Ask a question till reporting nurse can't answer one

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2015

It drives me nuts when they don't pay attention to what I'm saying because they're asking questions that I'll answer by giving them report.

ICURN3020 · Feb 16, 2015

I agree it's annoying and makes report take longer than it has to. Most of the time, if they would just wait and not interrupt, their question would be answered in my next few sentences. It also makes me constantly have to regroup and remember what I was saying, which can make it easy to forget something important I wanted to say.

With some people, it does seem like a power trip thing. Honestly though, they're only hurting themselves by upping the chance that I forget to mention something pertinent that they really need to know because their interrupting causes me to jump all over the place.

JWG223 · Feb 16, 2015

You know what is a pet peeve of mine? Nurses whose style of receiving report involves 20 questions. Ask them until they trip me up.
They seem to have no rhyme or reason for their questions, they keep firing just random ones, or so it seems, until they achieve their goal of finding one I can't answer. Nurses from all departments do it.
Is this a form of 'The best defense is a strong offense' communication technique? Grrrrr.

It's a form of wanting someone else to assess your patient and do your chart check for you. They have a stethescope. They can read. Report is a highlight. Not the whole book.

OneDuckyRN · Feb 16, 2015

Emergent, we must work for the same place! There is one RN in particular on my unit whom most of us dread giving report to because she asks some of the most off-the-wall questions. I cringe whenever I have to give her report...I know I'm getting out at least 10 minutes late.

Gooselady, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2015

My previous manager got so many complaints from off-going shifts about oncoming shift's behavior during report that she wrote up a list of behaviors 'to avoid' and behaviors that support excellent hand-offs. We all had to sign it . Unhelpful behaviors were topped by the 20 Questions game. The helpful behaviors we were to engage in included LISTENING to the off going staff FIRST, before beginning your interrogation I mean, follow up questions.

It's natural to form questions while listening, and not always easy to not speak out the question, but you know, it did make report go so much more quickly and info exchange was more efficient when I did. I had to bite my lips quite often, especially if I was taking over an unstable patient, the anxiety of taking responsibility created this 'pressure' and of course, questions. I didn't maintain perfect silence until the off going nurse stared at me wondering if I was paying attention, but I did make efforts to refrain from hammering him or her with questions, too.

Asking questions interrupts the flow of information from the off going nurse. Important things can be forgotten or not given enough emphasis. The off going nurse has the stage. And we WANT a thorough and complete report. So why interfere with that?

When I'm anxious (about anything) I'm prone to feeling pressured to ask a lot of questions. But when I think about it, many of those 'anxiety' questions either WILL be answered or are not as 'important' as I think they are in the moment (due to my anxiety). MY anxiety is not the off going nurse's problem. That's where I draw the line. It's not his/her responsibility to assuage me, that is my own responsibility. I think this boundary easily gets crossed, we're just human.

Giving off report is an interesting study in human nature A new and very anxious nurse needs a bit more time, needs me to slow down and not 'assume' she gets my drift, unlike another old battle axe like me. Some nurses are very laid back, just nod and ask a question or two then off to meet the patient. A vocal one or two are going to be annoying to give report to whatEVER a person does on their end to smooth things. The person who asks questions until they trip you up is a good example. I wonder what it is in their insecurity that is taking the stage? Does it . . . make one feel more on top of things if the day shift nurse goes durrrr? Is it a competition for points? I haven't the foggiest idea.

One particular RN provided me with the opportunity to get comfortable saying "I don't know." And looking her in the eye when I said it. If I thought she asked a good question, I'd tell her. If I thought she was acting out her insecurities I simply shrugged or denied knowing. I refused to give my power away, so to speak. To hell with that. I do play games, but I AGREE to play games. Don't play out your personal issues games with me unless you ask first which they never do.

allnurses Guide · Feb 16, 2015

I have actually told the person on the other end of the phone, that if they would quit interrupting me they would get all the information in order instead of random bits and pieces.

We did a time of faxing a form to the floor and then a follow up phone call; one person decided she needed to instruct me about signing it of all things! As in "you don't have to sign the whole thing you know, just initial it", at my stunned silence she said, "well so many of you are new or travelers down there I just thought I'd help, so how long have you been there?" I replied 17 years, her turn for silence. Seriously? quibbling about my signature?â€‹

dinah77, ADN · Feb 16, 2015

Oh lord. I could have written this post!

Some nurses do not understand that it is not actually my job to give you the entire H&P, just the pertinent info

Add in so many who STILL not do understand military time (I'm in OB so we are always reporting baby's birth time) and I could pull my hair out. Really? You just interrupted me again to ask if 1210 is AM or PM? PM!!! Or I would have said 0010! GRRRRR!

icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2015

I really believe that the ones who do this are hyper on caffeine, like to hear themselves talk or don't have the attention span to listen to report or take notes. Then there are the people who are rude and aggressive because of their own insecurities and a desire to look experienced because they know the questions to ask.

It has taken me a long time to realize that not all ICU nurses are as precise and detail oriented as I am, nor are they interested in knowing the big picture.

You can not change her and why bother getting into a power struggle over handing off a patient. Someone on this forum said "give it to them the way they want and get on with your life" which sums it up perfectly.

Try this: put your notes away. After 12 hours you know this pt well. Let her quiz you, hand her the ABG slip, ask if she has any other questions and say have a good day.

I did this with "the interrogator" last week and she was the one who was speechless.

She will be more inclined to listen to a detailed ICU report in the future when she can not provide a coherent update to the MD, lab trends or a factual history in rounds.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Feb 16, 2015

To combat this, we have a paper brain type paper that is given to each nurse on shift. It can be formatted to have all of the highlights on it. It has the room numbers, names, admitting diagnosis, labs, etc. It is updated every shift. That way, the off going nurse can hit the highlights.

With bedside reporting becoming all the rage, there's nothing worse than playing Jepordy at beside.....ESPECIALLY when you then have to do a "managing up"....."Nurse such and so, who as you have heard asked me a billion questions, really DOES know what she is doing, even though she can't look up your labs....."

I have found it easier to have an overview in front of me, use the paper for notes, vitals, medication reminders....old school, but it does help.

Nibbles1 · Feb 16, 2015

I tell them to zip the lip and when I'm finished they can ask.

Jules A, MSN · Feb 17, 2015

Bummer to read this. Unfortunately I tend to interrupt although it is never meant to be mean spirited or make someone feel as if they don't have all the info. Its mostly because, like someone mentioned, I am all hyped up on caffeine and don't want to forget to ask something important when it pops in my mind. I guess I will make an effort to write myself a notation if I have a question. Plus I just happen to love report. To me it is an opportunity to catch up with and brainstorm with my most wonderful team. I guess the good news is I'm not really known for my rounds taking longer than anticipated.