Does anyone else ever get tired of "stupid" nurses?

[twinmom2k]

I swear I am so tired of nurses that can't think for themselves and don't think for themselves. I am the weekend house supervisor for my LTC facility. This means I am in charge of pretty much everything. I love my job don't get me wrong. I just don't understand some nurses thinking process. Such as: Last Saturday we had a patient that began doing poorly. There was confusion as to whether this patient was supposed to be comfort measures only or not. Basically the family was arguing amongst themselves about what they wanted. But this really has nothing to do with my point. I was called to the unit to assess the patient. When I get there the CNA for that patient tells me she can't get a blood pressure or a good pulse ( the patient did have both she just couldn't get it) I ask the nurse what she got, and she tells me she didn't try. She just sent the CNA down to get it. With an electronic BP to boot. Now I know CNA's are trained to get vitals in our state, but come on. If you have a critical patient is that really who you want to depend on to get your vitals? And I would never use an electronic BP cuff to assess a critical patient. They are fine for routine purposes but we all know they sometimes are not reliable especially in a difficult case. The nurse was completely oblivious to the fact that she should have gotten the vitals herself.

I ended up getting the vitals myself and sending her out to the hospital. This kind of stuff just drives me crazy. It happens all the time where I work. The last weekend I worked a similar situation happened where the nurse did the exact same thing and called me to the room. I get there and there are THREE other nurses standing there all looking at me to do something. They hand me a sheet of paper that has the vitals written on it. It says b/p 78/41, Pulse of 97. So I ask who got the vitals. The CNA in the room says I did. I asked her with what and she gives me the electronic bp cuff. So I get the manual bp cuff and stethescope and take them myself. I get 108/64 and a AHR of 54. Now does this not sound ridiculous to anyone else? That not one of the other three nurses in the room doubted the accuracy of the electronic bp cuff? Not only this but once I get the vitals I go to call the doctor on this patient who is lethargic and very pale, and her nurse goes to lunch leaving me to send her out to the hospital by myself without even offering to do anything.

Okay I am done ranting. I just get so frustrated that some nurses cannot think for themselves. Sometimes they call me to a residents room and haven't even gotten vitals yet. They just want me to do everything. I don't mind helping them and usually I do it all for them. But it would be nice if they would at least offer to help and stay around to see what is going to happen.

Well thanks for letting me vent and I apologize if this is not the forum to voice my concerns.

[momtojosh]

i think "stupid" is a bit harsh....if you were stupid you wouldnt have passed nursing school....so how about some other adjectives that i run into almost everyday....lazy would be a good one...incompetent another....or the i just dont give a darn attitude....i am here for my paycheck only......

that was a bit harsh on the new RN, how many caths did you do before your first day of work?...i know i only did one and when i did my first one on the job i wanted help as well....heck..i wanted help with everything i did for the first time...and i dont think i am stupid at all....

some people dont think before they speak...work with one now..ask really out of this world questions....i smirk at her and say...i am going to let you think about what you just said...and she usually ends up laughing and comes up with the answer.....ya just gotta shake your head at times...hehehe....

so...there are no stupid nurses.....IMO.....there are PLENTY of other adjectives for them...

[rgroyer1RNBSN, BSN, RN]

Be more assertive or write them up, I am a nursing coordinator and supervisor on nights in a large urban ER and you need to tell them about the poor er nurse there ponning there would be not so critical patient off on, on the other end, they think there to busy let me telly you in ER and trauma especially in a large level 1 trauma center the ICU nurses may have ratios of critical care patients, but us that are in ER do not, I could have five or six of my own critical patients all at on time waiting for an ICU bed or OR, or cath lab, I mean I may have 2 Mi's, 1 CVA, 1GSW, and 2 MVC's all at once in my pod of the ER, I work Green Pod which is trauma and critical care, so I may have 1 3 Bed cardiac bay trauma room, an 1 2 bed trauma room, and 1 surgical trauma room all at the same time that Im in charge of and responsible for, tell them to think about the person on the other end they are ponning there patient off on.

