What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

mamabear · Apr 1, 2004

Lazy RN who uses the "he's not my patient" excuse while I'm in the middle of admitting an involuntary commitment and said RN is cutting articles out of the newspaper.

Chicken-s$$t, cowardly RN who hides out in the med room when things start to get a little tense.

Cold, uncaring RN who, rather than spend 5 minutes talking with a patient, yells "get back to your room NOW or you'll get a shot".

Stupid, lazy, inept RN who tries to get psych techs to administer meds or treatments because said tech has "rapport" with the patient.

Insubordinate, lazy, cowardly RN who disobeys a direct order from the MD because he "didn't want to start an argument" with a combative patient.

Ignorant, superstitious RN who covers the computer monitor with paper so the computer can't see him.

OCD, fuss-budget RN who covers the desk with newspaper so he can work on a sterile surface, swabs down every flat surface with alcohol so he doesn't get "other people's germs", and puts on gloves to give P.O. meds. :angryfire

This is one and the same person. And our director wonders why he can't get anybody to work with the bozo. This same director, prior to becoming The Boss, was working one night, along with me and the above-described "nurse". We had a severely psychotic patient go off, big time. While I was calling the cops and EMS, our cowardly coworker had locked himself in the med room, where it took him 20 minutes to draw up I.M. Haldol, Cogentin, and Ativan. The patient knocked out 4 of a cop's teeth and tried to take a header out of a second story window (before he finally got maced), while I was trying to heard 10 confused and frightened patients back to their rooms. :angryfire

And this fool STILL has a job! :angryfire

veteranRN · Apr 1, 2004

double, triple, even quadruple charting. Then patients wonder why they don't get the individualized care

mattsmom81 · Apr 1, 2004

The PMS excuse wears thin on me too. How tempting it would be to say "So what's your excuse for being such a ***** the rest of the time then".
Or "Take two chill pills and get over it."
I have pretty bad PMS, with migraines included, but i've never felt the need to tell this to my co-workers. Why would this be information that they need?

I guess I see this as a form of apology...as I've heard (and said :imbar ) it several times when a bit of snippiness has occurred between coworkers.)

jaid · Apr 1, 2004

When nurses notes are put in with holes punched only on one end and the names of the patient no where on the paper.

Nurses coming in 15 minutes late (and it's always the same nurse) and you have to give report and we are required to check the MAR behind each other to see if we have left any blanks, which takes another 10-15 minutes.

Nurses who are still on the floor with the med cart 30 minutes after their shift is over (and has 15 years experience).

New nurses using the excuse, "I'm a new nurse" not to do anything.

Nurses who tattle-tell every little thing to look good to the supervisors.

Nurses who sit around all day and complain about how hard the work is and has not done any work at all, while you're doing all the work.

Customer Service: I worked customer service 5 yrs at a grocery store - Sorry!! The customer is not always right!!!!!

Family members complaining constantly about trivial matters, especially when you're behind, short of help and in a rush, and when they just want to "talk" about themselves.

Male family members trying to hit on female staff members. It's never the good-looking guys, its always the old, perverted ones. LOL

Patients with nurses as family members. They always tell you how to do your job.

Family members explaining to you what to do for the patient - like we didn't go to school to learn how to do this and we never worked as a nurse before. We haven't a clue to how to do our job and we need you to tell us. :uhoh3:

Coming to work and DON "telling" you that you have to do a double when she's had all day to find someone to work that shift and can be prepared to get rest for 1 shift and you've had no rest. Also some nurses never have to work a different shift or day that they are not scheduled.

Staff calling in sick because they have a headache, started their period, their husband is sick, their car won't start, etc.

Staff having to go home early (and usually only has 1 hr before it's time to go) because they might be pregnant, they have a headache, their husband is sick, etc.

Sending a pt to the hospital (I work in a nursing home) early in the morning and the night nurse at the hospital calls and asks if we gave them their AM meds. If we didn't, are you going to double dose? And why call at night. Shouldn't someone had called that morning? :uhoh21:

Nurses who are about to go home and tell you how "Quiet" it's been. You know that all H*** will break loose when they leave. And 9 out of 10 times it does.

