what's your pet peeve?

pigginsrn · May 22, 2016

Adults whining. Grates my nerves. If they are in pain or uncomfortable, I will bend over backwards to help them -- but grown women whining, not having it. It might work on their family members to get sympathy but not on me.
Oh, and people who show up with printouts from Google Medical School thinking they know way more than the nurses, docs, specialists, etc. Please, just don't.

18 years ago I used the Internet to diagnose my toddler with cancer that her doctors were ignoring the symptoms of so, I don't mind patients using Google, in fact, I encourage it because sometimes doctors don't practice due diligence.

elizabeast7, ADN, BSN, MSN · May 23, 2016

So many good ones already listed - including bringing children. We frequently see toddlers walking teetering around barefoot, putting their mouths on tray tables and IV poles.

I know we've talked about family a lot, but one of mine is when the family doesn't communicate with eachother. I end up getting 10 different people calling me asking for an update, or wanting to speak to a doctor. I try to get them to designate one person to be the one who staff relays information to but nooo, everyone needs a personal 30 minute discussion. (Yes, the patient has approved these people to get an update.)

Also, nothing infuriates me more than having one of my rooms assigned for an admission without anyone telling me. The ER or ICU then calls and asks why I haven't contacted them for report. BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS SUPPOSED TO. On bad days they just roll the patient up and put them in my room without me knowing.

One more is meal breaks. On weekends especially, more than half the unit will all go down to the cafeteria and get breakfast and then sit in the break room and eat together sometimes leaving only 2 nurses on the acute 40 bed unit. This is not a social gathering, this is a job. Don't come to me an hr before shift change asking if I can give your meds because you're behind.

dudette10, MSN, RN · May 23, 2016

Patients who do not want to leave the hospital. I get fed up with their constant complaining about care and their unreasonable demands, but the fact is, they are incredibly unhappy people who are afraid of leaving and they throw a hissy fit about how unwell they are and they can't possibly be discharged! they take up way too much of my time, and they will NEVER be happy with anything.

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · May 23, 2016

Do I only get one?

OK, I'll go with when a colleague opens the last pack of EKG electrodes on the machine without taking the responsibility to restock it. Nothing more frustrating than trying to get your EKG under 10 minutes (especially when it took 5 minutes to walk them back) only to find no electrodes on the machine.

I'll give myself the liberty of a second one: When colleagues pirate items out of the amenity kits rather than simply taking the whole kit. It appears that we have 6 kits on the shelf but no lip balm or ear plugs to be found since they don't restock the kits when they're on the shelf.

A close third? How 'bout when colleagues pull meds out of the tube station and then set them somewhere inconspicuous. I've occasionally had to have pharmacy re-send things 2-3 times before it makes it to my hand.

Momma1RN, MSN, RN, APRN · May 23, 2016

I work in the ED. I hate when family members open the curtain and stare at me as if there is something I can do to make their lab work result faster, the radiologist read their test faster, etc.

pigginsrn · May 23, 2016

My pet peeve is medical professionals who are not receptive to patient input regarding their plan of care. Oh, also when these same professionals pass judgement on people they seen as "non compliant".

ng521 · May 23, 2016

My biggest pet peeve is when RN's think that LPN's and or MA's or CNA's are below them.

Jensmom7, BSN, RN · May 23, 2016

My biggest pet peeve is when RN's think that LPN's and or MA's or CNA's are below them.

Never thought that, personally, but a pet peeve of mine is NPs who look down their noses at RNs and LPNs and won't entertain any suggestions or questions from them.

Said NP that I'm visualizing right now sits glued to a computer at the nurses station and keeps what is basically an "NP for Dummies" book next to her. She also refers inappropriate patients to Hospice when the families start complaining about how much money they're paying out.

She gets pissed when it's determined they aren't appropriate (by the Hospice nurse and Medical Director no less!!) and thinks nothing of screaming "I ordered Hospice! Family authorized Hospice! You START Hospice!"

Yeah...nope. And I'll be glad to tell you why.

NanaPoo · May 23, 2016

As a recent patient knowing what RNs are dealing with:

1)hovering family members who are loaded with questions. I'm forever telling my hubby to lay off the nurses and just go home and let them do their job.

