What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

redwinggirlie · May 1, 2004

Getting report and finding that all of the IV's that "were flushed and are patent" aren't.

redwinggirlie · May 1, 2004

My all time favorite.
The pt. on contact isolation, EVEN THOUGH you've asked 5 times "Do you need anything else?", after stripping your gear off, and taking one step in the hall, there's the inevitable "Oh, i'm not comfortable...". AS USUAL.

YES YES YES! :angryfire

RN_Amy, RN · May 1, 2004

What is the difference between orient and orientate?

They both mean the same thing, but orient is the simpler and more precise alternative, and lots of people really dislike orientate.

[Authority: Dos, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage by Theodore Bernstein. Gramercy Books: New York. 1999]

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Just my 2 cents worth... :)

francine79 · May 1, 2004

when your patient's family member is a nurse and they act like you are completely stupid and think their family member is getting horrible care because they are the best nurse in the world!

jenac · May 1, 2004

1- Nurses who claim to have done a drsg. change- yet, it's exactely the same one I put one yesterday (or three days ago)and my initials are still on it!

2-The LTC nurse who grips about having her aides hrs. cut due to low census- but whines about doing an admission. (Typically the one who has five/25 open beds and nothing major going on) I will do anything I can to help if you TRUELY don't have the time- write the orders, do the assessment- or even work a 14 hr. day to do the whole darn thing. But, come on. I like to get paid- how about you?

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 1, 2004

The nurse who thinks that the float aide (who is assigned to a floor of 35 pts.) is her own personal assistant, and "hogs" her.

SCRN1 · May 2, 2004

I like MOST of the people I work with and there are a lot of hard workers there, but here are some of my peeves...

TECHS:

- Finding a tech in an empty room with the lights off, lying on a bed & watching TV while the rest of us are busting our butts taking care of patients.

- Asking a tech to help someone to the bathroom & she says, "they'll have to wait until I finish taking all my vitals. I'm not going 5 rooms down to do that, then walk all the way back up here to finish them."

- While in the midst of rushing around giving pain meds, changing syringes in beeping PCAs, giving IV pushes for the LPNs, etc, I'm called about someone else needing to go to the bathroom. I call the tech and ask her to help this patient. She snaps, "I'm in the middle of taking (routine) vitals". Like she thinks the I don't have anything to do myself???

OTHER NURSES:

- Day/evening nurses having the misconception that the night (11-7) nurses should have to do everything because they have nothing to do since the patients are all asleep. EXCUSE ME, the patients are up all night either because you kept them knocked out all day or this is the Ortho floor & they are in pain and constantly calling for pain meds.

- Finding out in report from the ER or ICU nurse for a patient being transferred to your floor at the beginning of shift (before having a chance to assess all your patients) that they tried to send them up 2 hours ago, but the nurse said she was too busy and to call back after shift change.

- ER nurse (thankfully, only one we seem to have a problem with) waits until 30 mins before shift change to send a patient to your floor. Come to find out, the DR gave the order for transfer HOURS ago...she has a habit of keeping her beds full until shift change so that she doesn't have to accept new patients. And to wonder why some of these patients/families are so upset about the 10-hour wait before even being seen in the ER!

- A very talkative nurse who has still not assessed all her patients 4 hours into the shift because she's too busy telling each patient about her own ailments and then expects not to have to get any admissions because she's too backed up and other nurses have already caught up.

- Couldn't give a patient their ordered 9:00 PM meds because they were asleep. Get real! We have to wake them to assess them & give them their meds that are ordered through the night...now we have to make up for yours too?

- The ever popular nurses coming in late & then wanting to chit chat, eat breakfast (in addition to the later lunch they'll also get) & drink their coffee before being ready for a report. Well, if you don't want report, don't clock in yet!!!

OTHER:

- Because of the "everybody's sleeping" misconception, night shift has less nurses, less techs, and no secretary, but more duties.

- Patient's whose spend-the-night-guests get preturbed because we're interferring with their sleep while taking care of the patient. This is a hospital that operates 24-hrs a day. If you don't wanna be awakened...go home!

- DRs scheduling q12h meds given at 3P & 3A...why not shedule at 9A & 9P in the slight chance they are asleep at 3A?

