I love most of my parents, but I have a few pet peeves that really irk me, such as:
1) Parents who insist that you not wake their child during the night "for any reason" despite the fact that they have q4h vitals and assessments, meds given throughout the night, and an IV that's on the fritz.
2) Parents who allow their child to scream and throw a temper tantrum at midnight (waking up all the other kids on the floor) because the child does not want to put on oxygen, take a med, get a stat lab draw, etc.
3) Threatens their kid with shots (from me!) if he/she doesn't cooperate with cares
4) Allows their baby (or young child) to cry because they are in pain, threw up, wet the bed, etc and does not make a move from their cot to console them. However, they do manage to shout instructions from five feet away every time you go in the room!
5) Allow your child to hit, kick, bite or otherwise physically or verbally abuse me without saying a word. Just because you allow your child to call you a b**** at home doesn't mean that I should have to tolerate it.
6) Tell your child that he/she does not have to take a med, have an IV inserted, etc if the kid protests even a little. Your child is in the hospital for a reason, and if you set the expectation that your kid will cooperate, he or she is much more likely to do so
I would like to give every parent a few hints. First, I am not and will never be a punishment. If you wish to discipline your child for not cooperating, leave me out of it.
We are not a free nanny service. We do not appreciate you sitting by shouting orders at us to do routine cares for your child while you lounge on the sofa.
Your child looks to you to determine how he/she should act, so if you are going to cry or have a nervous breakdown please step in the hallway. The last thing we need is for the kid to have a meltdown too!
and finally- your child likely only met me 2 HOURS AGO. The chances of me being able to console him or her in the middle of the night are SLIM TO NONE. Therefore, I suggest that if he or she is crying during the night you show a little bit of empathy, get out of bed and give your kid a hug!
Ok, stepping down off my soapbox. Does anyone else want to share?
I work in a pediatric clinic. One pet peeve I have is when a parent calls for a same day appt and wants to be squeezed into an already busy schedule, which is fine. When an appt is offered, the parent states that this is their child's nap time and that time just wont work. Another is when patients show up 20-30 minutes late for an appt, but show up with McDonalds or other food... Or I agree with the vaccination part, stating "here comes the mean nurse" Ugh
I could not agree with you more!!! When I was still working in pediatrics we would have anywhere from 40-50 patients a day, but if a parent called and needed to get there child in I would work them in and just tell them there would probably be a wait because we are so busy and they were fine with that... MOST of them at least. Not to sound rude, but most of the time the ones that were fine with having to wait (if being worked in and all that) were the ones that actually have to PAY for their insurance and PAY a co-pay, its the ones that got it for free that griped and complained the most. Not saying all of them... but yeah. Or when a parent just walks in to the office wanting the child to be seen and you tell them OK, we will work them in but it will be awhile because we have scheduled appts ahead of you, and then its like 5 minutes later and they are complaining because they are having to wait! UGHHHHH I absolutely LOOOOVE peds, but sometimes parents can just be a bit toooo much
I totally agree with the "free" visit patients. Especially when they walk in or call for an appt 2-3 days a week. Another peeve is the "by the ways" By the way, can you see johnny and billy also. I too, absolutely love my job and pediatrics. i am sure there are pet peeves in every field.
I totally agree with the "free" visit patients. Especially when they walk in or call for an appt 2-3 days a week. Another peeve is the "by the ways" By the way, can you see johnny and billy also. I too, absolutely love my job and pediatrics. i am sure there are pet peeves in every field.
wow, sounds like you worked the same place as me... haha... i had a few families that if they werent there IN the office, they were calling. It was a DAILY issue.
I could not agree with you more!!! When I was still working in pediatrics we would have anywhere from 40-50 patients a day, but if a parent called and needed to get there child in I would work them in and just tell them there would probably be a wait because we are so busy and they were fine with that... MOST of them at least. Not to sound rude, but most of the time the ones that were fine with having to wait (if being worked in and all that) were the ones that actually have to PAY for their insurance and PAY a co-pay, its the ones that got it for free that griped and complained the most. Not saying all of them... but yeah. Or when a parent just walks in to the office wanting the child to be seen and you tell them OK, we will work them in but it will be awhile because we have scheduled appts ahead of you, and then its like 5 minutes later and they are complaining because they are having to wait! UGHHHHH I absolutely LOOOOVE peds, but sometimes parents can just be a bit toooo much
1) Bottle propping - how lazy can you possibly be?
2) Juice givers - had an 8 month old last night that got -0- formula in 12 hours...mother would offer it and then say she wants juice instead. She was a bottle propper, too. Might as well yank the poor baby's teeth out now, they're all going to be rotten in a little while anyway. Found out this morning that these people also had lice! EEEEEEEEWWWW!
3) Somebody already said this but it is worthy of repetition - I can't stand these people that "don't want to be bothered during the night." WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO HOME!
4) Stinky people. I have one patient at the moment and the room stinks so bad of the father's feet that it is making me gag every time I go in the room. TAKE A FRICKING SHOWER!
My first question to all of you is, are ANY of you parents??
Second question: are any of you parents of kids who have special needs?
B4 you get fired up, please read my entire post. I am an RN who is a parent of a child who is deaf/blind, tube fed, has had many surgeries, cannot breathe at night without the help of bi-pap and has been rescusitated multiple times. I have slept on hospital floors, ridden in backs of ambulances and have been there and done that like you wouldnt' believe.
Now I want to add that to an extent, I agree with you. I work in the OR and in pediatric rehab and get annoyed when parents bark orders, don't show up, don't shower, etc. etc.
However, I disagree with a few things. To the RN who is so critical of the parent who shows up without the "12 additives for their child's tube feed". Do you know what the circumstances were when that parent flew out the door and ran to the hospital? Forgive me, but whenI am racing off to the ED because of difficulty breathing, the last thing on my mind is to grab the correct size of tube or formula. Frankly, I think that a major children's hospital should have it.
To those of you who are so threatened about being told by a parent what to do. I have told many doctors and nurses, I appreciate that you have been studying/doing medicine/nursing for ___# of years, but I have been studying/doing THIS child for 10 years. If I tell you that it is best to get a BP in his leg, I am not trying to be bossy, I am just telling you that you are wasting your time to get it in his arm, and I know this from experience.
PLEASE, I understand that the parents are the most frustrating part of pediatrics-I work there too, but PLEASE take a minute and TRY to see the world through their eyes. At one point, b4 we got respite services, the only chance I had to even pee without him in earshot was when he was hospitalized. The one time I left him in the hospital alone, I came back to find out they had nearly killed him because some cocky resident and RN decided they knew what was best and ignored what I had told them.
They are SCARED, they are intimidated, they are not sure what is happening or what the outcome will be. This is their most precious possession (usually) and you can only relate when you have gone through it. OK, there are some that are complete dumb a**'s and you question why they were able to procreate.
We appreciate your patience and understanding and you really make a parent's day when you just listen and try it our way-even if it may be ridiculous in your eyes. I became a nurse because I REMEMBER the RN who sat and taught me with great patience to put in an NG tube while I bawled my eyes out and she reassured me that I could do it. You NEVER know what a difference you are making!! Thank you for your patience and EVERYTHING you do!!
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
I have a special needs child (although he's an adult according to the calendar) and I work PICU. There are times when I'm annoyed or frustrated by the behavior of some parents but I try to cut them some slack. Even if a kid has never been sick before, that mom or dad is going to be the expert in that child. Parents of medically complex children are the best resource the nurse has! They are the ones that are there all the time and they will have the dates, places, times and details of every previous illness, hospitalization, surgery and med ever ordered. It's so much easier to ask Mom than it is to look in the chart! When I orient new nurses to our unit, I remind them of that all the time. And I include the parents in caring for the child in whatever way I can so that they feel a part of the team.
