What is the silliest complaint someone has ever made aboutyou?

GardenDove · Dec 21, 2006

The socializing can actually get entirely out of hand at nurses stations. I enjoy a little chit chat, but sometimes there is a gang mentality that supports goofing off.

I have never had a pt complaint, I'm proud to say. But once I got written up, 3 pages narration style, by a brand new RN. I was working nights on med/surg, and there was a pt in for intractable back pain. She had an order from PT to always make her get up to the BSC and not use a bedpan. I heard in report that Mildred (fake name), the drill sargent older CNA from days, had "taken away the bedpan" and we were not to use it! Mildred loved to boss everyone around, pts, nurses, even docs.

It was a busy night, and the doctor wouldn't give this woman, who was A&O x 3, any more pain med. I told the night aide, let's use the bedpan for the night, it's a PT order and we don't do PT at night. The pt was rather enormous and it was difficult for her to get up, required 2 person assist, she had a bariatric BSC even. The pt also requested a bedpan, and didn't want to get up, which I charted. (Pt rights!)

She had used the bedpan in the night and had called when she was done. Well, apparently the aide put her on the bedpan at shift change, the day shift didn't check, the pt fell asleep, and they didn't discover the bedpan until they got the pt up for breakfast. The new RN called over the other RN on duty, who was also rather new. The bedpan was imprinted on the woman's very large buttocks (naturally) so they actually called the nursing supervisor over. Then, when the Doc arrived, they had her look at the woman's buttocks, but according to the write up the imprint had faded by then. :lol2:

When I got the write up in my box, I was really p!ssed off, I vented about it all night at the nurses station. The night supervisor just laughed it off and said "Just say you didn't even put the pt on the bedpan", which I did, I'm sure my manager didn't take it seriously but had to solicit my response to it.

lyceeboo · Dec 21, 2006

It's interesting that several people have posted about getting negative comments about not being social enough, and so forth.
I think it's important to have a cordial relationship with my co-workers, and do sometimes make real friends with them. However, I have friends outside work (and outside the profession, for the most part).
I have to wonder if these "you're not social enough" people have outside lives and friends? I just don't understand where they're coming from!

I totally agree. I do think it's important to have friends and close relationships with people outside of work. And it's important to be cordial but I'm not such a great multi-tasker that I can joke around a lot and get all of my work done. Different strokes for different folks.

One nurse I worked with told me that since she's divorced and her family has moved away that our co-workers were her ONLY family. (She was a big gossip and really into every little thing that happened on the unit.) I guess the gossiping got to be too much for management because her "family" fired her.

AngelaSPN · Dec 21, 2006

I work in a lock down alzheimers unit at a nursing home. we usually keep our med cart behind the nurses station so the residents won't mess with it. recently i had my relief, the 11-7 nurse complain that i put too many cups on the med cart. i thought to myself, you should consider yourself lucky that i take the time out to stock the medcart cause a lot of nurses dont. i put so many cups on the med cart because it seems like i'm the only one that stocks the cart. i don't have time every day to go off the unit to get supplies.

BJLynn · Dec 21, 2006

A nurse complained one time that I had given a flu shot two days early (it was scheduled on the MAR), and had NOT signed it off. This was brought to my attention by the DON. I laughed, and explained the chain of events:

The resident in question was a lady who desperately wanted to get out of a flu shot. So she told the nurse on duty I had given it two days before. The nurse on duty called me at home and asked me if I had given it on such and such date. I said, no, and I had not even been in the building or at work that day.

Other nurse: Are you sure you didn't give it to her?

Me: Yes

Other nurse: So you are calling Mrs. So&So a liar?

Me: No, I'm telling you she is mistaken. I gave her her two shots of insulin in her ABDOMEN, but no flu shot in her arm.

Other nurse: Ok, somebody is lying and I'm confused.

Apparently she told the DON I had given it to the patient, I just couldn't remember or was lying about it.

DON: You have a complaint against you. Another nurse said you gave a flu shot and didn't sign it off.

Me: Well if I managed to do that one, you have a lot of staff that are quite lax in their jobs and shouldn't be quite so worried about me.

DON: How so?

Me: That was my day off. If I did it, it means I snuck in the employee door, past the west station, took the medroom keys from the nurse on duty without her noticing, got into the medroom, and then snuck back down the hall, past the nurses station, past about 6 rooms, into this lady's room, gave her the shot, then back up to the med room, disposed of the needle, gave the keys back to the nurse on duty, then snuck out again past the nurses station that is btw, across from the ASSISTED DINING ROOM at DINNER TIME no less, all without ANYONE besides the patient in question seeing me. I'm good but I'm not THAT good.

DON: I see. Let's just forget this conversation happened. I will give the shot and document it tonite.

AliRae · Dec 21, 2006

PICU nurse here. I once sent an 18-year old young man to the floor without having given him a full bed bath. Background? He was in for a head injury after getting in a drunken brawl. His mother repeatedly demanded throughout the day that I give her son "his sponge bath." Every time I asked him if he wanted to get washed up, he said no. I left the supplies and linens in his room in case his mother got industrious, but that apparently wasn't part of her plan. I offered for the tech to get him washed up, but the mother refused to let her in the room. (She was mad because the tech had asked her not to go onto the CLOSED side of the unit to raid the fridge there.) Oh, and also? The 2 kids on either side of him were both having great days- one was a hem-onc kid we were signing a DNR on, and the other was coding. My hands were full.

