What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

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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 Women's health & post-partum.

Oh, here's another one--people who say "prone" when they mean "supine".

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Specializes in Psych.
Tell me about it! We have two nurses that CONSTANTLY flirt & touch the docs- & call them by their first names-- (a no-no where I work) and they're both new grads. It's nauseating & makes them look like dimwits. We older nurses sit there & wonder if they are even listening to how immature & unprofessional they sound. One nurse in particular laughs at EVERYthing-- we are all so sick of it, but what can ya do? :uhoh3:

To quote Homer Simpson, "I dunno". Drawing on a lifetime of experience, give a fool enough rope and they will hang themselves w/it. I mean, is there anything you CAN do in a situation like this. The docs are getting an immediate reward by just showing up, so I think that it might be futile to try to explain the situation to these newbies. Eventually, they are going to hear from someone(probably admin, by way of a more traditional doc) that their behavior is inappropriate. This is from someone who has seen a few things in her time including silly-ass new nurses that think this career is a game. I KNOW how frustrated you are (worked w/one or two like this, saw them get their comeuppance when their performance review did not garner a raise and happily waved goodbye to them when they sought greener pastures through marriage). And these people(temporarily) were given more advancement opportunities than experienced nurses in their speciality (before they left). Let me tell you, I was STEAMED. But I talked to the boss(prayer) and continued to do the best job I could do. Sometimes, that is the best course of action, focus on YOUR job. Let these bimbos try to get by on charm alone, it won't last long.

my .02.

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Specializes in Psych.
I must agree with the statement that jsut cause we are new doesn't mean that we dont know how to work. I was an LPN for several years before becoming a nurse and I know how to work!! I agree that there are a few that I know if in my class that don't but dont use broad statements like that to define every new nurse. I you are tired of hearing the statement"eating the young" then stop doing it!!

Or be mentors and show us what you think we should be doing Im sure we all have something to learn.

All nurses were new once...or did you forget!!

Hurt and offended!!

:angryfire

Amen to that! It is a struggle to learn this job, no matter your preparation. Let's all keep in mind the fact that we are here to serve our pts! Teach your newbies what they need to know to make that happen! It is good for your pts, it is good for you, it is good for your employer(the people that sign our paychecks)! If we can't work as a team, our pts will be short-changed! Rememeber why you chose this career!

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As a Nurse Aide/Student Nurse, these are 2 of my biggest pet peeves..............

1) On this particular day, this Nurse spent 15 minutes trying to find the aide assigned to her to return blood back to the blood bank because it was not being used. The blood bank in our hospital is right around the corner from our floor and it would have taken her less than 2 minutes to walk there, return the blood and walk back!:angryfire

2) 5 Nurses and 2 Aides on the Floor. 40 patients. Each Nurse has 8 patients, each Aide has 20. Each Aide works with 3 different Nurses. And each Nurse feels that what they need you to do is more important that what the other Nurses have asked you to do. For example, elbow deep in helping a patient with MRSA and C-Diff. No where near done, but the Nurse comes in and states that I have to go to Room So & So and help him out. Tell the Nurse that I am busy and will go there next, but that is not good enough, so the Nurse goes to the Charge and the Charge states that I need to go to that patient and finish when I get back. Go to the other patient only to find out that the patient wanted a glass of water!:angryfire

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
And each Nurse feels that what they need you to do is more important that what the other Nurses have asked you to do. For example, elbow deep in helping a patient with MRSA and C-Diff. No where near done, but the Nurse comes in and states that I have to go to Room So & So and help him out. Tell the Nurse that I am busy and will go there next, but that is not good enough, so the Nurse goes to the Charge and the Charge states that I need to go to that patient and finish when I get back. Go to the other patient only to find out that the patient wanted a glass of water!

I dealt with this at my last nurse's aide job, only i had 34-35 pts. It sucked.

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As a Nurse Aide/Student Nurse, these are 2 of my biggest pet peeves..............

