ICU Nurses with OCD!!!

oneillk1 · Aug 17, 2007

Do all ICU nurses have OCD or something??! Cuz it sure seems like it! The people i work with in the SICU are so anal retentive and obsessive compulsive, i hate it. They are not friendly at all, they are a good example of nurses eating their young thing. As a new nurse i am finding it hard to live up to their expectations. Can anybody give me any type of advice/comments/anything about this pleaaasee???

yes and no... on one hand it is intensive care, I personally get very wound up and annoyed if the things that I need to do my job are not there. Such as the duck bill masks... my patient has Influenza... there are no masks in the hospital (I know I phoned everywhere!).... that pisses me off. Also, the consequences for the patient can be pretty extreme if things don't go right. I probably get a bit more short with people, supply, nurses who ring from other units with stupid questions (what are we, the help library, get off your a** and look it up) than I need to.

On the other hand I think I actually work with some people who have genuine OCD. Such as, if you fill in their obs while they are on a break, they will redo the entire chart. For the whole day!!!! I think that saying you are at work to do your job and not to make friends is a bit short sighted though. If we get into trouble who is going to help us. Are you going to help the person who chats to you (at clinically appropriate times, before anyone gets on my case!) or the person who will not crack their face into a tiny smile. Why make life harder than it needs to be!

There needs to be balance. Patient care CAN be balanced with a good working relationship with colleagues!

CarVsTree · Aug 21, 2007

I work trauma step down and will be moving to CC in the fall. I'll take a XFR from an "OCD" ICU nurse anytime. The lax ones make me shudder here's an example.

Report from lousy ICU nurse (was a lousy tech on our floor previously)

Confused/Restrained

Lungs Clear

RR 40's (but docs are aware) Why? Oh he is just anxious.

Pt. arrives A&Ox3 (still restrained)

Wheezing (didn't even need a stethoscope to hear him wheezing), productive cough.

Filthy

Foley swinging in the breeze and pulling (that is also nasty and dirty).

I went home shortly after patient's arrival.

I got back and he kept remarking how much better he feels since coming to our unit. (A 4 bed room with no privacy). He said he felt abandoned in ICU.

The nurse that sent this patient ALWAYS sends us train wrecks. Assessment reported and actual assessment never match. He only knows how to read labs and follow protocols. He seems to have no interest in actual hands on nursing. I can only imagine what his rooms look like. Well, I'm sure I'll get an opportunity in a few months.

BTW, we got an XR of above pt. and he had pneumonia. Maybe that was the source of that high resp rate.

Bottom line, a neat room and a well cared for patient are obvious and often go hand in hand. I can tell what kind of nurse a pt. had within 2 minutes of that patient's arrival on my unit. The only names I know in my sister unit Trauma ICU are the ones that make me cringe. I have to pull every detail out of them and then I'm not sure how accurate their answers are. It's like being blind sided.

a21chdchic · Sep 20, 2007

I agree with most of the nurses here on the reasons to be 'OCD' and they are actually needed things to be, just because it is ICU. However, I can also see the point of NurseRN20, it is a very difficult transition to go in to the ICU to train and work, especially if you are a new RN. It will take a very long time for you to feel like you fit in, ICU nurses IMHO, are very 'clicky'. And this does make for a very unpleasant experience. I totally agree. I have worked in an ICU in 2 different hospitals and experienced the same things in both of them. I can't offer much advice, just do your job and try to leave things the way you want to find them (the golden rule). It is truly aggravating to come on shift to you patient that codes right after you receive repot to find a room in shambles. It is bad enough after the code, rather the results are good or bad. Another thing, if you find your patient's are stable and have extra time, remember team work, help out the nurse who needs help (not as a result of poor organization or the one who waits till the last minute to do any charting), I'm talking about the nurse who has had a rough night. Help out with patient care, so he/she can chart, etc. (Help with bathing, you get the idea.) You do your best and keep learning, but some people will always be uptight. Too bad for them. Life is too short, no need to make it unpleasant. :smiletea2:Good luck to you.

Ana

PiPhi2004 · Oct 5, 2007

Personally, that makes me so happy to hear that thats the personalities that ICU nurses have. I start my first day on the unit in a MICU and I'm fresh out of grad school and I'm big on doing my work and not socializing, but I am friendly with patients and families. I hope its a lot less "high school" than most other med surg floors I've worked on during my school years. Am I right in this assumption? I sure hope so! Thanks for all the good postings

steelcityrn, RN · Oct 5, 2007

I have noticed this also, and Im sure it comes from the fear of making a mistake, as one in this department can be deadly. I would much rather have a nurse like that anyways, than one who is not. Only problem is sooner or later you tend to burn out from the stress.

a21chdchic · Oct 5, 2007

Yes, alot of ICU nurses are quite serious, but there are a few who are less so. However, the 'clickyness' that is found there, I happen to find very 'high school'. But as long as you work in a female dominated atmosphere, you will find that no matter how 'professional' the job requires us to be.:trout:

cloister · Dec 31, 2007

I've been in ICU 12 years, and yeah, I'm pretty anal retentive at work.

