what's your pet peeve?

Published

Lately it's ice. I hate the stuff! Too many family members hovering asking for FRESH ice as my post op is tanking. Or family hovering in general lately. Or, "i don't eat hospital food."

I'm sitting in the front row first seat in the entire classroom and people from the way back are making noises about something and the professor is talking about something. Once in a while someone would ask something and someone else would repeat ask the same question later on.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I worked on the floor I hated when patients refused to wash up and then their family comes in and the first thing they say is "these nurses are terrible. They've refused to give me a bath for three days! I keep asking to wash up and they refuse!" So of course family storms to the nurses station to complain about how their mother/father/sister is sooooo upset about being "dirty"

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.
When I worked on the floor I hated when patients refused to wash up and then their family comes in and the first thing they say is "these nurses are terrible. They've refused to give me a bath for three days! I keep asking to wash up and they refuse!" So of course family storms to the nurses station to complain about how their mother/father/sister is sooooo upset about being "dirty"

Document, document, document.

Then put the ball back in their court. "It seems that Dear Mama has some reservations about receiving personal care from the staff. We can ask her, but she can't be forced to accept care. One solution would be for a trusted family member to come in and assist the staff with bathing until Dear Mama is comfortable with us." If this is a LTC situation, set up a care plan conference to make it official.

Dollars to doughnuts the family tells Dear Mama to let the staff do their jobs. Ain't nobody got time to come in every day.

Make sure you smile sincerely and make eye contact. Gotta think of the Customer Service scores. [emoji41]

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

Not being able to actually order a stat umbilectomy for that helicopter parent/partner/spouse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.

1) Lines!! Coil your unused pulse ox, BP cables up and neatly secure them! Label your IV lines! I hate wasting time when 1 label would have solved the problem!

2) Irate family members who want to argue about another department's failing. It's not my fault that radiology dropped my patient off without so much as a report, and I found him 20 minutes later. Also didn't know you were in some other waiting room. I let that one blow off steam at the charge nurse, then went back to taking care of her father.

3) Stupidly placed equipment. Why do you have all of your drains, IV pumps, etc. on the side of the bed opposite where the lady is going to get up and go to the bathroom? Put that ish on the other side!

4) +1 for family members who want to move into the rooms. Your family member is going to be living in a gown for the next week; do they really need all that extra crap?? Our rooms are tiny as it is.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiovascular recovery unit/ICU.

NON COMPLIANT PATIENTS!!! While working on a busy( I know this is an understatement ) med surg floor , a patient awaiting open heart surgery was a smoker. He signed the non smoking facility agreement and was educated on exactly what that meant. He disconnected his IV and sneaked outside to smoke more than once. He was re educated and given the consequences of such actions. Then one shift we smelled smoke coming down the hallway. He was at the end of the hall. I don't know how but the fire alarm didn't go off. I entered his room to find him puffing away while his O2 tubing, lying next to him was on 4L. I was furious. Security was called immediately. WHAT?!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
NON COMPLIANT PATIENTS!!! While working on a busy( I know this is an understatement ) med surg floor , a patient awaiting open heart surgery was a smoker. He signed the non smoking facility agreement and was educated on exactly what that meant. He disconnected his IV and sneaked outside to smoke more than once. He was re educated and given the consequences of such actions. Then one shift we smelled smoke coming down the hallway. He was at the end of the hall. I don't know how but the fire alarm didn't go off. I entered his room to find him puffing away while his O2 tubing, lying next to him was on 4L. I was furious. Security was called immediately. WHAT?!!!

We have a doc who hands discharge papers to any patients who go smoke. His philosophy is "if they're healthy enough to get up and go out and smoke then they're good enough to go home"

Up Vote Up Vote ×
NON COMPLIANT PATIENTS!!! While working on a busy( I know this is an understatement ) med surg floor , a patient awaiting open heart surgery was a smoker. He signed the non smoking facility agreement and was educated on exactly what that meant. He disconnected his IV and sneaked outside to smoke more than once. He was re educated and given the consequences of such actions. Then one shift we smelled smoke coming down the hallway. He was at the end of the hall. I don't know how but the fire alarm didn't go off. I entered his room to find him puffing away while his O2 tubing, lying next to him was on 4L. I was furious. Security was called immediately. WHAT?!!!

