Come On People, How Stupid Are You??

[CapeCodMermaid]

Doing chart/MAR/ nurses' note review.

Order for Hydralazine 5 mg, hold for SBP

Huh??? You held it for a HIGH blood pressure? I almost want to change the orders to read: "Hold if the top number is less than 120." Can people who went to nursing school and passed the boards really be this stupid????

[CardiacDork, MSN, RN]

I've held BP meds outside of parameters before. I mean not as bad as this scenario, but I've held Lopressor for SBP of 110 even though the parameter says

I would give the metoprolol for that SBP. You're the nurse that keeps holding the metoprolol on your patient with a history of Afib.... what's a little low blood pressure? So what if t drops the SBP into the high 90s??? So what? You know what's worse?

A fib with RVR, severe hypotension (related to poor ventricular fill due to the RVR) and a clot. Thanks for The ICU admit. ������

[CardiacDork, MSN, RN]

My hospital is JACHO certified. If I'm not correct aren't a few of those abbreviations that JACOH requires that they, among many others, are no longer to be used? I have been out of the hospital for a few years now, but it seemed that the symbols now needed to be written out for the reason above.

Yes! Our residents are taught to say "less than" "greater than"

[caffeinatednurse, BSN, RN]

Holy smokes. It might be time for new nurses.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

If only there were nurses around here to hire . The 2 nurse managers and I am constantly on call and are expected to take the cart if there is a call out

[flashpoint]

We don't use because they are apparently too confusing. We specifically write "Hold for systolic blood pressure less than 100". It is a pain and takes up an incredible amount of space, but it is quite clear. Hope things improve for you soon! I admire anyone who can handle being a DON.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We changed to less than or greater than. Hasn't made a difference yet. Another good reason to have nurses swap carts, sides, units-- if the residents are new to them they might pay more attention

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Is it possible that high schools and colleges no longer teach or that nursing schools no longer require higher level math that use those symbols?

My class was warned not to use those symbols because of the risks of confusion. I write out "greater than" and "less than."

[mercurysmom]

I'm one of those people who need to stop and think when I encounter . I was consistently hopelessly confused by then in elementary school. In desperation, perhaps, my second grade teacher taught me to think "Arrow points to the smaller number." Light bulb moment!

Now I'm working in Adult Basic Ed and initially I teach the words for the symbols separate from the equation. Most of the adult students I've encountered completely missed the concept if they were expected to learn it in grade school.

I love love love the idea of writing out "systolic BP less than 120" rather than SBP

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

It was more than one nurse!!

Its a bit scary how often nurses just plod along in the steps of the nurse before them.

We use wound evaluation forms for wound dressings based on the TIME model. I'd made a mistake one day on a daily dressing and reversed the measurement for width and depth and about five nurses after me just wrote down my measurements and didnt catch my mistake

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

are unacceptable abbreviations where I work. We have to write/type out the words.

However, it sounds like that wouldn't make a difference either. I often scratch my head over what makes people tick.

I'd really like to know how those nurses would answer the "what were you thinking" question.