2) nurses who follow protocol for the sake of following protocol. They always tape a million of those cloth butt pads to the side rails of my bed because of my "seizure history" even after I tell them my last seizure was 9 years ago when I was off meds. After they leave the room I remove all the pads, fold them up and put them in the closet then no one even notices they are gone. Durrr.

They also put me on a bed alarm because of my low BP even though I tell them a systolic in the 90s is my norm. So, before I go to the bathroom I have to remember to climb to the top of the bed, lean over the bedrail, turn the alarm off, then walk myself to the bathroom. For 3 days straight no one ever asks why they haven't had to take me to the restroom even though I'm freshly showered each morning. Double durr.

NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN · May 23, 2016

As a recent patient knowing what RNs are dealing with:
1)hovering family members who are loaded with questions. I'm forever telling my hubby to lay off the nurses and just go home and let them do their job.
2) nurses who follow protocol for the sake of following protocol. They always tape a million of those cloth butt pads to the side rails of my bed because of my "seizure history" even after I tell them my last seizure was 9 years ago when I was off meds. After they leave the room I remove all the pads, fold them up and put them in the closet then no one even notices they are gone. Durrr.
They also put me on a bed alarm because of my low BP even though I tell them a systolic in the 90s is my norm. So, before I go to the bathroom I have to remember to climb to the top of the bed, lean over the bedrail, turn the alarm off, then walk myself to the bathroom. For 3 days straight no one ever asks why they haven't had to take me to the restroom even though I'm freshly showered each morning. Double durr.

This will 100% be me as a patient xD

smf0903 · May 23, 2016

Tangled lines.
On the vitals machines, the Pulse Ox and BP cuff lines do NOT need to be tied in multiple knots, people!
On IVs, it should not take me five minutes to figure out which tubing is connected to which bag because there are three pumps on one pole with more than one piggyback and the lines are all interwoven amongst each other. How does that even happen????
And then when you toss in the O2 tubing and the call light with the tangled IV lines, that's just the icing on the cake.
I swear I spend fifteen minutes on each patient just untangling everything so I can do my effing job already! How does that not bother anyone else? How does everyone chart that they completed a line trace on all previous shifts when the only way I could figure it out was to disconnect every line, untangle each one, and reconnect????
Yep, definitely a BIG peeve for me....

This! The last time I worked we had to start a new IV on a pt because the IV was wrapped around the high-flow O2 tubing and when the patient moved it yanked the IV right out :madface: IV tubing was wrapped around the pump clamps so tightly that I could barely get it unwound. Ridiculous. It takes a minute to get that stuff straightened out and keep it neat.

Wasting supplies is another pet peeve of mine. It bugs me to go into a patient's room and there are 17 containers of wipes opened and not resealed so now they're dried out. Or when supplies are set under the paper towel dispenser at the sink and everything is wet because no one thought to move them out of the way of their drippy hands. And bedside tables that look like a 2-year-old ate 9 meals off of them. Wipe those off!

By far my biggest peeve are families who want to keep their 96-year-old parent alive at all costs and put them through countless tests and procedures, even when the parent declares they won't do anything even if something is discovered. I have seen so many older folks pressured into doing these tests and procedures, and it breaks my heart. As much as we educate, educate, and educate some more, people seem to think that they have to exhaust every darn avenue right up to the end instead of letting their family member go in peace.

OK, I'm done LOL :)

brillohead, ADN, RN · May 24, 2016

By far my biggest peeve are families who want to keep their 96-year-old parent alive at all costs and put them through countless tests and procedures, even when the parent declares they won't do anything even if something is discovered. I have seen so many older folks pressured into doing these tests and procedures, and it breaks my heart. As much as we educate, educate, and educate some more, people seem to think that they have to exhaust every darn avenue right up to the end instead of letting their family member go in peace.

When did this country get so afraid to let old people die, for crying out loud??? JUST LET THEM GO ALREADY!

Sadly, I think I have a more evil side of this going on right now with one of my recent patients. Non-verbal, non-interactive, contracted, tube feeds, Foley and diapers... and now we can't get in touch with the guardian to discuss discharge back to the LTC facility with palliative care measures.

My guess is that the second and third generations are living in the patient's house, and they know that sending back to the LTC on palliative care will mean they're going to lose their ability to live in the house when the patient passes. (They were very involved until palliative care was mentioned -- now it's radio silence.)

I really hate people.