What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

Nurses General Nursing

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Nurses that are brilliant but do not know the difference between contraindication and contradiction! :rotfl:

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Specializes in ICU,ER.

Press-Gainey and the Studor Group.....

For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about, count your blessings!!

Specializes in PICU, Nurse Educator, Clinical Research.
omg. that notebook thing is really annoying. especially that they even wanted you to put it in your own handwriting and words. why not write notes for all the patients families! (argh) :angryfire

just curious....where did the notebook thing originate? did someone recommend it on a talkshow or in a magazine recently? i've worked as an na in an icu for almost a year (finishing school monday! yay!), and never saw anyone doing it til about 2 months ago....now there's always at least one patient on the unit whose family member is doing this. i think it's basically a good idea- i do it myself, since i've seen multiple specialists for the same problem in the last 2 years- but it seems to be immensely popular right now, at least where i am. (my favorite was a woman who wanted to photocopy the mar because she didn't like writing the long medication names....)

Visitors in ICU talking loudly on their cellphones. both in patient rooms and while strolling the unit, peering in other patient rooms as well. Now many of these cellphones have cameras....anyone else irritated and concerned about this?

Specializes in Pediatrics, Nursing Education.
Visitors in ICU talking loudly on their cellphones. both in patient rooms and while strolling the unit, peering in other patient rooms as well. Now many of these cellphones have cameras....anyone else irritated and concerned about this?

nurses who are unsupportive of others educational growth (CNA to LPN or RN, advanced degrees such as BSN or MSN, etc). There's a lot of this that I have seen!

Okay, there's something I've never quite understood. I'm gonna look really stupid here, but why can't you throw dirty linens on the floor? I've never done it, because I've been told not to, but, really, what is the harm? (Someone probably told me once, and I've forgotten...)

I'm not sure I've ever done a linen change with gloves, but then, I've never had wet spots that I couldn't avoid. I'll have to think about this. (I'm sorry; I was a paramedic before AIDS and I think the only thing in the ambulance that had gloves was the OB kit--meaning, gloves were extremely rarely used.)

Not to be a troublemaker, but, in a way, I can see the rationale for doing rounds every 10 minutes, and leaving a soiled pt for the "next round". It's a matter of priorities. What is the risk of a pt being soiled for a few more minutes vs. missing someone who has stopped breathing, or has developed respiratory problems, or sudden confusion? Hard choices, to be sure.

NurseFirst

Dirty linens are not tossed onto the floor for infection control reasons. I always take a linen cart into the room when I'm changing a bed while the CNA showers a patient. It was hammered into my head by a great older nurse . . . . do not toss dirty linen on the floor.

steph

One mother with an extremely violent child, spanked him twice, and then totally lost her temper, in a room full of people and picked him up and threw him into his chair. He got right out of it, so she threw him again, and again. I went to the desk and told the receptionist that I am a mandatory reporter and wanted the sheriffs dept called immediately. Thankfully I was informed that they had already done so.

Well, this is a sad situation. I feel for that mother, being so overwhelmed by frustration and lack of ability to control this kid. On the other hand, not all rotten kids have rotten parents. No one knows what that mother might go through on a daily basis. And not being able to discipline kids around people w/o fear of reprisal is one reason so many kids are brats in public. Perhaps she should've been more gentle but firm in putting him back, but kids don't always respond to gentleness and consistency, as I learned to my sorrow w/ my daughter. Helen Keller would've probably never gotten out of her dark, soundless life if her teacher had not been firm..even rough with her, because of Helen being overindulged. The methods Annie had to use would be considered abusive by today's standards. Yet Helen was helped by them, learned to communicate, and had a full, rich life because of it.

I know I'll probably be flamed by the 'all children are sweet little angels, it's only their parents who are bad' crowd....but it's just MHO.

My daughter managed to amputate the tip of her right middle finger at work. After 6 weeks of "light duties" her employer was trying to get her back to her real job, building car engines. She had an appointment with the physiotherapist who advised her to remain on light duties until she had full function back in her had (sound reasonable to considering her job)

BUT, when we asked the physiotherapist to write this down so that her employer would stop harrassing her, she refused! Too frightened of litigation. So thats my pet peeve. Not standing by your convicitons

Ughhhh the notebook..I can't stand this!! We have one family that is so anal about this !!!

Families that think their Mom or Dad is more important than anyone else in the facility and hover at the nurses station during report.

Families that think that visiting hours don't apply to them!!

Residents that are constantly acting out,screaming all night long, but family does not want any "psych meds" because they don't want dad "out of it"

I love my patients...it's the families I can do without!!

Some pet peeves:

Managers who play favorites. And the nurses who go running to the managers to tattle on other nurses.

Gossip. I just want to go to work, get along with coworkers in a professional way, provide excellent patient care and go home. Please.

Preceptors who don't enjoy teaching new grads or students. If you don't like it, don't do it.

Medical professionals who barge ahead and do things to pts without explaining what they are doing in a kind, clear manner.

Clueless coworkers who don't offer a seat when they are sitting their gabbing and I have an armload of charts or need to eat my lunch. When I am in the breakroom and done eating and someone walks in with their lunch I always offer my seat instead of sitting their yacking while they stand in the corner slurping their lunch standing up.

People who get defensive when confronted with an error, oversight or lapse in judgment. No one is perfect and you may be wrong.

Specializes in Pediatrics.
Visitors in ICU talking loudly on their cellphones. both in patient rooms and while strolling the unit, peering in other patient rooms as well. Now many of these cellphones have cameras....anyone else irritated and concerned about this?

The camera-phone thing is starting to worry me as well. Essentially, anyone can 'catch' anyone doing anything. Sure, you can do it w/ a regular camera (and just as inconspicuous with some of them too), but how many people actually carry a camera around??

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Gossip. I just want to go to work, get along with coworkers in a professional way, provide excellent patient care and go home. Please.

And it's amazing how if you don't participate in the workplace gossip, the gossipers label you as a stuck-up.

Specializes in Pediatrics.
just curious....where did the notebook thing originate? did someone recommend it on a talkshow or in a magazine recently? I've worked as an NA in an ICU for almost a year (finishing school monday! yay!), and never saw anyone doing it til about 2 months ago....now there's always at least one patient on the unit whose family member is doing this. i think it's basically a good idea- I do it myself, since i've seen multiple specialists for the same problem in the last 2 years- but it seems to be immensely popular right now, at least where I am. (my favorite was a woman who wanted to photocopy the MAR because she didn't like writing the long medication names....)

I try not to let that notebook thing intimidate me, because that's why some family members do it in the first place. Some people truly do it for the sake of keeping track of trends (VS, counts, etc). Many people, IMHO, do it as an anxiety reducing behavior- they may not have control over their loved ones health- but this is something that may make them feel useful or important.

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