So here I am at work, and I just put in my fourth NG tube of my nursing career. Basically that is where I take a tube (about the diameter of a pencil) and shove it (gently) into the patient’s nostril, and on down into their stomach (the NG stands for Naso Gastric). This lady had been vomiting all day. On my shift (which started at 7pm), she had thrown up (so far) two times by 10pm. The doctor ordered the ng tube. I put the tube in, and dark green fluid started coming out all over the place. She had a lot in there. No wonder she was nauseous. Even more nauseous than you are reading this. It was kind of funny for me, because now she has no nausea (empty stomach), but she is complaining about the tube in her throat. So I say, “which would you rather…the nausea, or the tube?” She said she will have to think about it. I told her the only way that she could pull the tube out (to grasp it right at the end of her nose), so if she decides she would rather have the nausea, then she has the power to change. Except then she’ll get her gown all gross again.

So that’s been my night so far 😉