That being said, I think I'm also approachable - I notice the new staff comes to me with their questions, and I always try to help them in any way I can, as well as share some of my stories and praise them for a job well done.

But...........

I get kinda snarky myself when I have to deal with a colleague who I know isn't doing his/her job - the room's a mess, the patient's a mess, orders not done, no clue about anything prior to their shift. We followed one two nights ago - according to the new RN who followed this paragon, his response to many questions was, "Oh, I don't know that."

As a result, vanco hadn't been hung on a post-op crany (he indicated that it was her job as he handed over the bag), CT of head wasn't ordered, and labs weren't ordered. He's just a good ol' boy with a nursing degree.

He's a nice guy, and I think he socializes just fine, but hang it, he isn't there to socialize. I don't have time to socialize when I have two patients, and I'm always amazed at folks who sit around googling or reading a magazine. They are probably faster than me, and that's ok, but a little voice in my head wonders if their patient care is all that it could be. Do you want that nurse taking care of your family member?

Say what you will about the OCDs, orders are entered, meds are given, pt's are assessed, bathed and cared for, and physicians are informed. I think you need to be pretty Type A to do well in ICU. Try not to take it personally.

TStewartfan · Dec 31, 2007

I am an MICU nurse and there are a lot on our unit who are OCD but you just about have to be. The people I work with I absolutely adore and could not imagine going anywhere else. If I have two stable resting patients I go and see if someone else needs my help. When a new pt is wheeled into the unit at least six of us rush into the room to transfer the pt to the bed, take vitals, get leads set up etc.

I am anal retentive about my patients room, I hate trash on the floor, I hate clutter on my med cart and excessive linens in the room drive me nuts. I have to have about 3 washcloths and two towels on the bedside table just in case and believe me I have had to use them. I date mark all my IV lines and label every line with what is infusing so that if I am in a hurry to push a med I am not pushing an incompatible med into a previous infusing line. I go through the top drawer in my med cart which is the so called "junk" drawer and clean it all out, I send meds which the patient isn't on anymore to the credit bin and straighten everything else up. If I need something I want to be able to get my hands on it within seconds, not minutes. time is of the essence in ICU's. Our patients are very, very sick and to be well organized is the best that you can be.

Our SICU sounds like how you describe your unit. They are anal retentive and not one of them likes to help the others. Our CCU is like my unit but much more relaxed I don't mind being floated there because the nurses are helpful just like the nurses I work with.

I have only been an ICU nurse for a year and if the people I work with weren't as great as they are, I would have transfered out after six months. In fact, I almost did had a team leader who was lazy, gave preferential treatment to two other nurses and ignored the new nurses and then I get yelled at during a staff meeting being told I don't ask enough questions, so I started asking questions even if I knew the answer and even if the question was dumb. But now I have a great relationship with our new team leader and she is fantastic, always asking if you need assistance and I feel like I can go to her with any type of problem that I have.

RN1980 · Dec 31, 2007

i don't think it's a matter of ocd at all. i think you practice nursing in a fashion that you are comfortable with, wheather you're a so called strong type a or b. if a person is of a more laid back background you can't expect him to easily convert to type a ways and vise versa. but you have to get the job done in the icu, you really can't hide any weakness that you may have while in the unit. and i think that if you are to the extreme of ethier pole you are apt to have one. i have the great oppertunity to work with alot of different icu/er nurses in multiple hospitals with my full-time and part-time gigs. and i've noticed there are great and poor nurses who has to have everything just right all the time and the same can be said for the more laid back kind. i've seen really uptight rn's who seemed more conscerned with a messed up bed vs falling sats, and i've wittnessed a far type b nurse who continue to let a b/p drop until the patient had renal failure....i can only speak for myself but i do my best to maintain a balance, right in the middle, but i can become quite ocd in certain situations and these situations really revolve around life,sight and limb. again i believe a nurse has to practice within their zone...

dorie43rn · Jan 7, 2008

Coming from a medsurg floor, where ICU nurses have bad reputations for being "*****y" I now see both sides. I've seen ICU nurses be downright mean to floor nurses, but, since being in the ICU for 9 months now, I have never seen such cut throat and mean nurses as on the medsurg floors! The next time I hear a nurse say ICU nurses are mean, they are going to hear it from me! :angryfire The main point: I don't care if you have OCD, ADHD, or PMS, we have no right treating another person, especially our sister nurses in a nasty way! If you are having problems at home, leave it at home. If you hate your job, please find the many nursing jobs that take you away from patient care.

