rachel Cole
10
> Scrub pant bottoms that collect more bacteria and gunk on them than a pair of latex-free gloves!
—Jonna Renée