We are all supposed to love our jobs and most of us do! But we are all supposed to over look just danged annoying behaviors.
My pet peeve, I do not care for drama patients. You walk out in the hall and they are laughing and having fun with a visitor, they take one look at YOU looking at them and they are hanging on to the walls to help them walk and moaning in pain. I sometimes think my mere presence causes them harm... ;o)
Me: "Great! Your temp is normal!" Patient: "Oh, if it is normal I am SICK! My usual is 72(F).
Me: "Great! Your b/p is 120/70!" Patient: "Oh, if it is normal I am SICK! My usual is 50/10."
Oh, yes! One more: So I'm in an isolation room in my plastic gown and mask because my patient needed her pillow fluffed and her straw bent just so. I'm STILL in the room, mind you, and she puts on her call light again.
Me: You don't have to call out again; I'm still here.
Oh, yes! One more: So I'm in an isolation room in my plastic gown and mask because my patient needed her pillow fluffed and her straw bent just so. I'm STILL in the room, mind you, and she puts on her call light again.
Me: You don't have to call out again; I'm still here.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
C'mon now!
Also I can't stand family members that hover around in the hallway looking for you, almost in a stalking manner. They'll walk to where they think you might be. Once a family member waited for me as I finished using the restroom. How rude is that! And it's not even something I can help. They're ever so anxious waiting for discharge paperwork that the doctor has to initially complete, or waiting for their requested medications be filled by our outpatient pharmacy, or waiting for their transportation to come pick them up. They act as though it's all the nurses' fault that a, b, or c didn't happen soon enough.
!
I hate the family members who come looking for me in my other patient's room. They'll just stand in the doorway and stare at my other patient, or, worse, walk right in to complain about something that really could have waited. "Mom needs another blanket". Or "When is the doctor coming?" (Sorry -- I left my crystal ball at home.)
I also hate the family members who hang out in the hallway. We do our best to discourage that here, from a HIPAA standpoint and from a safety standpoint. When a patient comes back from the OR, those beds move pretty fast, and they don't really slow down for stray family members hanging out in the middle of the halls. Even if someone WANTED to slow the bed, inertia takes over and it's like slowing a boat . . . it takes awhile. Yet people will stand in the middle of the hallway and stare at other patients, or lurk waiting for the nurse or a provider or just chatting away.
And picture taking. Not only does that annoy me, but it's against hospital policy.
Patients who try to use their position/title to prove how important they are. Had a patient threaten staff recently that he could make some phone calls and cause trouble for us. He was a retired police officer. Really? I have taken care of surgeons, nurses, lawyers, administrators from my hospital, ect... Trying to pull rank won't get you anywhere except on my radar as a troublemaker.
Also, patients who complain about noise in the hospital. I can understand it to an extent. But I recently had a patient ask me to sedate another confused patient who was crying out all night because, "that yelling is stressing me out". I gave the complainer earplugs instead. Another patient complained of noise made by another patients family members as their loved one was dying across the hall. This patient was already aware that someone was dying. He was just hateful.
I've had three patients so far who've done this, but: repetitive yelling. For example: a patient rang his call bell this am for his early breakfast tray. We told him it would be up shortly. From that moment until the 15 minutes it came up, he screamed the word "breakfast" repeatedly until it came up. I was so annoyed!!!!
So let me get this straight. You're telling me that DIDN'T make you use your magical powers to get his tray any faster? I'm shocked!
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
I had a post-op hip patient once who was sooooo anticipatory over anything and everything. She was convinced, before you even laid a (gentle) hand on her, even after a healthy dose of pain med, that she was going to have excruciating pain and would instantly come apart at the op site.
You could go slowly and explain everything you are going to do, and she would squeal and pull away from your touch and cry.....I had to go out to see the charge nurse and get her to switch me to a different patient and give this one to someone who wouldn't feel like just slapping her. I don't think I have ever been so irritated with a patient before or since.
"I have to go see my other patients, but the aid will be rounding in the next 15 minutes or so. Use that time to think about anything else you may need."
So very true but hilarious! They think they are in a hotel!
dec2007
508 Posts
Oh, yes! One more: So I'm in an isolation room in my plastic gown and mask because my patient needed her pillow fluffed and her straw bent just so. I'm STILL in the room, mind you, and she puts on her call light again.
Me: You don't have to call out again; I'm still here.
Patient, annoyed: Well I need something else too!
Really?