I am sure this has been addressed along the way, but what are your nursing pet peeves?
A couple of mine:
How many times have you been taking a medication history on a patient, only to have them tell you they have no idea why they're on a particular med. Hello?! It's kind of an important thing to know
Or, when a patient calls on the call bell asking for the nurse to "come here" and I ask if there's anything I can bring with me (trying to save a few steps and a little time) and the patient says no and then get to the room and they give you a laundry list of things they want. (this will almost always happen when you have five other things you're trying to do at the same time..) :smackingf
Okay, I need to quit now..I can actually feel my BP rising...LOL. Any others?
Try to remember, Dear, they don't want to have to be there any more than you do. I agree about the laziness of some staff and the lack of mouth care. Keep up your good deeds.
Dear????
I actually ENJOY being at work when I'm there. I just don't always enjoy the way that I'm spoken to (including you speaking to me with the term "DEAR" ). This is a place that I know I can come to and vent. Just because I don't like the way that a resident speaks to me, doesn't mean that I treat them with disrespect or hate being there.
Specializes in med/surg, Icu/Ccu. ER, PACU, HHC, LTC.
seems to me that most of these boil down to 1) those of us who care 2) and those that do not. Thank God for those that do care re:not doing their jobs completely, not working together and remembering the patients come first, restocking what u have used, helping others with worse assignments and many more that for those of us who care would not leave undone routinely.
My biggest pet peeve is nurses that obviously do not have enough to do and are always critiquing others, to the point of discipline and suspension of the one that did her job. Also where did the *worker friendly* management go. All my manager cares about is looking good for administration.
I hate it when a pt blows their nose or coughs into a tissue and then tries to hand it to me. They have a little trash baggie on their tray for that. I usually put on a glove and take it. Also, when I waited tables, I hated it when people would leave used tissues on the table. Gross! At least put it on a plate so no one has to think about touching in it.
The only pet peeve I can have, having not yet begun clinicals, is when those that don't have a clue as to how to treat their medical problem complain about the diagnosis they're given or the provider that gave it to them. My in-laws are HORRIBLE about that...They'll go 2, 3, 4 weeks coughing up obviously purulent sputum, decide on a Friday or Saturday night that it's too much to take, go the local ER, wait 8-10 hours and get PO'ed when they're diagnosed with bronchitis and instructed to purchase antibiotics. (The usual comment I hear is, "Well, I bet it's easy for that doctor to shell out $75 for a prescription. Doesn't he know not everyone's rich like he is?" Hmmm....seems like you more than covered that $75 in cigarettes and beer.)
I would have to say that a pet peeve of mine (I'm a CNA) is when my residents don't get proper mouth care. What is so hard about scrubbing the dentures or at least soaking them??!! The majority of the other CNA's don't do it. There are times that I honestly feel like I need a pressure washer to get all the build up junk off.
As for a pet peeve caused by a resident, that would be at suppertime when I'm pouring coffee and everyone starts yelling "I WANT SOME! BRING ME SOME! I WANT IT HOT! BRING ME SOME!!!". I'm like "There is only ONE of me. I will get to EVERYONE as quickly as possible". Some will even reply to that with "Well, hurry up!! I want some now!".
:angryfire
My fav-I prescribe a med and the pt. states they got a side effect from it like blurry vision. I ask when the blurry vision started-a month ago they say. When did they start the med?-2 days ago-But they're still sure it's from the new med....AAAAGGGGH!
I hate it when a pt blows their nose or coughs into a tissue and then tries to hand it to me. They have a little trash baggie on their tray for that. I usually put on a glove and take it. Also, when I waited tables, I hated it when people would leave used tissues on the table. Gross! At least put it on a plate so no one has to think about touching in it.
~Jen
Oh gosh! I'm always surprised at how often this happens. I don't know what the reasoning behind it is, the only person I would excuse from this behaviour is a child under the age of five. I sometimes wonder if patients think nurses are just immune to any bugs they might have. Some people also seem to take offense if I put on a glove to take it.
Same when they ask immediately for water/food when you have gloved hands covered in some bodily fluid from them.
Patients that decide that the nurse, not the doctor either put them on a med or d/cd a med.
I can't stand it when nurses don't put the room number in the little space for it on most pages of our ED chart. So I am holding a pile of things to go treat someone's patient and I have to put everything down so I can rummage though the chart to find the one page that has the room number on it. Probably sounds stupid, but it drives me crazy!
I guess i cant see this one as any place i have worked bith the name and the room number are on the outside edge of the chart so there would be no reason to rifle any pages just look at the edge of the chart. lol.
