Pet Peeves

Nurses General Nursing

Published

What is your pet peeve? With everything a nurse has to deal with in a day, the one thing that gets on my nerves is someone who takes the garbage bag out of the can but doesn't replace the liner. It makes me psycho. How bizarre is that?

My pet peeve is nurses who are critical of other nurses. Get real people. Tangled tubes, messy bedside tables....You know how crazy shifts can be. If your PATIENT is in good condition and comfortable when you arrive, that's the important thing. I am a per diem nurse. I work every shift. I have found it so amusing to see a nurse who I know to be hyper-critical at the end of a crazy shift. She's glassy-eyed and can hardly tell you the details of her patient's condition. (I'm not saying always, but I have seen it happen.)

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, PEOPLE. 98 percent of us approach each shift with the goal of perfection. Are you critics saying you achieve this perfection consistently?

You might be interested to know, that sometimes the nurse who leaves tangled tubes or messy bedside tables is one who spent her shift working out issues more important--like listening to patients, taking the time to hear them and to respond to them. There was once a nurse on our floor who never failed to get her work done on time. Neat rooms. Perfect charting. We wondered how she did it, and started observing her. We thought maybe she was skipping on care. No, she was giving "perfect" care. She just never talked to her patients.

Yes, sometimes a nurse is incompetent. Somewhere there is an incompetent nurse. I've never worked with her. I've worked with nurses who run marathons, work their little a---s off and yet may not get it perfect.

We need to be loving and understanding of each other.

That's what nursing is about. Isn't it?

What's wrong with offering the same compassion and care to one another that we offer our patients.

A truly good nurse is one who understands and supports her "sisters".

Give it a try. You may find you get some love and support from your co-workers.

Okay...I agree 100%. Patients first, perfection later, but I didn't come to work to clean up after the other shift or spend half my shift restocking, etc.

Lets face it, if people didn't get sick, etc we would be out of jobs.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
My pet peeve is nurses who are critical of other nurses. Get real people. Tangled tubes, messy bedside tables....You know how crazy shifts can be. If your PATIENT is in good condition and comfortable when you arrive, that's the important thing. I am a per diem nurse. I work every shift. I have found it so amusing to see a nurse who I know to be hyper-critical at the end of a crazy shift. She's glassy-eyed and can hardly tell you the details of her patient's condition. (I'm not saying always, but I have seen it happen.)

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, PEOPLE. 98 percent of us approach each shift with the goal of perfection. Are you critics saying you achieve this perfection consistently?

You might be interested to know, that sometimes the nurse who leaves tangled tubes or messy bedside tables is one who spent her shift working out issues more important--like listening to patients, taking the time to hear them and to respond to them. There was once a nurse on our floor who never failed to get her work done on time. Neat rooms. Perfect charting. We wondered how she did it, and started observing her. We thought maybe she was skipping on care. No, she was giving "perfect" care. She just never talked to her patients.

Yes, sometimes a nurse is incompetent. Somewhere there is an incompetent nurse. I've never worked with her. I've worked with nurses who run marathons, work their little a---s off and yet may not get it perfect.

We need to be loving and understanding of each other.

That's what nursing is about. Isn't it?

What's wrong with offering the same compassion and care to one another that we offer our patients.

A truly good nurse is one who understands and supports her "sisters".

Give it a try. You may find you get some love and support from your co-workers.

I completely disagree with the tangled tubes. If you can't quickly tell what goes to what, that could spell disaster if you needed to administer a med in an emergency.

Clueless family member story:

We had a pt who had Diabetes, noncompliant with diet, weighed 450, smoked three packs a day, drank a box of beer a day, had him intubated, and we were gowing to transfer him out to another hospital (I work in a small rural hospital.) Family wanted to know what was wrong, we told them...non-compliant DM, 450#, 3 packs of smokes, 12 beers..."Yeah, but what's wrong with him...." Sometimes they just don't get it.

Pet Peeve: Clueless Visitors

Recently, there were 2 men in a room. Pt. A has a serious eye disorder due to MVA. He is dizzy alot and moves slowly so he doesn't get anymore dizzy. He really needed silence and a dark room. Not gonna happen. Pt. B was out of it with pain meds. Still he had 7 visitors and 10 standing out in the hall. Talking loudly, having a mini reunion. They weren't speaking to the pt they were visiting, they were talking amongst themselves. I was with pt. A and I asked him what he needed. He responded "peace and quiet". He said it loud enough that everyone in the room could hear. Did he get peace and quiet? No. I wish visitors used a little common sense when it comes to visiting a hospital. Some of my rules:

1) Don't bring sick kids. People here already have a weakened immune system and don't need what your kids are bringing.

2) Don't sit on beds, whether made or unmade. Don't use pts. bathrooms. Worse than public restrooms.

3) Don't bring itty bitty babies that are 4 days old to see grandma who has gastroenteritis and pnuemonia.

4) Put yourself in the pts. shoes. Does the pt. really want 10 visitors after receiving a shot of demerol and phenergan? Probably not.

Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry, Hospice, Home Health.
My pet peeve is nurses who are critical of other nurses. Get real people. Tangled tubes, messy bedside tables....You know how crazy shifts can be. If your PATIENT is in good condition and comfortable when you arrive, that's the important thing. I am a per diem nurse. I work every shift. I have found it so amusing to see a nurse who I know to be hyper-critical at the end of a crazy shift. She's glassy-eyed and can hardly tell you the details of her patient's condition. (I'm not saying always, but I have seen it happen.)

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, PEOPLE. 98 percent of us approach each shift with the goal of perfection. Are you critics saying you achieve this perfection consistently?

You might be interested to know, that sometimes the nurse who leaves tangled tubes or messy bedside tables is one who spent her shift working out issues more important--like listening to patients, taking the time to hear them and to respond to them. There was once a nurse on our floor who never failed to get her work done on time. Neat rooms. Perfect charting. We wondered how she did it, and started observing her. We thought maybe she was skipping on care. No, she was giving "perfect" care. She just never talked to her patients.

Yes, sometimes a nurse is incompetent. Somewhere there is an incompetent nurse. I've never worked with her. I've worked with nurses who run marathons, work their little a---s off and yet may not get it perfect.

We need to be loving and understanding of each other.

That's what nursing is about. Isn't it?

What's wrong with offering the same compassion and care to one another that we offer our patients.

A truly good nurse is one who understands and supports her "sisters".

Give it a try. You may find you get some love and support from your co-workers.

Mandy's Mom - You are the cats meow. I hope I work with people just like you when I graduate (Spr 2007). I already love you to pieces and warmly welcome you to AllNurses.

Suninmyeyes - aka Lisa Marie

It really bothers me when staff wear their name badges on the swivel lanyards - and it's always flipped around backwards, so I have NO idea who they are. Also patients/visitors are in the same boat of wondering just who these people are.

If you need to know (engaged in a working situation with the person), just reach out and flip it around, saying "There you go." No muss, no fuss.

Do we work at the same place? :devil: I HATE empty glove boxes, especially when a pt. is in a big mess and about ready to fall out of bed and there's NO GLOVES!!

I maintain 3 pair in my pocket at all times (have used all three at times and anyway it's hard to find a box of large when needed).

My pet peeve is how certain people look down at me for being a CNA and working in LTC. They said that all I do is wipe peoples' asses and empty bedpans and it's a gross job. They don't look at it as being a caregiver and caring for people who can't care for themselves anymore. Somebody has to do it. I like my job and except for my few snotty friends, I'm appreciated by a lot of people mosty my residents and their families.

I'm thinking about nursing school and I'm taking the PCT program (Patient Care Technician) at the community college and the clinical will be at the hospital. I'm very excited, I needed at least 3 months experience as an aide in LTC. But I'm proud to be an aide. It's an honest and noble profession; the first step in the nursing field. :D

Yeah, I love assisting and wish I could take the PCA course given by the hospital (probably same as your PCT) and wouldn't you know, they give it days only and I'm going to RN school days, however I have been asking around and maybe an evening class will happen. Will squeeze in the CNA test before Christmas if I can. But anyway I probably will never have so much freedom and fun as I do as an assistant, just running around doing anything that I see needs doing, and especially nothing to chart, just record vitals and I&O. There is so much stuff that unless something really pressing or specific comes up, nobody interrupts me from doing my thing (they probably know whatever it is will get done fairly soon anyway). Being on the bottom of the totem pole, nobody minds if we jump in there and do stuff, 'cause as you say, the stuff we jump in and do is not stuff they want to jump in there and do.

Specializes in ICU, CORRECTIONS, BUT MOSTLY ER....

biggest ER gripe seems to be hostility when you interrupt their shift by bringing them more patients...never could understand nurses being bad to other nurses...trust me it happens all too often

shelleyjellybelly, about the VS we feel your pain. None of us where I work like to get VS, especially when there is a long list. It is OUR JOB but somehow...:)

Thanks for consoling me. I thought I was cracked or something about this.

Since I have too take the am sick calls, I ran across this situation this am. Girl calls me in pain and wants me to decide if she should call off. "But I don't want to put you guys in a bad spot"....Sorry girl, any call off puts us in a bad spot. We went round and round....I only wanted her to tell me she was calling off sick...I don't make a big deal out of it. I had to push her so I could get to other matters. I told her, "you have two options. Call off sick or come in. Which do YOU decided?" No reply. Finally she pushed me to the edge..."You are an adult, before you call, you need to decided if you are sick, then call me and tell me. No big deal!" Finally she said "Oh,forget it!" "Forget what? Are you calling off sick or are you coming in...." "I'm sick." Wonderful, I hope you feel better. Thank You for calling in timely" (at least she did that). That was so bizarre.

Moral to the story...If you are sick...just call off sick.:barf01:

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

The word:

orientating.

Big pet peeve for me.

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