When you send a pt to the ER by physician's orders because the pt is sick and the ER nurse finds out they are DNR and calls you to ask you why you sent a DNR pt to them. The pt wasn't dying, they're sick!! We don't let sick people just lie there and suffer!!

EMS and hospital nurses who think that nursing home nurses are ignorant and are beneath them :angryfire .

We have hospital nurses come to work in the nursing home and they last less than a week. They say the work is too hard. So before you judge nursing home nurses, walk a mile in their shoes.

I personally have never worked in a hospital and I never have said that nurses who work in the hospital are ignorant or unable to do their jobs or are beneath me. Personally I think hospital work would be harder because they get new pt's everyday and don't know how that person is, in the nursing home we basically have the same pt everyday and we know them. The only difference is I have 44 pt's to take care of, usually by myself and I know that a nurse in the hospital doesn't have that many. So please don't judge!

Calling a doctor on call (especially at night) and getting chewed out for calling him. That's what you're on call for, and your're getting paid.

Having a doctor on call, call you and tell you NOT to call him after 10PM. Yeah Right! I'd rather be chewed out by the doc than be charged with negligence for not calling the doctor when needed.

The list could go on and on.

The up side to my job is that when I have a few days off, my pts tell me that they missed me and tell me that no one else does it like I do. :)

I love my pt's. They are all my adopted grandparents. Even though some of them can get rowdy - and I'm sure grandparents get rowdy too.

ktwlpn, LPN · Apr 1, 2004

[quote=

Come to think of it, i DO have another pet-peave...actually it's less than a pet-peave, but it's something that i notice and it kinda makes me giggle...

It's when a student,new-nurse, whatever hangs their shiny new stethescope on their rear-view mirrow(happens from the day a person gets her acceptance letter and purchases her first scope). My wife and i get a big kick out of that...we'll see people driving with one hanging in the mirror (for the world to see of course) ..and usually say in unison 'STUDENT'...followed by a snort or laugh...

'It's kinda cute'..my wife'll say.

(disclaimer:this is not an attack on anyone...student or otherwise...but if you hang your stethescope in your rearview, and drive past a guy smiling..it might just be me!Also, i know not everyone who does this is a student, just seems that most of the 'offenders' are..) :rotfl: What would happen if the driver had to slam on the breaks? Stethoscope tatoo'd on the forehead....tehe te he

jaid · Apr 1, 2004

#1 pet peeve in long term care are families who could care less about their mother or father. They don't want to take responsibility for anything and feel that they are your problem now. How sad!!!!!

Then show up a year later and complain about everything!!

Palpitations · Apr 1, 2004

I can tell you where he's at, and he works night shift, too! He wears jogging pants, with a T-shirt, with an old nurse's lab coat over it. You won't be able to miss the beard when he leans over to do patient care!

Melinda

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: Sorry, I was just picturing ZZ Topp strolling the hallways looking for patients to scare!

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Apr 1, 2004

Yes, jogging pants or stretch pants as part of a uniform always did bug me. Heck why not include the tank top, too?

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2004

My biggest pet peeve,
Charge nurses who try to refuse every patient that you want to send to their floor. "Why do we have to take this patient? Just because his hip is broken and we're an ortho floor. Why can't they go to another floor?"
It's a hospital and you're a nurse. Take the patient and take care of him. If you don't want to take care of sick people, find a new job.
Be well...
The Mellow One

I find this a little hard to credit that you would get this attitude??? Our Ortho floors get VERY possessive - "but that is an ortho patient they belong on our floor (yeah but he had a micro infarct when he fell so he needs telemetry)

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2004

Yes, jogging pants or stretch pants as part of a uniform always did bug me. Heck why not include the tank top, too?

Sounds good to me

bluesky, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2004

My biggest pet peeve is docs who do really poor assessments, don't even read the nurse's fine work and then "suddenly" discover something that had been in the nurse's note hours earlier :angryfire

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Apr 2, 2004

Doctors who get peezed when you call to confirm an order. Heck if they would write legibly (yes, i'm reaching for the stars here), then maybe they wouldn't be "bothered"!