Pet Peeves

Nurses General Nursing

Published

What is your pet peeve? With everything a nurse has to deal with in a day, the one thing that gets on my nerves is someone who takes the garbage bag out of the can but doesn't replace the liner. It makes me psycho. How bizarre is that?

I always love the ever so prevalent ER report I get from them way too many times to count:

"I just got here/we just changed shifts/I just took over this patient and I don't know that much about him/her, but they're on their way up to you now."

I guess the previous ER nurse who did actually have the patient for a period of time didn't think it was necessary to call report to me before he/she clocked out instead of passing it on to the new nurse just walking through the door, or didn't think it was necessary to give their relief much info about the patient so that I could actually get even a minimally decent report.

0 Votes
My Pet Peeve?

Nurses who call patients by their room numbers. There's nothing I hate more (well, actually there probably is, but this is high up on my list) then people saying "Rm XX" did this, or needs this. I usualy reply, "OH, you mean Mr A - I don't have a patient named Rm XX." Some people roll their eyes at me but I just keep doing it.

I have to admit, that would definitely annoy me and I'd probably be one of the people rolling their eyes at you.

It reminds me of grade school teachers response to kids asking "Can I go to the bathroom?" when they respond with "I don't know, can you?" in order to prompt the kid to say "May I" instead.

0 Votes

my pet peve is when the dirty linne bags are full and the bag rips and feces on the linnen goes on the floor and i just come on to work mey shift and see the persion from teh last shift didnt empty the linnen bins. and my other pet peve is that the last shift didnt check the pacients to see if they need to be changed and you walk in the rooms and you have an over powering smell.

0 Votes
My Pet Peeve?

Nurses who call patients by their room numbers. There's nothing I hate more (well, actually there probably is, but this is high up on my list) then people saying "Rm XX" did this, or needs this. I usualy reply, "OH, you mean Mr A - I don't have a patient named Rm XX." Some people roll their eyes at me but I just keep doing it.

i agree with you i think its rude to refer to a pacient by room numbers and i think its more formal to be like oh mr z needs this . the pacents are like hey RN or LPN or CNA you intruduce your self like hi mr. z im john doe so then the pacient knows what to call you by.

0 Votes
Specializes in Gerontology.
I do this out of privacy. I am not going to say the pt.'s name outloud in a hallway. What i do say is "The pt. in Room X needs..."

But i REFUSE to refer to a pt. as "the hysterectomy" or "the lap appy" or my personal favorite, "the T and A" (tonsils and adenoids, that is!!!!)

Sorry, guess I wasn't specific enough. I meant people who do this right in the nursing station or when giving report. I can understand doing it in a hallway or public place, but when giving report or something similar, I still prefer to use the person's name.

0 Votes

My personel pet peeve is when you follow a nurse and you clean up their messes. Or a nurse gets an admit 4 hours ago and leaves it for you to do all the paperwork....this actually has only happened following only one nurse in particular. Also, I get really irritated when the aides do not pass waters at the end of their shift (one of assigned duties), yet they find time to socialize...I also get irritated at nurses who calls an aide to take a patient a soda or a juice so they can sit.

0 Votes
Specializes in Emergency.

OK, these are very good pet peeves. I agree with almost all of them.

My two biggest peeves have to involve the mess/chaos of a unit/patient room/nurse's station/breakroom and poor spelling/grammar.

The spelling and grammar thing--what happens when you have to go to court and the opposing attorney talks to you like you are an idiot because your spelling and grammar are so poor? This has happened to many nurses.

One more thing....

This is a venting arena. I know there are those of you out there who think we need to treat each other well. We do, BUT, we still need to vent. We need a safe place to unburden ourselves without being judged by our peers. I firmly believe if we don't take care of each other, there will be no one to take care of us. We should treat each other like we want to be treated, yet we need to give one another the chance to blow off steam. It is necessary!

Off my soap box.:flowersfo

0 Votes
Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Suture trays/cath trays/any type of sterile tray set up, not needed, and just "wrapped back up." You really think I'm going to use a sterile tray that I did not set up myself??? You've gotta be kidding me - how do I know the other PCTs truly kept it sterile? How do I know they didn't accidentally break sterility while wrapping it back up?? DUH!!!

I am bumping this thread, and even though i'm quoting a post from October of 2005, i'm still VERY concerned that someone is re-wrapping 'sterile' trays or other sterile set-up.

Once it's re-wrapped, it's no longer sterile.

0 Votes
Specializes in school nursing.

My own pet peeve is folks that forget that our mouths can be used to smile every once in a while.

0 Votes
Specializes in ACHPN.

My pet peeve--when a pt calls me waitress!!!

0 Votes
Specializes in ER.
That behavior is not excclusive to LPNs.

I realize that, and meant no flaming towards LPNs. It just so happens that 99% of the LPNs I work with have a BIG chip on their shoulder towards RN students, and happen to scream at me day and night when I am simply trying to do my job, and when I try to maintain patient safety (in my opinion NONE of the LPNs who work in my ER have any business working ER... nothing to do with their LPN status, everything to do with their exhibited nursing ability or lack thereof)

0 Votes

Once a long time ago I took some used attends out of someones

room and found the garbage can gone and then found out

the other aide on the hall had taken the barrel inside the room with her like no one else even existed. It was humiliating.

All she needed was a liner in the room to put her garbage in.

What is your pet peeve? With everything a nurse has to deal with in a day, the one thing that gets on my nerves is someone who takes the garbage bag out of the can but doesn't replace the liner. It makes me psycho. How bizarre is that?
0 Votes
+ Add a Comment