I sent the kid down to the floor, only to have their head nurse call me up and berate me over the phone. She told me I was a bad nurse and told me that my nursing was "trash." I was only about a month off orientation at the time, so I had a long cry about that one! I think she expected me to troop down there and give the kid his precious bath myself! To this day, some of the floor nurses will ask me if my kids are bathed when I'm giving report...

rnsrgr8t · Dec 21, 2006

I am an PNP in Urology for the last 2 years. I am 31 years old. My beloved fellow PNP, Susan, has been around my Division for about 10 years and is in her mid-fifities. We had one of our frequent fliars come for a check-up. I had spoken with this patient's mother many times on the phone. When I introduced myself to Mom, she asked me what my title was. I told her I was a PNP like Susan (who she knew very well). Mom stated, "Wow, people must be going to grad school right out of nursing school nowadays." I explained to Mom that I had been a nurse for 5 years prior to going back to school. She stated quite rudely, "Well, you don't look old enough to have done all that." I always wondered, did she think I was lying to her? She had no arguments with any of my medical decisions/advice but could not believe I was telling her the truth about my work history. Too funny! :) Whatever, I guess I should take it as a compliment. I also had a parent complain one time that I would not talk about anything besides her medical question about her son when I was doing phone triage. At my old pediatrician practice, during flu season I can handle 100-125 nurse phone calls in 8 hours by myself. I did not have time to talk about the weather! This same mom also said I did not sound like I was smiling enough when I was on the phone. I have never mastered the art of smiling and talking at the same time. I was never rude, always cordial and loved talking to families. Gosh, I guess you cannot please everyone!

banditrn · Dec 21, 2006

A nurse complained one time that I had given a flu shot two days early (it was scheduled on the MAR), and had NOT signed it off. This was brought to my attention by the DON. I laughed, and explained the chain of events:
The resident in question was a lady who desperately wanted to get out of a flu shot. So she told the nurse on duty I had given it two days before. The nurse on duty called me at home and asked me if I had given it on such and such date. I said, no, and I had not even been in the building or at work that day.
Other nurse: Are you sure you didn't give it to her?
Me: Yes
Other nurse: So you are calling Mrs. So&So a liar?
Me: No, I'm telling you she is mistaken. I gave her her two shots of insulin in her ABDOMEN, but no flu shot in her arm.
Other nurse: Ok, somebody is lying and I'm confused.
Apparently she told the DON I had given it to the patient, I just couldn't remember or was lying about it.
DON: You have a complaint against you. Another nurse said you gave a flu shot and didn't sign it off.
Me: Well if I managed to do that one, you have a lot of staff that are quite lax in their jobs and shouldn't be quite so worried about me.
DON: How so?
Me: That was my day off. If I did it, it means I snuck in the employee door, past the west station, took the medroom keys from the nurse on duty without her noticing, got into the medroom, and then snuck back down the hall, past the nurses station, past about 6 rooms, into this lady's room, gave her the shot, then back up to the med room, disposed of the needle, gave the keys back to the nurse on duty, then snuck out again past the nurses station that is btw, across from the ASSISTED DINING ROOM at DINNER TIME no less, all without ANYONE besides the patient in question seeing me. I'm good but I'm not THAT good.
DON: I see. Let's just forget this conversation happened. I will give the shot and document it tonite.

Nope!! As the DON, I'd have had the nurse that chose to make such a deal out of into my office, apologizing to you! :madface: I have observed SO much of this garbage over the years - nurses trying to make themselves look better by making others look bad! It's one reason why I'm sick of the profession.

I'm sorry, I know that most don't do that, but there's one or two in every department I think, and I've been the victim of them a time or two. I've also observed them doing it to others, and have attempted to stop it. It's pure meanness as far as I'm concerned!

KacyLynnRN · Dec 21, 2006

That I was trying to kill her by giving her "those pills" LOL She also told me she was having an affair with the president of the United States....

Paprikat · Dec 21, 2006

I once had to tell a resident that her perfume was so strong that the other residents in the dining room were complaining. One said it was so bad that she couldn't taste her toast. Well her son writes a letter to my boss telling her i told her she "stunk so bad that her perfume was decreasing the chemical properties of the medications" on my med cart! I laughed when i read the letter. How absurd!

Celia M, ASN, RN · Dec 21, 2006

I'm the Clinical Manager of a med/surg/tele floor, a month ago I was told a patient had a complaint so I went to see him and he complained that the staff were "too ******** nice". So I think I'll send everyone to insensitivity training:lol2:

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 21, 2006

the guy is literally dying in front of her.
my bet is they were getting iv's started. thinking about intubating this guy-pushing lasix-and giving him water (with chf) is probably the last thing on this nurses mind.
i think you are imagining a nice little scene. old guy dying gracefully in bed surounded by loved ones wearing his favorite jammies, just trying to fade gently away into the night...mean nurse won't hand him the glass of water that is sitting on his very organized clean tray table...

that's pretty much how i saw it. (the ivs, intubating, lasix, etc.! not the lovely scene where he fades gently into the night. never saw too many gently into the night scenes in the er!)

cookie102 · Dec 22, 2006

i had a co-worker complain the boss that i refused to take a cookie from her!!