Nurses and midwives are meant to be a scientific bunch, but it seems we have no shortage of superstitions. In a chat group, David asked what some common superstitions that nurses had were.
Here were some of our favourites.
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The infamous “Q” word
Everyone knows this one. And no synonyms either!
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“Full moon” syndrome
There’s no evidence for this, but too many nurses and midwives swear by the fact that patients inevitably act up during the full moon. The same goes with Friday the 13th.
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Saying the name of a discharged patient
Whether its acute ward nurses saying the name of a discharged patient, or ED nurses saying the name of a regular, nurses seem to agree on an un-proven trend that if you say the name of a former patient, they will return within 48 hours.
So never say their name, or if you do, make sure you knock on wood.
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Having a stethoscope on hand
This one seems to come mainly from palliative care nurses. If you don’t carry your stethoscope with you, there’s a pretty high chance that you’ll have to go back to grab it to pronounce someone during your rounds.
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“I might actually get out on time”
I mean, whether or not you say it, does anyone actually ever get out on time?
What are your superstitions? Let us know in the comments.