I can't stand it when nurses don't put the room number in the little space for it on most pages of our ED chart. So I am holding a pile of things to go treat someone's patient and I have to put everything down so I can rummage though the chart to find the one page that has the room number on it. Probably sounds stupid, but it drives me crazy!
I hate it when people bring their whole family with them for some vague complaint and there are 6 people surrounding the pt. all rubbing her legs and feet and head, and tucking her in and all demanding warm blankets, ice water, more pain meds and you can't even get to the pt., when you finally do they are all eyeballing your every move and insulting you if, say, you don't get an IV on the first try. Then when you try to get an assessment they all talk at the same time, interrupt each other or argue about her medical history. You know if you ask some of them to leave the 2 who remain are going to give you an even harder time.
I hate how people come to the ED and the second they walk in the door they render themselves completely helpless and think you are responsible for figuring out how they are going to get home, how they are going to get to the pharmacy or afford their meds, how they are going to get up the stairs in their house with crutches because they are too fat to walk anyway, how they are going to eat, what they are going to do because they have to go pick up their child from daycare RIGHT NOW!...oh the list goes on.
Ok, one more, I hate it when women come in with pelvic pain and don't bother to shower before they come in, you get a whiff when they just take their underwear off and you have to hold back the urge to puke during the pelvic exam (and I'm not talking about odor from a medical problem, I am talking about someone who is obviously greasy, unshaven...etc) Seriously, GROSS, I don't care if we are professionals, no one wants to see your nasty unwashed genitalia. WASH IT!
you know the more i read ( not ust these ones) but heck i hope i never have a friend or relative come work with the ones who are whining here - my pet peeve - nurses who are so inconsiderate and uncompassionate towards their patients regardless of wether they have family along ( to me thats great - good support system at home) or is concerned about about how and what of what will be after they leave therwe ( ever think they are scared crapless and need an gentle ear or maybe they have noone else to listen ) or doenst takea shower - ( sorry - when im sick i dont takea shower either - who the heck feels like it when sick) besides we are as you aid professionmal and itsounds pretty unprofessional and selfish a lot of the compliant on here. that is my pet peeve -
I really hate visiting times. I hate it when family members come in not to see the patient but to inspect and see what the nurse has or has not done. They spend more time talking to me than they do visiting the patient. Most of the time at last one of us will be trying to take a lunch break and the families have no regards to the fact that there you are eating but to ask "Could you get mother a drink of water?"...but your mothers lunch tray is in front of her with coffee, juice and milk. "I know but she wants water"...guess what so do I.
wow - i am really begining to woinder are some of you in nursing for the great privalage of taking care of others? i love when families check up on me - often they will then praise to the boss and if not the boss at least to me and that makes me feel good. and dang - if the woman wants water she shoudl frigging get it - we get paid to carew for these folks - i assume many of you hae never had any sort of traing in dealing with people - i can only imagine what kind of impression the folks get out of your attitudes - and yes attitudes carry over even if ya dont say it they feel it. makes me sad for the patients -
~ Patient's who ask for sleeping pill because they haven't slept since they've been in the hospital. You finally get the doctor to call you back to get an order for something, because the patient didn't want to bother the doctor about it when he made rounds. Then you finally are able to get the pill, you go into the patient's room and they are SNORING!!
~ Following a nurse who says that this patient has had NO complaints all shift. Once you step into the room, the patient tells you their IV hurts, they are having back/neck/abdominal (whatever) pain, they are constipated or have had diarrhea all day - can they have something?, and of course I need something to eat/drink, and I only saw that other nurse twice today.
~ Patient's who not only don't know what their home medications are (and I thought maybe it was only a local thing) but they also don't know the name of pharmacy/drug store where they have their prescriptions filled.
~ And the patients who just happen to forget to mention to the admitting doctor that they are diabetic and want to know when they are going to get their insulin and bedtime snack.
That's a good start. Time for some deep breathing exercises LOL
well - lets put 2 nand 2 togther - snoringloudly and not feeling like they slept all night could be they have sleep apnea - tell ya what - its very real and its very dangerous disease - i have it and i used to never feel rested - even with sleeping pill s- perhpas you cold mention possible testing for this especially if there are other signs or symptoms ( overweight, higher b/p, smoking, decrease excercise - lots of things go with it - its a vicious circle.)
NicInNC, CNA
241 Posts
Dear????
I actually ENJOY being at work when I'm there. I just don't always enjoy the way that I'm spoken to (including you speaking to me with the term "DEAR"
). This is a place that I know I can come to and vent. Just because I don't like the way that a resident speaks to me, doesn't mean that I treat them with disrespect or hate being there.