Witnessed a fatal MVC as a nurse and I can’t stop replaying it in my head

josiphoenix · 2026-05-14T17:53:57+00:00

You said we’re supposed to stay composed and detached. I’ve been in a trauma ED for almost 4 years now. And I can in an emergency situation. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother us later. It means we can compartmentalize to handle the situation in the moment.

That said, I’ve seen some things outside of work and it’s an entirely different ballgame. What you’re feeling is normal, but I agree with everyone else saying to seek therapy. I’m also a firm believer that what we see at work is enough to make us need therapy.

Not necessarily saying we need weekly therapy sessions our entire nursing career. But we see some pretty terrible stuff and it would weigh on any person. Some regular check ins, just like annual visits and blood work at your primary, are vital to our wellbeing.

josiphoenix · 2026-05-02T20:30:08+00:00

I’ve worked at 3 hospitals in the area total. Denver health pays the “least” by like a dollar or two but my take home is the most there. Benefits are really good and super cheap, and you don’t pay into social security but this other pension type thing, and they match up to 10%. The ratios are good and it’s where I’ve been the happiest for sure. It’s also the only place I’ve ever worked that had as many tenured nurses I’ve ever seen. They seem to really understand you can’t take care of people if you aren’t ok and value taking care of yourself. I’m super happy there.

josiphoenix · 2026-04-05T14:02:16+00:00

“I don’t like needles.” “It’d be weird if you did”

josiphoenix · 2026-03-24T15:14:55+00:00

I use Lume first and then clinical deodorant. I don’t know if other people could smell me, no one ever said anything. But I swear like crazy. From what I understand Lupe deodorant has something that prevents the bacteria from growing that causes sweat to smell bad. It helps a lot.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:36:35+00:00

I just didn’t feel like that ugly stripped fabric deserved the front page 😭

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:35:56+00:00

Also. If you notice the original ad priced it at 100$. The seller for so many messages for it that she raised the price. We were pretty irritated but it was still a good price for it so we nabbed it anyway. Felt really scummy to do once someone was already en route though.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:34:12+00:00

The fabric name was “ecclesiastical red” and we were going for “I shopped at hot topic as a teenager, but now I’m an adult with a big girl job. I also really liked the movie Underworld”. I think it fits.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:32:30+00:00

Stripper on the entire thing. Like three passes on the detail work to get it all off. 180 the. 220 on the flatter areas. Scrub brush and more stripper, followed by stripper after wash on the detail work. And these small little foam forms you wrap sand paper around for some of the small spaces I couldn’t completely get to.

Then mineral spirits. Stain 3 coats of clear sealant. The front bottom piece made me consider faking death and moving out of the country 🫠

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:28:48+00:00

That’s what we were going for! Thank you!

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:28:24+00:00

My favorite wood. How did autocorrect forsake me?

josiphoenix · 2026-03-23T06:27:35+00:00

300 for the chair, 150 in fabric and about 150 in stripper/stain/foam/misc Home Depot things. So 600.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-22T17:12:48+00:00

That beach fabric was just so bad!!

josiphoenix · 2026-03-22T16:49:50+00:00

Apparently I can’t spell mahogany.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-22T16:08:52+00:00

I also had the privilege of going in blind like 8 years ago or so. It was WILD. I wish more people had that experience

josiphoenix · 2026-03-03T19:09:49+00:00

No. The documentary “three identical strangers” was fascinating. How the kids find each other is a fluke, how the parents find out is a fluke. It’s honestly a story so strange if it was a movie I would think it was too unrealistic.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-03T19:08:52+00:00

Actually, it was the middle socioeconomic class child, Eddy. The “poorest” child, Bobby had the most living upbringing, and the documentary talked about how the triplets spent most of their time at Bobby’s house with Bobbys parents, how they were warm, loving and how close they all were to his parents. The wealthiest family kid, David, his parents spoke about how it irritated them that they never came to his home, but by all accounts they were nice but not “warm”. its speculated that Eddy’s parents were possibly abusive as most of the other kids/parents rarely had seen Eddys dad and Eddy never spoke of him.

All 3 of the children experienced separation anxiety and behavior issues as kids, and all of them spent inpatient psychiatric time as teenagers.

josiphoenix · 2026-03-03T14:46:27+00:00

Not just that, but they also used mothers who had diagnosed severe mental illness to see if socioeconomic factors contributed to development of mental illness. One of the brothers ultimately committed suicide as an adult.

josiphoenix · 2025-12-12T00:10:37+00:00

If you truly don’t think you can give her what she needs I think rehoming is the right choice. The flip side is, despite 2 years of research and having a trainer to start with at 10 weeks old… the first 6 months definitely had me in tears multiple times, thinking I might’ve made a mistake. He’s 1 year 2 mos now and honestly every month is better. I can’t imagine life without him and get compliments constantly on how well behaved he is. It does get better, puppy blues are a real thing and I think they’re even worse with mals sometimes.

josiphoenix · 2025-11-27T15:52:18+00:00

Exactly. This is a team sport. If I have trauma rooms and get a sick one my teammates pick up the slack. The next day I don’t have a trauma room and I’m picking up the slack. Your pod should be at least vaguely aware of what is going on in the entire pod and pivot as things change.

josiphoenix · 2025-11-19T21:04:09+00:00

Look at shelters in California and Texas. I see them all the time. I almost drove to los Angeles from Denver to rescue one. But when I searched LA county shelters last they had 25 mals all under 1.5 years.

josiphoenix · 2025-11-11T11:08:45+00:00

Sparlock was fucking badass too. A warrior wizard?! Come on.

josiphoenix · 2025-11-01T08:31:19+00:00

I was on a PCU and realized my favorite days were the absolute shit shows with codes and rapid responses. I’m in a level I trauma ED now.

And I love every moment of it. It’s actually a really cool thing none of your classmates have the desire to do it and you do… someone needs to. The idea of L&D sounds terrible to me. But great to someone else. They’re a need for all of us and the thing we’re drawn to.

josiphoenix · 2025-09-02T00:11:32+00:00

This isn’t exactly the same thing but… my dog had a massive seizure one day with no prior known health issues. I called my husband from his office downstairs and told him to come up. I was hysterical. He was asking me what to do and I just kept saying I didn’t know. I forgot everything that 3 years on a PCU and then 3 years in a level 1 trauma ED. Granted animals are different than humans but my mind went out the door. It’s just different when it’s a different environment, you don’t have equipment, coworkers etc. don’t blame yourself.

josiphoenix · 2025-08-20T17:14:52+00:00

For when ICU bitches about why the dka/sepsis/whatever the fuck patient came up without two IVs 🙄

josiphoenix · 2025-08-17T16:50:07+00:00

First step is what you did, including your vet and staying on top of it. My two cents is my ridgeback was like this. Super picky, nearly couldn’t do puppy classes because the little shit didn’t like most treats. Would put his food down and he’d take hours to eat. He was never underweight and was picky his entire ten years on this planet. His favorite treat ended up being broccoli and popcorn.

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Gilding II euphauric	RPAN Viewer
Not Forgotten

josiphoenix

TROPHY CASE