What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

pediatriclpn · Feb 2, 2005

My biggest pet peeve was working hightech peds home health care, and being told by a parent, that I was nothing more than a high paid babysitter. :angryfire I would like to have seen them pay for the 16hours of nursing care out of his pocket instead of medicaid paying for us, or for him to find some 16 year old come take care of his 5 year old trach/vented child fed by a J tube.

LPN1974, LPN · Feb 2, 2005

My biggest pet peeve was working hightech peds home health care, and being told by a parent, that I was nothing more than a high paid babysitter. :angryfire I would like to have seen them pay for the 16hours of nursing care out of his pocket instead of medicaid paying for us, or for him to find some 16 year old come take care of his 5 year old trach/vented child fed by a J tube.

What an insult. That would have made me want to say, "Well, then you have every right to get someone 'cheaper'. And we all know you get what you pay for."

One of my biggest pet peeves is nurses who come in late to work, knowing that you have been there 8, 10, 12, or however many hours, and they don't give a flying fig that you wanna go home. You still have report to give and the count to do, which puts you over and all the while they gotta stand around and get their coffee and have their little morning chat, while you're dying to go home and go to bed.

weesyanne · Feb 2, 2005

The latest thing that has been bugging me is when a coworker says something to imply that they work so much harder than you do. I say talk to the CNA's on the unit and you will find out which nurses work really hard and help them and which ones ignore them and expect them to do all the hands-on care for the patients.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Feb 2, 2005

My biggest pet peeve was working hightech peds home health care, and being told by a parent, that I was nothing more than a high paid babysitter. :angryfire I would like to have seen them pay for the 16hours of nursing care out of his pocket instead of medicaid paying for us, or for him to find some 16 year old come take care of his 5 year old trach/vented child fed by a J tube.

That's really messed up. :angryfire Things like this are what's driving me away from peds. Thank God some of the parents are appreciative of what we do.

dbsn00 · Feb 3, 2005

Interesting answers. I think #1 the biggest of pet peeves is when patients or their families think the smallest of things is very, very important and you should stop what you are doing immediately to do what they want. I know, they don't know any better and to them it IS important, but it still BUGS me. #2 has to be when the family or the patient stands at the desk and waits to either speak to you or the doc taking in any and all conversation. Of course, I always ask them to wait in their room, but I can usually see they dislike this and want to listen to things that are not to be heard. It is just annoying. That's my 2 cents.

:chuckle Precisely put!! My #3 is non-nursing staff (PT/OT, dietary, etc.) that just park themselves at the nurses station and constantly interupt charting, giving report and basically any conversation between nurses (at least at my facility)! :angryfire

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2005

I just came up with a HUGE pet peeve! I hate it when I'm trying to change IV fluids or tubing or stopcocks and the last nurse to do so twisted the connections so tight that you can't get them apart! I realize that connections have to be tight enough not to leak or come apart, but COME ON! You don't have to twist it on there with all your might! A hemostat can come in handy to untwist, but then you risk cracking the connections. That's okay if you crack the part that supposed to be changed, but have you ever cracked the part that actually attaches to the patient and wasn't meant to be changed?!

BeccaRN · Feb 3, 2005

4. When you have had the night from hell with little emergencies all night with all 8 of your patients, and then you get an admit, so you just can't get to everything. Then, the day shift nurse always complains that night shift never does anything. Come and work with me sometimes, and you'll see that I am usually running my tail off. I have double the day shift load...and you would think the patients would sleep at night, but that is when they seem to crash.

We had a day nurse with us one night and we were getting hit with admits. First she said she was only supposed to have 6 patients and not 11 because that's the way it is on days. When we started getting the admits it was were is the secretary to put in the orders . . . that's you, who puts the charts together . . . that's you, who draws the labs. . .again, that's you. When the day shift came on she had a whole new idea of what we do on nights and made sure days knew it.

RNinRubySlippers, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2005

These young nurses werent raised with the same work ethic I was raised with

I am curious, Is this your observation? Or are you a student?

Just curious

kar212 · Feb 3, 2005

Here are just a few that come to mind:

1. Antecubital heplocks. I know they're easy to put in, but they don't last!

2. Defective equipment

3. Visitors or patients that threaten to sue you for just about anything.

4. Day nurses who think that night nurses sit with their thumb up their rear end all night.

5. Nursing assistants who don't know how to take a manual blood pressure.

6. Co-workers who are motor mouths and don't know when to ZIP it.

chimama · Feb 4, 2005

Oh - one more... I work in OB, and I just love it when a pt asks for pain med, and when I am about to give it they ask "WILL THIS HURT THE BABY?"
???????????????????
Yes, it's going to kill your baby, that's why we give it to you!!!
Or maybe I should say...
WHAT??!! Your're PREGNANT?? For God's sake why didn't you tell me????? I can't give this to you, it's poison!!!
I know, I know... they are right to worry and they are just being protective, but it still make me laugh (inside of course!)

I totally know what you mean there! I work NICU and I hate it when a parent says...usually during CPT on another baby..."Does that hurt the baby?" I so want to say "Yeah...we are into hurting babies. That's what we're all about" (you idiot!)

matts_pats2 · Feb 4, 2005

nurses that don't take pride in their work.

Further, nurses that are always late.

Patriots strike again!

BunnyBunnyBSNRN, ASN, BSN · Feb 4, 2005

today?

see my post entitled "vent about the oldest gripe around"