ER Pet Peeves

[ERERER]

Omigod, i was just browsing through another forum that listed pet peeves. It was so good, but so big. I was trying to browse through for ER stuff. It's great!!! Let's start our own!!!

---TANGLED CORDS I start out every shift untangling monitor/BP/pulse ox/call light/pumps/IV tubings and assorted other things

---PATIENTS WHO ARRIVE BY AMBULANCE and immediately have to have a BM. What is it about EMS that scares the SH** out of them???? and then...

---I HAVEN'T EATEN ALL DAY. big surprise, neither have I. as a matter of fact, i probably havent' had a lunch break in 3 years of 12 hour shifts

---BEDSIDE COMMODES with various aging urine/BM's at the bedside.

---LUNCH (and dinner) TRAYS still in the rooms at 7pm

---GARBAGE all around the garbage can

---IV TRAYS not restocked. of course, nights does nothing but crochet. even tho statistics show the busiest time to be 8-12 am.

---GRANDMA'S AND GRANDPAS soaking wet. bet you it wasn't YOUR grandma

---VISITORS who come to the station to tell you what their family member needs (urinal, bedpan, water, attention). Please tell me, how did these people pee on their own at home????

----GREAT BIG DISPLAYS OF EMOTION about patients who are obviously in the ER from neglect..... prescriptions not filled, not bathed in weeks, clothes in tatters, dehydrated and starving. BUT NOW!!! my MOM IS SUFFERING, CAN'T YOU SEE THAT??????

----BABIES WITH HIGH FEVERS IN TRIAGE. doesn't anybody buy Tylenol any more????

I could go on and on (and I am, in my pea brain), but i want to hear from YOU GUYS TOO!!!!

[Darlene K.]

People who always ask for school notes and work note excuses

dont people want to work anymore

People who ask for school/work notes for their friend who is waiting with them!

[Darlene K.]

Visitors who come to the ER looking for their "friend" or their "babies momma" who is waiting to be seen in the ER.

(me) What is his/her last name.....what is his/her first name

(visitor) Uh, Johnson, I think...Sally

(me) Don't have a Johnson with that first name

(visitor) Try Gonzalez

(me) No Gonzalez with that first name

(visitor) Let me see your list....

(me) Death stare........Don't you know your "friends/babies momma" last name?????

[Darlene K.]

Women who come to the ER because they are 7 days late for their period.....Is Walgreens all out of pregnancy test?

C/O n/v X 1 :selfbonk:

C/O n/v - holding a diet coke and a bag of doritos!

[babynurselsa, RN]

Docs who believe women are too stupid to pee in a cup properly and require cath UA on all females.

Old person dried flaked off skin all over a supposedly clean stretcher.

visitors sitting on the pelvic bed eating a bag of chips that is sitting on the mayo stand with the speculums and CULTURE tubes. This doesn't so much peeve me as just totally gross me out.

Folks who carpool to the ER. I got a headache, and he has low back pain, and she has low back pain and a headache, and his foot hurts...........

The lady who threatened to physically assualt me because I turned off the TV so that I could assess her lung and heart sounds. Mildly ill NAD had had a COLD for 2 days. To top it off I had to ask her to lay down her bag of chips too.

[shadowflightnurse]

How about doctors who don't know how to operate a trash can, so they lay their trash (tongue depressors, otoscope covers, etc) on TOP of the lid.

[Uptoherern, RN]

1. visitors that stop me in the hallway, with my arms full of supplies and obviously rushing and ask for a cup of hot tea (for themself, not the pt.)

2. the second visitor that observes above, and asks for something just as foolish.

3. the patient who asks ME for a narcotic rx at d/c..........like I can actually do that. or swoons in triage "something for the pain! gotta have something for the pain!"..........no can do! unable! not possible! give me a minute here please!

4. the patient in for abd pain/vomiting who is awaiting CT and asks for something to eat. I'm starving! jeez..........

5. mom who comes in with multiple kids who all need to be seen, and only one out of the five is actually ill. the others just pull every thing out of the drawers and run all over the place. mom doesn't seem to care.

6. doctors who can't clean up after themselves.

7. verbally abusive patients. who don't have a job. because they are "disabled". who don't seem to have any disability at all, except perhaps their drug addiction/alcoholism.

8. state insurance patients who are asked to pay their copay and tell us they have no money. The copay in my state is $1...........no lie........$1. and of course, they have their cellphone, their manicured nails, their cigs, etc...........

