What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

purplemania, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2004

nurses who don't know the difference between smart and smart aleck.

rn500 · Mar 23, 2004

I work midnights - my biggest pet peeve is that many of the day nurses don't seem to realize that at 7am we want to GO HOME - immediately if not sooner!! Before they get report they think it is okay to stand around and chit chat about what their kids did last night, get some coffee, show pictures of the baby... It's sad that most of these nurses started out on nights and know what it's like. And it's not just my present hospital, it's been like that everywhere I've worked. Burns my butt!!!

rn500 · Mar 23, 2004

Oh - one more... I work in OB, and I just love it when a pt asks for pain med, and when I am about to give it they ask "WILL THIS HURT THE BABY?"

???????????????????

Yes, it's going to kill your baby, that's why we give it to you!!!

Or maybe I should say...

WHAT??!! Your're PREGNANT?? For God's sake why didn't you tell me????? I can't give this to you, it's poison!!!

I know, I know... they are right to worry and they are just being protective, but it still make me laugh (inside of course!)

stbernardclub · Mar 23, 2004

I would say the biggest pet peave I have in nursing are the nurses who feel they are superior to others, even though they may in fact be wrong many times. If I were to listen to one of those head strong nurses who insisted our private home duty case was in c.h.f, even though there were no new s/s of this and directed all of the other nurses to decrease his water intake, he could have ended up with a significant deadly urinary infection and dehydration which would have probably killed him. Lets leave the orders for the physicians, let them be resposible for the diagnosis. And lets be more excepting of others and not feel we are the "Super Nurse". When you do or say something wrong or wrong somebody, take time and say your sorry, and that you have learned from this. Always set a good example, its when you think no one is paying attention to you, that they are!:balloons: sandy, r.n.

veteranRN · Mar 23, 2004

Nurses who say to me "don't you miss real nursing" because I no longer do bedside nursing. I do auditing. I want to say, "I am a real nurse on the same team you're on just playing a different position"!:angryfire

VioletX · Mar 23, 2004

I'm not officially a nurse yet, but I am doing my 250 hour preceptorship right now. My biggest pet peeve so far is when nurses say things to patients or family members such as "I'm sorry he is NPO". Not that I don't think patients are intellegent, but if I wasn't in this profession I would have no clue what NPO was. Most patients are so intimidated by this type of talk they won't even ask what it means.

MelRN13 · Mar 23, 2004

My biggest pet peeve is some of the residents we have this year. Most of them are great, but it really sucks when you base how your night is going to go by who is on call that night...

Shed13911 · Mar 23, 2004

I agree with the poster who said how irritating it is when a nurse misuses her time all day, talking, doing unneccesary stuff, taking too long of breaks and then wants you to help them do their work so they can leave on time. It makes me CRAZY!!

mattsmom81 · Mar 23, 2004

Nurses as a customer service representatives.

CCU NRS · Mar 23, 2004

OK at the risk of ticking some folks off here is another one, although I am sure none of the smokers on here would do this.

Smoker taking 3or4 smoke breaks a day then complaining about not having time to get things done and staying over and making OT

Smoker asking you to watch their PT while they "go out real quick" and they have a dirty Pt and they leave knowing the PT is dirty or on the bedpan.

Smoker asking you to watch their Pt and just saying oh he is stable, and you check to find out they are Hypo or Hypertensive and crashing, or better yet a one to one Balloon pump and they don't even mention that it is a balloon pump Pt.

Smoker taking 3or 4 smoke breaks and a 45/min lunch because after they eat they go outto smoke.

sorry like I said I am sure none of the smokers who puruse this board do these things it is just a few things I have run into.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2004

nurse thatwill not answer a call light and just let it continue to beep, even if you look at them an say hey that is your room they say yeah i know s/he is always on the light i will get it in a little bit. which i will go answer, i usually just go answer them anyway but if that nurse is sitting there jabbering or even doing paper work , i guess i am old school but i still think pts come first!

again its called work ethic

TweetiePieRN · Mar 24, 2004

:)

I'm not officially a nurse yet, but I am doing my 250 hour preceptorship right now. My biggest pet peeve so far is when nurses say things to patients or family members such as "I'm sorry he is NPO". Not that I don't think patients are intellegent, but if I wasn't in this profession I would have no clue what NPO was. Most patients are so intimidated by this type of talk they won't even ask what it means.

You have a good point!! I remember doing my peds rotation and the nurse was explaining d/c instructions to a 13 year old...telling her to "force fluids". The child's face looked confused, but the nurse kept talking. After nurse left the room I asked her if she understood everything ok (since i could tell she was confused. Oh and her mom looked confused too) She didnt understand what "force fluids" was, so i told her to drink lots of water until your pee is almost clear. The lightbulb went on in her head and my instructor praised me for presenting info in a clear manner!!

I notice nurses will use other words that pts dont understand like: Foley, NPO, PRN, etc. I guess its easier for us newbies to pick these things out since we aren't completely immersed in the lingo just yet. :)