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."
Family members who arrive at noon and want to know how the patient slept last night. Well, I don't know I was asleep myself, at home in my own bed. Can you please get someone who can tell me? Here's a suggestion, maam, why don't you ask your aunt herself?? She would probably know since she's perfectly alert and coherent. Then there's When is the doctor coming? Can you call him and find out? The ever-popular My mother got orange jello for lunch and she only likes red. Orange jello makes her deathly sick. Can you please go (5 floors down and 2 elevator rides away) and get her some red jello? And one of my all-time favorites, Can you call the cath lab and find out what's taking them so long to come and get my mom? Here's a clue, sir, they're working inside someone elses's heart!!!? They can't answer the flipping phone right now!!
1) Don't call me sweet-heart. You know, I actually do not mind when cute little old ladies do this, but every time I get a guy under 50, he calls me sweetheart and it wipes the smile right off my face.
2) When patient's answer a phone call while I'm assessing their lungs. I swear this is always when their phone rings 😂 Like, we've muted the TV and everything so that I can hear better, but they still pick up that damn phone.
3) Patients who refuse the pain meds I can offer them, and then deny that there's anything else I can do when I ask what helps their pain at home. And THEN either at 0300 or right when day shift is coming in, asks why they can't try "such and such med" because it's worked before.
I'm not sure if it's annoying, but I'm always surprised when grown men and women complain about very minor issues.
Like an ID bracelet that's just a little bit too long and occasionally slides down their arm an inch
Or they coughed twice and now want a throat lozenge. Or cough syrup with codeine
Or they drank too much soda and now feel bloated so they ask for a simethicone
If I'm bloated, I just sit up for about 15 minutes or massage my belly. If I have a minor cough, I drink tea (or do nothing....because it's just a minor cough) if my headache is 3/10, I don't even care about Tylenol. I only take pain meds if it really frickin hurts
And as for minor annoyances, like a plastic ID bracelet that slides a little....I mean I have bras that need readjusting every 2 minutes. Always tugging at the shoulder straps
and don't get me started on people who can't take the time to flip through the stations to find their own channel. If we're out of TV guides, they ask me to help them find that channel (not dementia patients...healthy, with it adults)
My biggest pet peeve is patients (or more often family members) who treat me like a waitress or a babysitter. I work in labor and delivery and all too often I'm admitting an uncomfortable patient who wants an epidural (which means I need to start an IV, get fluids going, send labs, get the fetal monitors on, and do all the necessary charting) and the father or grandma or someone else with the patient keeps asking for water or a pillow or how to use the TV. It's pretty tough to keep my cool when the patient is freaking out because they are in pain and their support people don't seem to care at all.
In the ER we get the near death patient to the trauma room, and family insists the patient is thirsty, and needs lots of warm blankets. He may not be breathing effectively, but by God, he'll die warm.
I wanted to say that the most irritating is demanding patient but I found out what irritates me the most. In the evening, when patient is about to go home and has a discharge letter in hand, suddenly wants new medications, wants to speak with surgeon about surgery or suddenly "remembers" what he or she did not mention to MD. They had all day to address these issues and they choose time when only on call team is around and team doesnt know patient and wouldnt like to speak with him.
Never thought I'd get one patient who'd embody every single thing that drives me bonkers, but I did. Male in his 20's.
Refusing to follow medical advice: had a bowel resection and was asking for food every five mins and from every single person who walked by. When helped up to ambulate, went to "wash" his face and instead drank water from his hands when I repeatedly explained why to not do this.
Telling the nurses and the doctors all about how much they know: did you know insulin is a steroid and causes diabetes? ������
Making constant inappropriate comments to female staff: "I know it looks small right now, but it grows--I haven't had any complaints," "hey, guuuuuuurl," "where's your husband?" "You can rest on my bed here, if you'd like."
Insisting to staff about what a badass you are, then whining about positively everything and wanting to be waited on constantly despite being able-bodied: "I need to get up to pee--here, hold my hand," "I'm cold, can you pull that blanket up on me?"
Telling me you'd rather be getting injections of dilaudid instead of the PCA because you like to talk to people. ������
Demanding that the CNA wash his hands again after he clearly had, already, saying you don't want to get an infection, but then go on to tell me you want me to test your blood for STDs while we're checking your electrolytes and also showing me the bottoms of your feet, saying they have been dark brown like that ever since you slept with some random chick you didn't know and walked barefoot in her house.
Watching me aspirate the residual from your NG tube, amounting to 20 mL, me telling you it's time to remove the tube according to the dr's order, and you demanding that I empty the tube again, alternately arguing that the dr told you to keep it in until morning.
Calling the charge nurse for nonsense she shouldn't be dealing with...like trying to order food when you are NPO.
Messing with the equipment: turning off the IV pump, and attempting to change the dosage on the bupivicaine blocks. ������
And lastly, but most importantly, why on earth did you have to leave that other hospital AMA just to come to ours and do everything in your power to make sure you'll never get out??
I find that it isn't usually patients I find annoying. It's there family members.
1. Wife of male patient who is alert and oriented and perfectly able to make his own requests for pain medicine: "He is in so much pain. He needs a pain shot now."
Me: "Mr. Jones, how is your pain?"
Mr. Jones: "I'm fine. I don't need pain medicine."
Mrs. Jones: "Nurse, he really needs pain medicine."
Me: "Mrs. Jones, I appreciate your concern and value your input regarding your husband's care but it is up to him to decide if he needs pain medicine."
2. *Presses call light*
Unit secretary: "How may I help you?"
Patient: "My IV is beeping".
Less than two minutes later....
*beep*
Unit secretary responds.
Patient: "Where is my nurse? I've been waiting forever and my IV has been beeping for over an hour."
3. The family members that insist on calling me several times a day. The usual scenario is asking me when Mom is getting discharged despite the fact that I told them earlier that day that they would get a phone call if/when mom is getting discharged. I don't have time to play telephone with every single member of the patient's extended family.
4. "When is the doctor coming? Why isn't he here? When does he usually come? What's taking so long?"
5. I also find it funny when I am given a list of 20 plus questions that are out of my scope to answer (treatment options, prognoses, MRI results, medication changes). When I inquire if these questions were asked to the doctor, I get a blank stare. This is why I offer pen and paper to write down these sort of things.
6. Insisting that my 99 year old patient who is A&O 1, incontinent of bowel and bladder, skeletal with little to no appetite, was "just fine" before hospital admission. Worst of all, insisting she remain a full code.
7. The overall mindset that patient in room 10 is my only patient and therefore, I must drop everything to attend to him RIGHT NOW.
sevensonnets
975 Posts
Family members who arrive at noon and want to know how the patient slept last night. Well, I don't know I was asleep myself, at home in my own bed. Can you please get someone who can tell me? Here's a suggestion, maam, why don't you ask your aunt herself?? She would probably know since she's perfectly alert and coherent. Then there's When is the doctor coming? Can you call him and find out? The ever-popular My mother got orange jello for lunch and she only likes red. Orange jello makes her deathly sick. Can you please go (5 floors down and 2 elevator rides away) and get her some red jello? And one of my all-time favorites, Can you call the cath lab and find out what's taking them so long to come and get my mom? Here's a clue, sir, they're working inside someone elses's heart!!!? They can't answer the flipping phone right now!!