Dangerous nurses

Nurses Relations

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Have any of you ever worked with a nurse you would classify as dangerous ---- dangerous as a nurse and as a person?

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
There is a story about soldiers in the trenches in the first World War. A message was passed on verbally 'send re-inforcements, we are going to advance' and the message got changed as it was repeated down the line. The story goes that the message ended up 'send three (shillings) and fourpence, we are going to a dance'.

That's what I think. I don't believe that story, sorry. You have a patient in an ICU who is on a vent. There should be an ambubag in the room along with a flowmeter. Did the lightbulb not click on for someone to bag the patient?

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.
I once worked with a nurse and the doc order seemed just whacko...too much insulin (I dont remember exactly how much was it but I think 18 units,!!!!) and I told the nurse I'm not going to give it and she replied with attitude "If the doctor prescribe it,you should give it"...I was in shock and my instructor told me to give her back the MAR....

My SSI starts at 14 units of Humalog. I have to take 20 units almost every time I take it PLUS the 60 units of Lantus at night.

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The most dangerous nurse is the stupid nurse that doesn't know they are stupid and refuses to ask questions.

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yeah i got a couple for ya one is a friend of the DON "she's the best nurse" yet she gives hard candy and bubble gum to NPO tube feeder cause he dont want her to feed him and another claims she's like a daughter so she goes to sleep on duty even standing at the med cart i wrote her up for sleeping on the job one night needless to say i left that place and the other two well they still work there

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I once worked with a nurse and the doc order seemed just whacko...too much insulin (I dont remember exactly how much was it but I think 18 units,!!!!) and I told the nurse I'm not going to give it and she replied with attitude "If the doctor prescribe it,you should give it"...I was in shock and my instructor told me to give her back the MAR....

A combination of insulins may very well measure out to 18 units (or more) but you should never feel like you shouldn't question an order. Any doctor worth his or her salt will be happy to explain it.

One of my patients gets 70 units of Lantus every night, another gets 40 units twice a day.

Another gets 35 units of 70/30 with a sliding scale on my shift.

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A combination of insulins may very well measure out to 18 units (or more) but you should never feel like you shouldn't question an order. Any doctor worth his or her salt will be happy to explain it.

One of my patients gets 70 units of Lantus every night, another gets 40 units twice a day.

Another gets 35 units of 70/30 with a sliding scale on my shift.

Ok I'm a student and have a right to question the "suspicious" amount of insulin,better be safe than sorry,I dont have years of experience with insulin if that explain stuff,what really shocked me was her answer,it seems like she implied that you should NEVER question docs order,even my instructor was in shock!!!!!Would you like a nurse like that,who pretends to be a robot and do whatever she is proggramed to do???

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Specializes in geriatrics,med/surg,vents.

I was working with a nurse one evening,during med pass she asked me if she could give "this med for this order"showing me furosimide(I know that's spelled wrong) along side an order for feosol,her reasoning was "they both start with the same letter"

When I was a pt,the nurse came in to suction me,put on the sterile gloves,emptied my bedpan and then tried to suction me without changing gloves,she kept saying"you saw the package,they're STERILE GLOVES"...GRRRRRR

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.
We have one on our unit. Her patient care is terrible. Instead of trying to improve things, she lies to cover her butt. The worst part is that she doesn't seem like she cares one bit. She's been spoken to, written up, etc. She just doesn't care. That's part of the reason I think she's dangerous.

Working with one like that right now. Management is aware and doesn't care-all they care about is that they cover their butts with documentation because this nurse isn't a threat to their positions. The nurse is a sentinal event waiting to happen. Never heard so many excuses an a daily basis, intermixed with constant statements on what a great nurse she thinks she is (Florence Nightengale reincarnated, according to this wacko).

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
I once worked with a nurse and the doc order seemed just whacko...too much insulin (I dont remember exactly how much was it but I think 18 units,!!!!) and I told the nurse I'm not going to give it and she replied with attitude "If the doctor prescribe it,you should give it"...I was in shock and my instructor told me to give her back the MAR....

Do you remember what insulin you were giving. I've seen sliding scales that start at 10 units of Regular insulin. It just depends the patient and the severity of their diabetes.

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The most dangerous nurse is the stupid nurse that doesn't know they are stupid and refuses to ask questions.

a patient had a high potassium level and the doctor ordered kayexelate but she did not d/c the k+ and for two days the nurses gave the patient both the potassium and the kayexelate

i have worked with so many lazy, incompetent nurses i have lost count...tptb believe that a warm body with a license is the answer to all their problems

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Do you remember what insulin you were giving. I've seen sliding scales that start at 10 units of Regular insulin. It just depends the patient and the severity of their diabetes.

hmmm,one I think was like a regular insulin you checked on the sliding scale,the other one was long lasting I think...however I remeber that this patients sugar levels wasnt that alarmingly high and even my instructor was surprised that she just brushed if off and said to give it and follow like a blind mule the doctors order...

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I wrote one up last week. We had a patient crashing and one of my patients had been given 40mEq of KCL IVPB for a potassium of 3.3. I asked the oncoming nurse to please recheck the electrolytes per protocol which would have been 4 hours after the last dose of potassium. Did she recheck? Nope. When I checked the patient's lytes, her potassium level was 2.8. This patient was having diarrhea and vomiting. We have all these protocols in the ICU for insulin and electrolytes but people don't follow them. For instance, we had an intubated patient with tubefeeds. Per our insulin protocol, if tubefeeds are at goal for 3 days, the patient can be placed on the subcutaneous glycemic control protocol. If they are not at goal, we are to check blood glucose every 4 hours and cover it if the result is 110-150 with 2 units of regular insulin. If it's over 150 the patient is placed on an insulin drip. Anyhow, patients tubefeeds were NOT at goal and his blood glucoses were ranging from 200-250 over the last 12 hours. The guy has nec fasc, tight glycemic control is important specifically for this patient because of his large wounds.

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