1) On this particular day, this Nurse spent 15 minutes trying to find the aide assigned to her to return blood back to the blood bank because it was not being used. The blood bank in our hospital is right around the corner from our floor and it would have taken her less than 2 minutes to walk there, return the blood and walk back!:angryfire

2) 5 Nurses and 2 Aides on the Floor. 40 patients. Each Nurse has 8 patients, each Aide has 20. Each Aide works with 3 different Nurses. And each Nurse feels that what they need you to do is more important that what the other Nurses have asked you to do. For example, elbow deep in helping a patient with MRSA and C-Diff. No where near done, but the Nurse comes in and states that I have to go to Room So & So and help him out. Tell the Nurse that I am busy and will go there next, but that is not good enough, so the Nurse goes to the Charge and the Charge states that I need to go to that patient and finish when I get back. Go to the other patient only to find out that the patient wanted a glass of water!:angryfire

Don't blame you for being peeved.

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Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.

When a family member who is staying over night with the patient who is POD #0 and keeps waking the patient up for every little thing....because the FAMILY member is afraid. The pt gets no sleep and is worthless the next day because of it.

Staff related, right now, my biggest pet peeve is when a PCT doesn't tell me important information about the patient, such as HTN or is febrile...Or does something that is not in their job discription, like flushing an NG tube for a GI bleeder. :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire Some of the nurses let some of the PCT's do some things outside their job description. BI was a PCT for 3 years, I understand, but I'm not 100% trusting....because of what I understand...I would prefer to do it.

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Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.
As a Nurse Aide/Student Nurse, these are 2 of my biggest pet peeves..............

1) On this particular day, this Nurse spent 15 minutes trying to find the aide assigned to her to return blood back to the blood bank because it was not being used. The blood bank in our hospital is right around the corner from our floor and it would have taken her less than 2 minutes to walk there, return the blood and walk back!:angryfire

2) 5 Nurses and 2 Aides on the Floor. 40 patients. Each Nurse has 8 patients, each Aide has 20. Each Aide works with 3 different Nurses. And each Nurse feels that what they need you to do is more important that what the other Nurses have asked you to do. For example, elbow deep in helping a patient with MRSA and C-Diff. No where near done, but the Nurse comes in and states that I have to go to Room So & So and help him out. Tell the Nurse that I am busy and will go there next, but that is not good enough, so the Nurse goes to the Charge and the Charge states that I need to go to that patient and finish when I get back. Go to the other patient only to find out that the patient wanted a glass of water!:angryfire

That's unacceptable! It's one thing if the aide is sitting around doing nothing, but if the aide is busy....then the aide is busy! Give me a break. Getting a cup of water is not that hard! I know I've had some times that I was running around with my head cut off and needed to get the pt some water or whatever...I was there....I did it....No big deal. I would never do something like that. I hate it when other nurses do that.

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I am new to this board so I hope i don't offend anyone. However, after reading these posts of pet peeves something is obvious to me. I have been a LTC charge nurse (RN), M/S nurse (as LPN), ICU nurse, CVICU nurse, ER nurse, Nursing supervisor in large hospital and even a million years ago was a nursing student. So i think i have a pretty good presceptive on the nursing field issues of nurse vs nursing student vs cna and after reading these pet peeves i have a new pet peeve----nursing students and cnas thinking that somehow their job is the exact same as ours as the rn. Please let me finish before the yelling starts. When you are the cna or the nursing student you work very hard, esp. cna. Being a cna is hard physical labor with little pay and even less respect. Being a cna for two months was one of the big motivators for me to go to nursing school in the first place. however, when you are the cna or the student no matter how mad or frustrated you get with the pt or the family or the rn you can always simply tell the rn or the team leader that you are not responsible for the pt. See that is the difference, being the rn you are where the buck stops as far as caring for that pt when the doctor is not there. You as the rn have to be the one who ultimately says okay if no one else will do it (even if it is part of theri job) i'll do it because that is MY PATIENT.

To all the nursing students i hope when you get out of school you truly learn to understand and take that responsibility seriously.

