Patients & Pet Peeves

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I am a nurse of 2 years and a recent hire on a acute medical/surgical floor.

I'm learning so much, which is great. However, it also feels like a whirlwind.

Does anyone have any pet peeves - behaviors that patient's have that make you frustrated?

However, I so dislike when patient's who are A & O curse in conversation. Or if they openly belch when I am nearby them or speaking to them. Thankfully, these are only minor incidents. Of course I always mask my inner thoughts and treat the patient with all due respect.

Anyone have any pet peeves? How do you deal with the situations or do you just let it go?

Specializes in Hospice.

My pet peeve is nurses who take personally a demented patient's failures of social decorum and interpersonal skills, yet demand that their every emotional tic and vulnerability be considered when called to account for their own behavior.

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"If you have an insurance question, ask your nurse" (what)?

"If you want something different to eat, the nurse will get it for you?" (How)?

"She'll do that for you, it's her job" (Huh)?

"The doctor says I can leave today." (the team has done nothing for the discharge yet). Patient and family follow me around for the rest of the shift, even though nothing is completed for the discharge on the MD end.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
"If you have an insurance question, ask your nurse" (what)?

"If you want something different to eat, the nurse will get it for you?" (How)?

"She'll do that for you, it's her job" (Huh)?

"The doctor says I can leave today." (the team has done nothing for the discharge yet). Patient and family follow me around for the rest of the shift, even though nothing is completed for the discharge on the MD end.

Two minutes after the doctor leaves the room: "Will I be able to get a sleeping pill tonight?" Me: "If your doctor ordered it, sure." "I didn't think to ask him." My thought balloon: Well, that is a bummer, because he's the one with the prescriptive privileges.

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Patients who brought their home medications into the hospital in a grocery sack from four different pharmacies , prescribed by four different doctors who were clueless about the medications that they took regularly...Finding pill bottles with four different medications inside where they had chewed half of some of them....Having to try to make sense about their medications by calling each pharmacy and having them fax to me what the patient was supposed to be taking as best as they could tell.....One patient carried her medications in an old fashioned train case, packed full of pill bottles , I wanted to run out and never return rather than face this mess.....

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Patient's who have a list of questions for me (about things I don't know) RIGHT after the entire surgical team has just finished rounding and was in their room. I just let them know I am not a doctor, and they need to ask these questions directly to them.

Or, the ones who complain about their meals. "I ordered chicken and mashed potatoes with coffee, not this." I have about 100 other more concerning things to deal with. *So annoying*

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Patients who want to go smoke with a telemetry monitor on. When the MD asks if they have an urge to smoke they say "no, I'm fine" then soon as MD leaves the unit want to go smoke and yells at the nursing staff because they can't. Why didn't you yell the doc?

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One of my pet peeves is having a patient use their phone without you realizing it while someone is on the other end listening to your conversation.

After catching this several times this year I now always look for their phone and if it's in their hand or near them I ask them to make sure their phone is off so we have each others full attention and I can make sure I answer all your questions without interruption.

You'd be be surprised how many will record or have others listen to your conversation without letting you know! I've had at least a dozen since January who have turned their phones off or hung up with whoever was on the other end.

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Specializes in Cardicac Neuro Telemetry.

People who hound me about getting discharged the moment someone (usually a specialist who clears him/her) mentions possible discharge. Seriously, stalking me at the nurses' station or in the hallway will not speed it up. I once had to get very honest with this patient's daughter who literally asked me every five minutes when the doctor was coming. I explained to her that I paged to ask for a time estimate. Not two minutes after that encounter, she comes up and asks for an update. I said "ma'am, this doctor has a lot of patients. I have already sent her a page. She hasn't called me back as she is still seeing other patients. I am not going to send her another page as there is not an emergency going on. There is nothing else I can do at this time. As soon as I hear from her, I will come to your mom's room and let you know." I'm not sure what she expected me to do short of locating this doctor and dragging her in the room at gun point.

People who have no clue what medications they take and then tell me "it's in the computer". If you are an A&O patient, the onus is on YOU to know what you take. Telling me "that little white pill" is not helpful at all.

Patient family members who answer questions for the alert and oriented patient or even the non alert family member but still verbal. "Ma'am, I really need to hear your husband's description of his pain. But I thank you for your help."

There's a few more but these are the main ones.

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Forgot to add I hate when a patient's family member basically moves into the hospital and acts like they're in the Holiday Inn and you're their personal assistant. I do all I can to make family comfortable and welcome but I'm not your personal go-for.

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Specializes in CEN.

Parents who bring their child in to the ER with 106 fever and were last given tylenol or motrin 12 hours ago. When asked why, the response I get is one of the following:

1. The fever kept coming back after the medicine wore off 2. We wanted you to see how high the fever is 3.The fever wasn't so high, it was only 102.1 at home and I only medicate for high fevers.

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Specializes in OB.
I once had a neighbour who did that. I learned not to pop out to the mailbox when I had something on the stove. If I encountered him, I would be shanghaied indefinitely. I read that it's symptomatic of a personality disorder, can't remember which one. I learned to say "Got to get back now!" and walk away while he was still talking. I would turn and wave politely just as I entered the house; he wouldn't have even slowed down. You can't stand on social convention with these people.

I once had a neighbour who did that. I learned not to pop out to the mailbox when I had something on the stove. If I encountered him, I would be shanghaied indefinitely. I read that it's symptomatic of a personality disorder, can't remember which one. I learned to say "Got to get back now!" and walk away while he was still talking. I would turn and wave politely just as I entered the house; he wouldn't have even slowed down. You can't stand on social convention with these people.

I have an uncle like this, it really is bizarre and I think a symptom of deep, underlying anxiety---"if I keep talking, they will stay here with me and I won't have to be alone with my thoughts"---that kind of thing. You really do have to just say "Excuse me" and leave while he's talking, otherwise he will go on forever. I can't imagine being his nurse if he was ever inpatient!

My ridiculously unimportant patient pet peeve is when I need to take a blood pressure, I state this to the alert and oriented patient, and they just sit there and stare at me without offering their arm. When I lift it for them, it's still dead weight, as if they are incapable of lifting their arm, or think that they aren't supposed to or something. I don't know why, but this simple issue has always driven me up the wall.

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OK, last one: the Google patient/family member.

Patient/Family: Nurse the CNA came in to take the blood pressure and it said 130/70 and I don't want them to have a heart attack or anything cause you know they came in with chest pain.

(That's normal for the patient and based on their past readings.)

Nurse: That's normal for him/her. Are you having any chest pain or any other pain?

Patient: No.

Nurse: (finishes assessment or whatever in the room for) OK. Well let me know if you need anything or have any pain.

Patient/Family: *on their phone with the Google search* Well on this site it says if the blood pressure blah blah I/they can be having a heart attack and the blood pressure is normal and blah blah *complete meltdown dissertation and loudly wrong*

Nurse: Well, you see this box and these wires? That's monitoring his/her heart and will let us know if there's any abnormal rhythm, etc *full explanation of telemetry*

Forget the MD and the whole admit team just walked out of the room not even 5 minutes ago and none of this was said, asked or anything. SMH

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