what's your pet peeve?

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · May 25, 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.

We just must be in the same ER lately. Whatever I told, nobody could get that 100/60 is my perfect norm. :banghead:

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 25, 2016

Hospitals designed by people who don't work in hospitals.
Our rooms are a ridiculous shape because the building is not rectangular. The soap is not within arm's reach of the sinks. The call light on the wall is between the bed and the computer, behind the ortho chair. But there's this weird stretch of room that the pt can't use because none of the alarms or the call light will reach. If the patient puts their call light on while they're up in the ortho chair, you're going to get VERY friendly in the attempt to turn it back off.
I worked at a place that was a converted office building: 45 rooms in one long hallway.
I could go on.

About two weeks before we moved into our brand new ICU in our brand new hospital building, I was asked to give a tour of our old unit to some visiting "suits." As we toured the unit, there was a lot of whispered chitchat between them. Finally, at the end of the tour, one of them told me "Thanks, that was really interesting. We designed your new ICU, but we've never seen an ICU before."

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 25, 2016

THIS is why I've moved to night shift, and will never do days ever again! The family members and their demands and complaints. It made my shifts so grueling, I even thought of leaving nursing! Not so anymore, thanks to the nights.
I hate when the doctor leaves the room, and the families start asking ME what the root cause of the patient's disease/problem is. I'm like, "the doctor was just in here, you didn't think to ask her?" (I don't say this, because then guess what: bad Press Gainey scores, which is another pet peeve).

With 24/7 visitation, which currently seems to be in vogue, you still get families on night shift. You get fewer visitors, but the ones you do get are chemically altered or crazy.

sarlou · May 25, 2016

One of my recent ones.... being asked to assist with pre or post-op pts. or treandmills and having the floor nurses come tell me I have an outpatient to tend to! Really? Would you want me to leave a post-op pt. unsupervised?????

jrbl77, RN · May 25, 2016

No longer doing bedside nursing, but one of my many pet peeves was always- the urinal with urine sitting on the bedside table while the patient was eating! GROSS!

Boomer MS, RN · May 25, 2016

About two weeks before we moved into our brand new ICU in our brand new hospital building, I was asked to give a tour of our old unit to some visiting "suits." As we toured the unit, there was a lot of whispered chitchat between them. Finally, at the end of the tour, one of them told me "Thanks, that was really interesting. We designed your new ICU, but we've never seen an ICU before."

This is hilarious!!!!

marysuehil, ADN · May 25, 2016

I think one of my biggest pet peeves is when you go in your patient's room and find the significant other "servicing" the patient......

Boomer MS, RN · May 25, 2016

I have nothing to add to these comments except to say that they should be published. I am sitting here waiting for someone and am laughing out loud. You can't make some of this up!

Debilpn23 · May 25, 2016

I'm from the era when children under the age of 12 weren't allowed to cross the threshold of a hospital, much less run unsupervised around a unit.
By the time I left hospital nursing (late 90s), the visitors had taken over. I got tired of getting stink face from parents when I requested they not let their Snowflakes crawl (or sit and eat!! Gag. [emoji33]) on the floor that had probably been peed, pooped or bled on at some point, so I just stopped saying anything.

I'm from the same era Jensmom . I remember when my mother had my 2 younger sisters, my father brought us to the hospital and mom waved to us from her window .

sarlou · May 26, 2016

I agree!!!!!! lol It's hard to believe that MANY male pts. request it be left there!!!!! YUCK!

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · May 26, 2016

The "well that's just stupid" attitude. Health literacy in this country is abysmal and yet everyone is an expert.

If I tell someone "sir you need to wear this mask while I open up your catheter for dialysis. If you don't, the gems from your nose and mouth can get in there and travel to your heart. If you get an infection in your heart (because endocarditis doesn't register) it's pretty much fatal. So if you please, I need you to wear this mask"

Well that's just stupid!

Why is it stupid? I just explained it to you in terms you can understand.

I get this aaaaaaaaaaallll the time.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · May 26, 2016

Oh lord. My most dreaded question is when a family member points to the dialysate and asks "whats that for?" Well hang on. Your about to get a lecture on chemical gradients and fluid spacing that will make you zone out in about 5 seconds.