[newLPN20]

I am 20 years old LPN working in a long term care facility for 3 weeks already. I tried my best and hard going extreme of not having bathroom breaks and lunch or dinner. I'm a newbie and still learning things. At times, I felt in doubt of my knowledge that's why I always ask questions coz I want to give quality care to my 49 residents. I THINK EVERYBODY STARTS IN THE BOTTOM. PEOPLE LEARN WITH EXPERIENCE. I BET EVERY NURSE OR SUPERVISOR IN HERE BASHING OTHER NURSES HAS MADE MISTAKES IN SOME TIME OF THIER PRACTICE.

I remembered 2 days ago one of my residents, J.Q. vomited twice and the CNA came to me telling me she have 102 degree fever. Of course, becuase I'm new I just took the BP, P, n R but not the temp. I also assess whether she was constipated. When I'm about to call the MD, the supervisor came and told her about my resident. She requested I take the temp myself and got 98.2.. lesson is when critical care and assesment is needed then I must take vitals sign myself.

I admit I have so much room of learning. I take constructive criticisms positively. If people brand me as stupid I could care less coz I know I come far. And I'm in process of starting an LPN-BSN transition this Spring 2011.

[sasha2lady]

hmm.....I agree with Huq......I work with several nurses like whats been described b you...one in particular is a young pretty nurse....always looks like a freakin model when she comes in......gets by with EVERYTHING....shes an LPN and got promoted to be an RN assistant, who doesnt actually need help. I work behind her alot....and nothing is ever done....she gives me these BS reports and everybodys got something wrong w them...yet not one word of its documented in any charts....cuz she doesnt chart...she leaves me in a mess every single time she works, I know shes not giving meds..just cant prove it and if i could nobody would care because shes so tight with the upper hypocrits in mgmt. Her narcs are always wrong. Holes all over...she doesnt do anything for 12 hours....leaves on hour plus lunches while the other nurses struggle.

Sickening....this is partly why Im sick of being a nurse. Im fed up with this kinda thing.

[ibmanda2000, LVN]

Ooh ooh ooh! I have one!

I'll admit.. I have not read all these posts.. But I wanna add a "stupid nurse" story! (although "stupid" is a harsh word)

Anyone know what Pediasure 60ml/hr x8hrs per GT means??

Pretty self explanatory order to me... but apparently not to everyone!

After little baby girl began showing weight loss for 2 weeks it was discovered that the night nurse had somehow thought the order meant 60mls IN 8 hrs! She set the pump rate to 2.4mls/hr for 8 hrs!!!!! WHAT!?!?!!?

Some people should return to nursing school..

[Onanon]

This is my biggest complaint with nurses, I bump into it daily, thinking you are better because you have more experience. I always here about how afraid nurses are to lose their license to the point of thinking it is better to wait for some with more authority than they have. If they do not wait they are sometimes chastised for making a decision.

Yeah nursing is a complex environment but you eat your own and wonder why no one wants to stick their neck out.

Personally If I heard someone in managment taking the attitude that a new nurse isnt competent, my first question would be why havent you done more to build confidence in them? I know the answer; you do not know how to instill confidence. Rather be critical to annoint your position than make the profession better.

Not too long ago I was being interviewed for a DON position and the administrator heading the interview said "I am well aware how lazy nurses have become over the last 10 years... I used to manage a ward with 35 patients and one tech and it worked well."

My response was that she had put me in an untenable situation. I either had to suggest that the staffing level was unsafe or she was a liar. Needless to say I did not want to continue the interview.

Ok I have more than made my point but in my opinion nurses are the worst at managing people.

[zdiddy44]

Here is the thing I've noticed with the nursing profession.