One of the places I worked for did well with that type of thing. They would educate the pt that if they left the unit, they were signing themselves out AMA, and as a non-patient they could smoke to their heart's content.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.

Urgent Care NP here. Patients are seen on a first come first serve basis. Common annoying behaviors include: asking the receptionist how long the wait is; opening the door from the exam room and standing in the hallway and glaring at me, complaining about the wait time, using your child to verbalize that it took me long enough to get in there ; people who don't know the name of that medicine that allergic to but it's the white liquid you know the one that tastes bad. Coming to the clinic for the first time ever and not bringing your medicines and expecting me to know what the white heart pill is, repeat patients who have never brought us their pill bottles or medication list but it should be in my computer, and the worst are parents that don't bring a diaper/diaper bag for baby bottles and think we keep that at the clinic. Yes they actually think we stock every size of diapers in our clinic we stock baby wipes & juice boxes. And then there are the parents that actually let the toddlers play with the otoscopes & open drawers & cabinets and throw tongue weight Q-tips Band-Aids all over the floor because they don't bring any toys to entertain their children. And thinking it's OK to have more than three people in an exam room it's only two are being seen I don't need the entire family and uncles cousins and grandma in the exam room. And they get upset when I tell them you can wait in the lobby.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.
Urgent Care NP here. Patients are seen on a first come first serve basis. Common annoying behaviors include: asking the receptionist how long the wait is; opening the door from the exam room and standing in the hallway and glaring at me, complaining about the wait time, using your child to verbalize that it took me long enough to get in there ; people who don't know the name of that medicine that allergic to but it's the white liquid you know the one that tastes bad. Coming to the clinic for the first time ever and not bringing your medicines and expecting me to know what the white heart pill is, repeat patients who have never brought us their pill bottles or medication list but it should be in my computer, and the worst are parents that don't bring a diaper/diaper bag for baby bottles and think we keep that at the clinic. Yes they actually think we stock every size of diapers in our clinic we stock baby wipes & juice boxes. And then there are the parents that actually let the toddlers play with the otoscopes & open drawers & cabinets and throw tongue weight Q-tips Band-Aids all over the floor because they don't bring any toys to entertain their children. And thinking it's OK to have more than three people in an exam room it's only two are being seen I don't need the entire family and uncles cousins and grandma in the exam room. And they get upset when I tell them you can wait in the lobby.

I hear you about the crowds, especially kids. In fact, that's a big reason I work nights.

Still, have you ever had to manage even one kid in diapers when you are sick enough to actually go to a clinic. Let alone toddlers, who manage to get the darnedest things in their mouths. All with a provider standing there, radiating impatience, giving you and your kids the stink-eye.

Then there's that one-handed trick with the paperwork.

I don't miss it.

ETA: end of derail ... Carry on ...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.

3) Stupidly placed equipment. Why do you have all of your drains, IV pumps, etc. on the side of the bed opposite where the lady is going to get up and go to the bathroom? Put that ish on the other side!

4) +1 for family members who want to move into the rooms. Your family member is going to be living in a gown for the next week; do they really need all that extra crap?? Our rooms are tiny as it is.

Oh oh oh, and why is EVERYTHING at the head of the bed - outlets, oxygen, suction - so you have to climb over bedside table, bedside commode, ventilation equipment, IV poles, etc. to plug something in. Where I work the outlets are near the floor, so instead of climbing you have to get on your hands and knees and crawl under everything. Wait, just one more thing. On one unit the connection to the call bell is behind the head of the bed, right in the middle an inch off the floor. And it's a 12-prong thingamabob that has to be lined up juuuuuuuust right to plug it back in. So god forbid they pull it out of the wall. You practically have to move all the furniture out of the room so you can move the bed and crawl back there to plug it back in. I would love to find the person who thought this up.

And why why do they bring all that crap in here? One patient has her family here including a grandchild that talks in a steady whine on the edge of starting to cry, and all their worldly possessions. And they stink.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiovascular recovery unit/ICU.

I wish I had that type of backup from adm. It's all about PATIENT SATISFACTION! Give me a break!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion