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!!!!

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I discovered another pet peeve while i was in triage last night...

People who talk with there hands while your trying to multitask by getting ther VS done while asking about their CC, and then when you ask them to keep there arm still, they sai I am... Guess some people don't even realize they talk with their arms.

sweetooth

[johnnrachel]

Not sure if this one was mentioned, but my biggest pet peeve is when family comes in with the patient and your asking them all your assessment questions: How do you rate your pain, When was your last bowel movement? And the family member answers, He rates his pain a ten and his last bowel movement was this morning. This family member happened to be his sister!!!!!!!!!!!!! True story I almost answered: And what did this bowel movement look like this morning>??? (To the sister) Point being I HATE WHEN FAMILY MEMBERS ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS FOR AN ALERT AND ORIENTED PATIENT!!! My response is I am legally documenting and I need to chart what HE is saying or feeling!!!!!!!!:argue:

Oh and by the way the above mentioned patient was an ambulatory, alert and oriented 30 year old male with abdominal pain times one week, who just ate Arby's one hour ago!!!!!!!!!!!

[PeachyERNurse, BSN, RN]

1. Press Ganey (goes without saying)

2. Drama Queens/Kings

3. EMTs who don't know how to start an IV and have fluids running through an infiltrated line.

4. Restarting IV sites on pts who came in via those EMTs

(they stuck me in the ambulance, why do I have to have another one?)

5. Mean Drunks

6. Mean redneck women who think getting mad and threatening us gets them what they want. Look, hon that may work with your husband or kids, it just gets you kicked out here.

7. Mean men who think because they're bigger than me they can intimidate me. Kiss my a&& now these really big male nurses will help you (out the door).

8. People who ask for tylenol and motrin scripts while they talk on their cell phone and replace the pack of cigarrettes in their Coach/Vera Bradley/Doone & Burke purse.

9. No foley kits/tegaderms/alcohol pads/etc in the room (or the next five).

:banghead:My biggest pet peeves!!!

[zamboni]

.....

[princess2b]

It's inhuman, unprofessional, rude, unjust, and flat out illegal to discriminate and/or prejudge someone due to their health insurance (Medicaid).

Frankly, everyone has the right to receive medical care and treatment without prejudgment and/or discrimination of any kind. Give people the respect and dignity they deserve by NOT checking out the insurance coverage before seeing them along with by letting them ask about if so and so will be covered. Isn't it bad enough that everyone on health insurance has to deal with their health insurance agency, when they get greedy? I think so.

Besides, if everyone lives long enough in the states, then they end up on Medicare and Social Security Retirement benefits (assuming still around). Will you be able to afford to retire and live comfortably, while paying for doctor and hospital visits completely out of pocket?

You can't always judge a book correctly by its cover. Hence, why you should ask them in a respectful, nice, polite manner about what you are assuming. This includes whether or not someone is homeless and is obviously a vagrant due to the huge trash bag and their stench smelled a mile away.

Sincerely.

[princess2b]

did you tell them that sure, the cute little agent from the dea had a pocket full of them at the side entrance?? not only that, he'd give you a free ride to great little "hotel", all free....

good one!!!

[princess2b]

Careful with this one, fibromyalgia is very painful, sure, not fatal as this husband made out, but life limiting in some cases.

Also, when I go to the hospital, I tend to tell them where I want the IV these days after some "lovely" RN decided to put it in my wrist and I ended up with painful phlebitis for a couple of months.

Patients that tell nurses the best veins, which kind of needle, and even bandage, probably are used to be stuck due to X medical reason and thus know their body best. Wrists are a more painful area for blood draws anyways. Now if the nurse has a very strong preference for which kind of needle, then it's best to use that preferred needle by the nurse.

By the way, if you get so mad over a patient being his/her own advocate over something small like which vein(s), then why are you a nurse? Don't get me wrong, but it sounds like you probably hate your job? Maybe its just the hospital or the department that irks you to no end. If so, change departments / hospitals.

Sincerely.

[myladybug04]

Patients who decide they have been waiting to long so they leave the ER waiting room and return via EMS only to be triaged and sent back to the waiting room! LOL i get a kick out of that every time...

[nic900]

We had one lady complain because she was moved from the eent room which was right next to a trauma bay ( we had a trauma coming). We moved her because she had her little girl with her and we didn't want the little girl to see the trauma (VSA). The mom kept trying to see what was going on and complained that she saw the doctors laughing and telling jokes at the nursing station. Well excuse me. Why don't you go where you are needed and comfort your sick daughter (who was later given tylenol and sent home). And excuse the docs who work long shifts with little or no breaks! When it is busy/stressful, we need to let off steam and besides, I love a good joke!

Sorry, just needed to vent a little.

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

1. Patient's temperature reads 98.4 and patient insisting this is a fever for them since thier norm is 95.

For the record, this CAN be the case for some folks (like me).

I have hypothyroid issues (and other endocrine abnormalities, I'm assuming, that fortunately aren't severe enough yet for me to justify the several thousands of dollars in testing to diagnose), and my "normal" temp can be in the 95-96 range on most days, especially if my thyroid levels are low.

I can be downright miserable with a temp of 99.0, over 100 for me can feel like 104+ for someone who is "normal".

Now, if the patient has no other symptoms, or is a known Frequent Flier or whatever, that's one thing. But when they have body aches, chills, lethargy, etc., or other symptoms (sinus pain, sore throat, infection of whatever), if they're telling you that they "normally run low so that's really a fever" they could very well be telling you the truth!