9. my new manager asking me "why is this person in the waiting room for 28 minutes without being triaged yet?" I try to explain that I have just taken time out to discharge 2 patients for the nurses that are slammed, I then cleaned the beds, and placed 2 new patients in them, that I have triaged. I have not had a break, i have not had lunch. I came in at 0700, it is 1500. Her response? "do you know what the national standard is for triage?" I look at her and say, yes, 5 minutes from arrival to triage. what a crock of sh**. she then informs me that triaging a patient should take no longer than 5 minutes. what the ?............ how am I supposed to triage everyone in less than 5 minutes if 1o people come in at once? ???????????????

[galenight, BSN, RN]

1. Docs who give you multiple verbal orders on multiple patients simultaneously and want them done all at the same time... uh... write it down and I'll do the most important first and get to the others immediately thereafter.

2. Frequent flyers. They just suck the life outta ya. ( the ones who aren't really ill that is)

3. those individually wrapped oral meds that cannot be opened for love nor money.

4. People who don't engage the safety device on the safety needles! DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!!

5. Call ahead seating.. Since when do you call the Er to announce that you will be arriving soon.. So what? We'll treat you in the order of the severity of your illness, not first come(call) first served.

6. People coming in with c/o vomiting... how many time have you vomited? Answer... once... ohmygod.. call the morgue!

7. Above applies to one episode of diarrhea.

8. Docs who order emergency enemas... is there really such thing... yes I know.. occassionally it is necessary in the ER, but usually not... especially on kids.

9. Patients who say when you are starting an IV, you only get one poke... well.. most of the time that all I need, but neither one of us can help how your veins are!!!!!

[BabyRN2Be]

6. People coming in with c/o vomiting... how many time have you vomited? Answer... once... ohmygod.. call the morgue!

7. Above applies to one episode of diarrhea.

Do people really come in because they vomited once?? I guess they do because I'm definitely not doubting you all. If I worked in ED this would be one of my pet peeves, too. What makes vomiting or diarrhea x1 an occasion to seek out emergency medical attention?? Especially diarrhea! Are the stores out of Imodium or something?

If *I* was sick to the point of vomiting and/or diarrhea, I'd prefer to do so at my home, where I can go into my own bathroom, sleep in my own bed when I'm sick. Not go out into a public area where you are vomiting with an audience (I know that I don't need that) or using the restroom while having the runs and enduring people knocking on the door... this is why I'm a brave little girl and I STAY HOME. Besides, my husband can take care of me like no one else can.. I do the same for him.

Now if I was running a tremendously high fever and had severe abd. pain and was vomiting several times over more than a day, this would definintely be a different story.

ED vs. my own bedroom for vomiting/diarrhea? No contest...

[Darlene K.]

They certainly do they come in after having only 1 (count them one!) episode of vomiting or diarrhea.

I have had them come and state "I woke up in the middle of the night with my stomach hurting" (right now it's noon). I ask them to point to their pain, they reply it doesn't hurt anymore, it only lasted about 15 to 20 minutes. I feel fine now. I just wanted to find out why that happened...

I had a man come in once with C/O my orifice burns from where I crapped my pants. He was in a race (running) and needed to poop but didn't want to stop. So, he pooped his pants and kept on a truckin!

[DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP]

8. state insurance patients who are asked to pay their copay and tell us they have no money. The copay in my state is $1...........no lie........$1. and of course, they have their cellphone, their manicured nails, their cigs, etc...........

AMEN!!!:angryfire

[Darlene K.]

How about the patient who wants a bus pass for her and her boyfriend to go home! Of course, this is in addition to the box lunch they both want.

[ednurse17, BSN, MSN, RN, NP]

its so nice to know that I'm not the only one who gets peeved off about these patients!!! For the life of me, I have yet to figure out WHY no one can buy Motrin/Tylenol or better yet, you ask them when the last time you gave the child either/or and they say "yesterday". I just HAVE to ask... "you realize this isn't a once a day medicine" "it can be repeated every 4-6 hrs!!!

lately we've been asking the paramedics/emts when they encode... "are these patients triagable??" If so..... they can wait on that toe pain or h/a for 3 wks. JEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!

We also get the "are you busy" phone calls. I WANT to ask..... would you like a reservation?? Or better yet, the family members that call ahead to tell us they are coming and to reserve a bed...... uhhhh right...... go to triage babe. If they're that sick, call EMS.

If they can afford cigs/braids/jewelry on every finger and ears, neck and other regions I don't EVEN want to know about.... buy some Motrin... walmart stays open 24/7. I really do love my job....honest!!!!