I agree, I'm also a special needs parent and often I don't have what I need, but I'm flexible w/ formula sub for a short time. I took offense to that comment too.
I think many would be surprised to know that ALOT of us here are parents of special needs kids. Parents are a pain, but they are also your greatest asset....
My first question to all of you is, are ANY of you parents??
Second question: are any of you parents of kids who have special needs?
B4 you get fired up, please read my entire post. I am an RN who is a parent of a child who is deaf/blind, tube fed, has had many surgeries, cannot breathe at night without the help of bi-pap and has been rescusitated multiple times. I have slept on hospital floors, ridden in backs of ambulances and have been there and done that like you wouldnt' believe.
Now I want to add that to an extent, I agree with you. I work in the OR and in pediatric rehab and get annoyed when parents bark orders, don't show up, don't shower, etc. etc.
However, I disagree with a few things. To the RN who is so critical of the parent who shows up without the "12 additives for their child's tube feed". Do you know what the circumstances were when that parent flew out the door and ran to the hospital? Forgive me, but whenI am racing off to the ED because of difficulty breathing, the last thing on my mind is to grab the correct size of tube or formula. Frankly, I think that a major children's hospital should have it.
To those of you who are so threatened about being told by a parent what to do. I have told many doctors and nurses, I appreciate that you have been studying/doing medicine/nursing for ___# of years, but I have been studying/doing THIS child for 10 years. If I tell you that it is best to get a BP in his leg, I am not trying to be bossy, I am just telling you that you are wasting your time to get it in his arm, and I know this from experience.
PLEASE, I understand that the parents are the most frustrating part of pediatrics-I work there too, but PLEASE take a minute and TRY to see the world through their eyes. At one point, b4 we got respite services, the only chance I had to even pee without him in earshot was when he was hospitalized. The one time I left him in the hospital alone, I came back to find out they had nearly killed him because some cocky resident and RN decided they knew what was best and ignored what I had told them.
They are SCARED, they are intimidated, they are not sure what is happening or what the outcome will be. This is their most precious possession (usually) and you can only relate when you have gone through it. OK, there are some that are complete dumb a**'s and you question why they were able to procreate.
We appreciate your patience and understanding and you really make a parent's day when you just listen and try it our way-even if it may be ridiculous in your eyes. I became a nurse because I REMEMBER the RN who sat and taught me with great patience to put in an NG tube while I bawled my eyes out and she reassured me that I could do it. You NEVER know what a difference you are making!! Thank you for your patience and EVERYTHING you do!!
rbs105
Parents like you don't bother me one bit... I actually appreciate a parent making suggestions on how to treat their child, as you said, the parent knows them best. I try to ask parents what will work best for their child and what would make it more comfortable for them. There is such a big difference between a parent who is doing such thing out of concern for their child and a parent who just wants to annoy the nurse, or maybe just doesnt know any better. Who knows... Though I do wish more parents would take an active role in their childrens medical care like you have.
PedsAtHeart, LPN
375 Posts
I could not agree with you more!!! When I was still working in pediatrics we would have anywhere from 40-50 patients a day, but if a parent called and needed to get there child in I would work them in and just tell them there would probably be a wait because we are so busy and they were fine with that... MOST of them at least. Not to sound rude, but most of the time the ones that were fine with having to wait (if being worked in and all that) were the ones that actually have to PAY for their insurance and PAY a co-pay, its the ones that got it for free that griped and complained the most. Not saying all of them... but yeah. Or when a parent just walks in to the office wanting the child to be seen and you tell them OK, we will work them in but it will be awhile because we have scheduled appts ahead of you, and then its like 5 minutes later and they are complaining because they are having to wait! UGHHHHH I absolutely LOOOOVE peds, but sometimes parents can just be a bit toooo much