Gum Chewing

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What's everyone's opinions on chewing gum while on the job?

Just curious because I love to chew gum but I feel as though no one in my hospital does it. :eek:

Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
Isn't that better than bringing it into your mouth to spit it out, where you get to taste it????? :sofahider

steph:uhoh3:

Blleeecccchhh!! But funny, anyway!

Anne, RNC

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
oh, u are right!!! i can't believe administration didn't get mad about the way she acted, because they sure got them about this md. the only person that has asked me to spit out my gum like that is my mom, a long time ago!

anne, rnc

i remember that feeling all too well unfortunately, but not because of my mom.

my sixth grade teacher (died about 10 years ago) would swoop and descend like a vulture

with a french twist, and when i'd here that voice saying "katherine! that is not a mint in

your mouth, i hope!" i'd just cringe and try my best to become invisible. "no mrs. funk, it

isn't gum but it was a mint."

i was having lunch at an upscale golf resort with some friends about 15 years ago and suddenly i heard, "good

afternoon, katherine.":eek::eek: omg! that voice from my past! startled me so much that i dropped

the section of club sandwich i'd been holding... :uhoh3: so much for grace under pressure!

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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i was having lunch at an upscale golf resort with some friends about 15 years ago and suddenly i heard, "good

afternoon, katherine.":eek::eek: omg! that voice from my past! startled me so much that i dropped

the section of club sandwich i'd been holding... :uhoh3: so much for grace under pressure!

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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i would have been soooo tempted to respond with a mouthful of my sandwich, "hi mrs. funk-glubglubglubglub".

leslie

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
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i would have been soooo tempted to respond with a mouthful of my sandwich, "hi mrs. funk-glubglubglubglub".

leslie

i wish i'd have thought of that in time!! :p

the best answers come too late!:lol2:

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
isn't that better than bringing it into your mouth to spit it out, where you get to taste it????? :sofahider

steph:uhoh3:

i just couldn't resist posting this cartoon i found.

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

csytm100211.gif

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Oh, that makes me laugh!! One agency used to call me to work in their smallish ER on nights. There was one female ER MD who is from out of town and is rather ...PARTICULAR about who she works with and what they do. On her list of pet peeves is gum chewing and pen clicking. There is a list of her dislikes and the charge nurse makes sure first time agency nurses are aware. The items on her list drive her CRAZY!! If she sees someone chewing gum, she walks right up to them and holds out her hand, palm up. She says "You. Gum. OUT!! Right now. Right here. Spit it out. Out!Out! If she sees you chewing it again, she takes the whole pack.

The pen clicking sends her into orbit. She will confiscate your pen. I knew about her oddities, and thankfully have never been the butt of it.

My mom used to do some of the same "spit out your gum" type of thing, so the MD and I got along really well. I knew what not to do coming in.

Anne, RNC

I am doing evening clinicals and we do a pre conference since we aren't done until 11:30. Well we were in the little report room and one of my classmates was clicking her pen repeatidly, I almost lost it, finally after about 10 mins of trying to listen to the CI over the pen I said her name and she stopped. (it was someone I knew and felt ok saying it, she has said she often doesn't realize she is doing it). about 20 mins later 2 other people started doing it. I thought I was going to go mad :| I know it's a personal hang up of mine though so I try not to say anything about it unless its someone I know I can something to.

As far as the gum chewing being unprofessional comments, I just have to say, as a Patient NUMEROUS times, and this was before I was much of a gum chewer myself. I have never once seen one of my nurses or aides chewing gum quietly, and thought to myself, it was totally unprofessional. I have seen all kinds of unprofessional behavior and seeing someones mouth chewing gum wasn't one of them. I have seen many nurses and aides do it quietly, sure you can tell they had some, but it wasn't distracting at all.

I don't see average every day adults going around drooling if they are awake, and I would think they are more likely to sneeze or cough spreading germs rather then have some drive by drooling.

As far as the kids, I wouldn't be giving my younger children gum and my older children that I have allowed to chew it once in a while, it's moderated. I don't buy them a big pack and let them have a free for all. I did give my 2 yr old a piece on the airplane once for her ears and she did great, I was really surprised. Never came out of her mouth and she never swallowed it or played with it, we got off the plane I had her spit it out.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Oh! Oh! Wait! I have a relative in her 80's who has those same clicking dentures!!! She talks with a stiffened jam to keep them in so she speaks through clenched teeth . . .but they still click!!

steph

Steph,

That ranks right up there with people clinking their pierced tongue's stud against their teeth while they are talking to you. Or playing with the stud while they are "listening" to you.

Talk about distracting...

-Diane

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Yuck! Gum is gross all together. I cannot stand when I see other people smacking like a cow chewing on cud and the thing that is even worse is the gross people who string it outside of there mouth. I work with a woman in the lab who just smacks and smacks and is totally rude about it. Besides being in a work enviorment its fine. Just not while dealing with patients

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

Did anyone watch the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics?

I've never seen so many gum chewing athletes......... from most of the countries. Not from Georgia, though. I feel terrible about their guy who died. I sure hope they padded those iron pillars, and outside spots very well, after that horrible accident!

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Specializes in Operating Room.
Steph,

That ranks right up there with people clinking their pierced tongue's stud against their teeth while they are talking to you. Or playing with the stud while they are "listening" to you.

Talk about distracting...

-Diane

I have a tongue piercing and it is very hard not to do that..most of the time, I succeed though.:p
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Specializes in Operating Room.
Did anyone watch the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics?

I've never seen so many gum chewing athletes......... from most of the countries. Not from Georgia, though. I feel terrible about their guy who died. I sure hope they padded those iron pillars, and outside spots very well, after that horrible accident!

That poor kid(and he was a kid-21 years old)..I saw the video of that accident and it was very hard to see. I'm not sure padding those pillars would help much though, at the speeds they hit. Supposedly, this course has already caused several accidents.:crying2:
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Steph,

That ranks right up there with people clinking their pierced tongue's stud against their teeth while they are talking to you. Or playing with the stud while they are "listening" to you.

Talk about distracting...

-Diane

I cannot believe this - today we were in an appliance store looking for help at the parts dept for a broken door to our washing machine. The woman who was helping us kept clicking her pen! Over and over as she talked. I almost reached over and grabbed her pen from her. :mad:

As we walked away, I could still hear her . .. click, click, click, click :uhoh3:

steph

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