It's over polluted because the attractive price paid per hour. The majority of nurses I work with all hide behind this, " I can legally give medication window." Did you know that there are only 7 states in the USA that mandate the administration of medication by nurse in a hospital setting. Yes, 7! An over obsession with this medication bit is a joke. Hospitals lose money by abiding by these make believe rules.

Another sad thing about the health care service industry is that hospitals are overly obsessed with a "nursing coordinator." Or this whole "BSN required" management positions. I don't know about you, but where does all this business experience come in nursing school. Sure, maybe a medical ethics course is offered to BSN's, and maybe you've taken a health administration course along the way. But in now way, does having a BSN prepare someone for the business aspect of the health service industry.

Here is my point. I've seen great nurses, and seen ****** one's; overall, I believe, the majority of nurses are high on themselves and view themselves as little doctors. Nothing further from the truth. This profession is slowly turning into a joke and every day I lose more and more respect for this profession.

Oh, and this nurses eat their young ********....It's like a little right of passage. It's a lame attempt for nurses to exemplify their **** ass career. Don't disrespect people who are new to the profession. You are a joke if you do.

ZDiddy, RCIS

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

First of all, I want to say that I work w/ a bunch of wonderful nurses (and CNA's)!! I work in hospice and see pts in LTC and ALF. One of my pts in a 96 y/o with end stage dementia. Bedbound, nonresponsive to anything except tactile stimulation, eats 2 or 3 bites of food a couple of times a day, etc. When I made my visit yesterday morning, the ADON at one facility asked me to get an order for PT on this pt. I nearly laughed out loud. Are you kidding me? She told me that she noticed her RLE was beginning to contract and PT should be able to help her. I did, however, send a text to the NP with the request of the ADON. I wasn't aware that the NP was in the facility and about 20 minutes later she found me @ the nurse station charting and whispered in my ear, "Are you smoking crack?"

[Catch22Personified]

Ok reading this thread annoys me a bit as it really turns into a cycle of blame and anger. I'm a new RN and just got my first job.

Oh no I've never did a urinary cath on a patient Am I dumb? I never have done a tracheal suctioning until yesterday, am I incompetent? I glad I have preceptors that ACTUALLY teach me so I don't end up like the people the posters in this thread are talking about. Hell, I've never seen a CPM machine until yesterday because I never was on an Ortho floor in clinical.

A lot of us we just don't have experience so we do make this horribly stupid sounding responses.

I work in LTC and to be honest I have no seen a single nurse with a stethoscope. Is that a bit unnerving?

[PillpacknLPN]

I have worked with wonderful nurses and not so wonderful nurses.

In my experience the Lack of knowledge, laziness of work ethic group are the ones who are so tight with administration that nothing would get them out.

This too is my experience! I never thought that it would be this way in nursing. I understand that some employees. are only at work to get a check. There is no way that admin can lead and follow. In the mean time patient suffer the consequences...

[cinja]

You should see the level of incompetence I run into when I fly into these rural ER/ICU's The term is Inter Facility Transfer but in actuality its a Inter Facility Rescue. The issue that I've found is multi- factorial, the celebration of ignorance and lack of work ethic is endemic. We're told by our management to not say anything or offend and just package the patient for transport and lift off. Talk about touchy, I tried to show a rural RN some things I had noticed on assessment and apparently I offended her to the point that she complained on me. I give up, I going to leave direct patient care and explore other options before I really come unglued and tell it like it is.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Wow. Working in an isolated ER, I always make sure my information for report is complete, but like to actively participate in the transport assessment--mainly because in the helicopter is NOT the place to make critical discoveries. It is just not good practice. And I always learn something new--after all you all are at a higher level of care hence why the patient is being medically transported.

Sounds like the nurse in question had an axe to grind, or a confidence issue so she took your words defensively.

That's why we call you--higher level of care--for the good of the patient I would hope that you would go through my assessment completely. I have an ER and lots of backup. You have a very confined space and one other person. Doesn't make nice if something goes sour that could have been discovered to begin with, but the nurse was too defensive to let you do your job.