I am not OCD, but when I come on a shift, and there is garbage overfilling my patients room, stuff on the floor, things passed off to the next shift, my charge nurse hears it from me. If you let those things go, lazy nurses will keep on doing it.

After my post, you would never guess that I am the most calm of nurses, and stay out of trouble and confrontations would you? Its true. :saint:

Dorie43RN

All4Seasons · Feb 12, 2008

It's just fine to come on duty and want to feel you have 'control' over the physical environment you are going to be working in that day by tidying up,putting supplies you'll likely need within reach,etcetc, BUT,it is NOT ok to make the previous nurse feel bad (a previous poster called it 'tacky' and I 100% agree with her) - that's just so rude; a form of oneupmanship that some nurses employ to make themselves feel superior...sad sad sad.

From my perspective,the need for a controlled environment in ICU has a lot,not everything,but a lot,to do with working around an unstable, critically ill patient where everything can go wrong despite our very best efforts - fussing with the physical environment allows us to feel we have some control over the situation. It helps relieve a little of our stress, at the very least,it distracts us.

Do I believe that the 'anal' or 'ocd' type ICU nurses are those who give the best ICU care (this is certainly the gist I am getting from many of the previous poster's opinions) ...not on your life. A calm,confident,nurse who thoroughly knows her theory and can brillantly apply it at the bedside does not necessarily need to be a neat freak.

My point is,be a 'neat freak' if it makes you feel better -whatever works for you - but,getting back to what the OP was asking for -a little kindness and a genuine respect for your nursing colleagues,some humility that "I,too, can make mistakes",AND a good handle on theory and its correct application at the bedside are what the VERY best nurses have going for them imo...This has got nothing,whatsoever,to do with wanting to "socialize at work" - it's just common decency - treat people exactly as you would like to be treated yourself.

Sometimes,nurses stay in areas where they're really not happy anymore. They've gotten themselves into a rut - so to speak,and they're scared to make a change... sometimes a change is scarier than putting up with the current situation.So they stay where they are and are stressed all the time,though they'll never admit it. They're burnt out. And they're mean. They make life miserable for the new ones (or the happy,positive nurses) -the fresh new ones, who are coming to ICU so full of energy and enthusiasm - and it kills them.Putting people down is their way of feeling superior...and the saddest thing of all? those who do that to colleagues aren't likely to be caring and kind nurses to their patients' families either.

A little kindness goes an really long way...and comes back to you four fold. :wink2:

nursern20 · Feb 12, 2008

It's just fine to come on duty and want to feel you have 'control' over the physical environment you are going to be working in that day by tidying up,putting supplies you'll likely need within reach,etcetc, BUT,it is NOT ok to make the previous nurse feel bad (a previous poster called it 'tacky' and I 100% agree with her) - that's just so rude; a form of oneupmanship that some nurses employ to make themselves feel superior...sad sad sad.
From my perspective,the need for a controlled environment in ICU has a lot,not everything,but a lot,to do with working around an unstable, critically ill patient where everything can go wrong despite our very best efforts - fussing with the physical environment allows us to feel we have some control over the situation. It helps relieve a little of our stress, at the very least,it distracts us.
Do I believe that the 'anal' or 'ocd' type ICU nurses are those who give the best ICU care (this is certainly the gist I am getting from many of the previous poster's opinions) ...not on your life. A calm,confident,nurse who thoroughly knows her theory and can brillantly apply it at the bedside does not necessarily need to be a neat freak.
My point is,be a 'neat freak' if it makes you feel better -whatever works for you - but,getting back to what the OP was asking for -a little kindness and a genuine respect for your nursing colleagues,some humility that "I,too, can make mistakes",AND a good handle on theory and its correct application at the bedside are what the VERY best nurses have going for them imo...This has got nothing,whatsoever,to do with wanting to "socialize at work" - it's just common decency - treat people exactly as you would like to be treated yourself.
Sometimes,nurses stay in areas where they're really not happy anymore. They've gotten themselves into a rut - so to speak,and they're scared to make a change... sometimes a change is scarier than putting up with the current situation.So they stay where they are and are stressed all the time,though they'll never admit it. They're burnt out. And they're mean. They make life miserable for the new ones (or the happy,positive nurses) -the fresh new ones, who are coming to ICU so full of energy and enthusiasm - and it kills them.Putting people down is their way of feeling superior...and the saddest thing of all? those who do that to colleagues aren't likely to be caring and kind nurses to their patients' families either.
A little kindness goes an really long way...and comes back to you four fold. :wink2:

Jennifer, thank you thank you thank you for adding this post. I couldnt have said this better myself. You truly understand what i meant by my original post and thank you for your input, i agree with you 120%. I wish I worked with more nurses like you