Sorry i didn't mean to go on a rant but the common theme in this thread has become how nursing students and cna are doing all the work and the rn

are just sitting around. i work now in very busy er with no lpns or cnas and no nursing students on the night shift and yes i work sometimes with the lazy nurse, and the pms nurse, and the disappearing nurse but i am responsible for my patients and i leave every morning knowing that i took that seriously.

so once again sorry for the rant but enough is enough. and yes i do have a sense of humor and yes somethimes we all stand around and complain about the pts, the docs, and each other but at the end of the day most of us (i mean rns) take it seriously.

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My biggest pet-peeve after reading a lot of these posts, is how it seems to be okay and accepted to make vast generalizations about BSN students or BSN prepared nurses! It has really teed me off time and time again when I read some of these comments from people who LOVE to say all kind of negative things about BSN's. Everyone chose their particular entry into the nursing practice for whatever reasons..... if you are TRULY comfortable and happy with the path that YOU chose, then I feel that you would not feel the need to constantly find ways to down the BSN's (be it the program itself or the nurses) just to somehow try to elevate your particular educational choice! I personally think that people who tend to down others are doing so out of jealousy and/ or insecurities about their own whatever.... you fill in the blank.

I am proud to be a BSN graduate, I will be proud to be a RN (as soon as I take my NCLEX),....... I will be proud to be whatever I choose to be and I DON"T have to down ADN's or LPN's to feel that way. The differences in the educational levels are indeed differences, if it weren't then they would all be called the same, right! There's absolutely no need to say "Well, the ADN and the BSN programs are the same except those BSN's have "fluff" classes" or "We ADN's have much better clinical skills than those BSN's and yada yada yada. Anyway.... that is probably my biggest pet peeve since I have entered into this wonderful world of nursing. I have just started my 1st nursing job in the PICU and I am sure that in a couple of months I will have others, lol!! :)

Brina BSN Graduate....... and PICU RNA!!!!

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
i am new to this board so i hope i don't offend anyone. however, after reading these posts of pet peeves something is obvious to me. i have been a ltc charge nurse (rn), m/s nurse (as lpn), icu nurse, cvicu nurse, er nurse, nursing supervisor in large hospital and even a million years ago was a nursing student. so i think i have a pretty good presceptive on the nursing field issues of nurse vs nursing student vs cna and after reading these pet peeves i have a new pet peeve----nursing students and cnas thinking that somehow their job is the exact same as ours as the rn. please let me finish before the yelling starts. when you are the cna or the nursing student you work very hard, esp. cna. being a cna is hard physical labor with little pay and even less respect. being a cna for two months was one of the big motivators for me to go to nursing school in the first place. however, when you are the cna or the student no matter how mad or frustrated you get with the pt or the family or the rn you can always simply tell the rn or the team leader that you are not responsible for the pt. see that is the difference, being the rn you are where the buck stops as far as caring for that pt when the doctor is not there. you as the rn have to be the one who ultimately says okay if no one else will do it (even if it is part of theri job) i'll do it because that is my patient.

to all the nursing students i hope when you get out of school you truly learn to understand and take that responsibility seriously.

sorry i didn't mean to go on a rant but the common theme in this thread has become how nursing students and cna are doing all the work and the rn

are just sitting around. i work now in very busy er with no lpns or cnas and no nursing students on the night shift and yes i work sometimes with the lazy nurse, and the pms nurse, and the disappearing nurse but i am responsible for my patients and i leave every morning knowing that i took that seriously.

so once again sorry for the rant but enough is enough. and yes i do have a sense of humor and yes somethimes we all stand around and complain about the pts, the docs, and each other but at the end of the day most of us (i mean rns) take it seriously.

very well said. no one knows what one persons job is until they do it. and it is not an insult, or put down. :yelclap:

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.
nurses who say orientated instead of oriented.

i know they are silly, but butchering the english language drives me nuts.

orientated is a word. :coollook:

orientated

adj : adjusted or located in relation to surroundings or circumstances; sometimes used in combination; "the house had its large windows oriented toward the ocean view"; "helping freshmen become oriented to college life"; "the book is value-oriented throughout" [syn: oriented] [ant: unoriented]

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=orientated

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