- DRs ordering BMGs q6h without giving a sliding scale. Well, OK. If you want me to call you at midnight & ask what you want me to do about that 300 blood sugar when the sliding scale would've already taken care of that.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 2, 2004

I like MOST of the people I work with and there are a lot of hard workers there, but here are some of my peeves...
TECHS:
- Finding a tech in an empty room with the lights off, lying on a bed & watching TV while the rest of us are busting our butts taking care of patients.
- Asking a tech to help someone to the bathroom & she says, "they'll have to wait until I finish taking all my vitals. I'm not going 5 rooms down to do that, then walk all the way back up here to finish them."
- While in the midst of rushing around giving pain meds, changing syringes in beeping PCAs, giving IV pushes for the LPNs, etc, I'm called about someone else needing to go to the bathroom. I call the tech and ask her to help this patient. She snaps, "I'm in the middle of taking (routine) vitals". Like she thinks the I don't have anything to do myself???
OTHER NURSES:
- Day/evening nurses having the misconception that the night (11-7) nurses should have to do everything because they have nothing to do since the patients are all asleep. EXCUSE ME, the patients are up all night either because you kept them knocked out all day or this is the Ortho floor & they are in pain and constantly calling for pain meds.
- Finding out in report from the ER or ICU nurse for a patient being transferred to your floor at the beginning of shift (before having a chance to assess all your patients) that they tried to send them up 2 hours ago, but the nurse said she was too busy and to call back after shift change.
- ER nurse (thankfully, only one we seem to have a problem with) waits until 30 mins before shift change to send a patient to your floor. Come to find out, the DR gave the order for transfer HOURS ago...she has a habit of keeping her beds full until shift change so that she doesn't have to accept new patients. And to wonder why some of these patients/families are so upset about the 10-hour wait before even being seen in the ER!
- A very talkative nurse who has still not assessed all her patients 4 hours into the shift because she's too busy telling each patient about her own ailments and then expects not to have to get any admissions because she's too backed up and other nurses have already caught up.
- Couldn't give a patient their ordered 9:00 PM meds because they were asleep. Get real! We have to wake them to assess them & give them their meds that are ordered through the night...now we have to make up for yours too?
- The ever popular nurses coming in late & then wanting to chit chat, eat breakfast (in addition to the later lunch they'll also get) & drink their coffee before being ready for a report. Well, if you don't want report, don't clock in yet!!!
OTHER:
- Because of the "everybody's sleeping" misconception, night shift has less nurses, less techs, and no secretary, but more duties.
- Patient's whose spend-the-night-guests get preturbed because we're interferring with their sleep while taking care of the patient. This is a hospital that operates 24-hrs a day. If you don't wanna be awakened...go home!
- DRs scheduling q12h meds given at 3P & 3A...why not shedule at 9A & 9P in the slight chance they are asleep at 3A?
- DRs ordering BMGs q6h without giving a sliding scale. Well, OK. If you want me to call you at midnight & ask what you want me to do about that 300 blood sugar when the sliding scale would've already taken care of that.

I couldn't lay on a bed and watch TV if i wanted to, we never have the empty beds.

SCRN1 · May 2, 2004

I couldn't lay on a bed and watch TV if i wanted to, we never have the empty beds.

I couldn't either and that's why it peeves me that someone could while they're being paid to work...not to mention the extra work it causes someone who has to change that bed again before a patient can be put in it. We have a 32 bed floor and it's not often there's an empty one, but sometimes patients do go home and a little gap in a shift before another one's admitted to that room.

firefighter9202 · May 4, 2004

Nurses that don't change IV tubing. The IV label identifies the tubing to be changed on Sunday & you come in on Tuesday with an IV labeled change Sunday. Families will always point these things out.:angryfire

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 4, 2004

Families who, in order to stop an IV from beeping, hit all the buttons and screw the whole thing up. I could see the beeping driving me nuts after awhile, but after a total of 5 seconds after hitting the callbell?

z's playa · May 4, 2004

Families who, in order to stop an IV from beeping, hit all the buttons and screw the whole thing up. I could see the beeping driving me nuts after awhile, but after a total of 5 seconds after hitting the callbell?

Heehee. :chuckle You'd think they would hit the button marked ALARM/OFF?

Of course that would take reading skills with patience.

I know I know..a litttle catty but all in good fun. :)