Pet Peeves

[waterfall99]

I have several of them, but 1 thing in particular is bugging me lately.

It seems just about every patient I take care of lately, always asks me "is that safe for the baby?" when they are referring to pain medication in labor.

Yet, they are crying and becoming out of control in pain, and not being receptive to the coaching I'm giving them, and if they had done SOME sort of pre-natal education to begin with, they might have been better prepared to deal with childbirth pain.

I don't mind answering questions, explaining things, educating patients, but do people REALLY think I'm going to be shooting them up with drugs that are harmful to their babies?

I'm actually quite honest with them and say, "yes this IV medicine does effect your baby temporarily, just like it effects you, makes you feel sleepy/loopy, etc.

Also, I've had to take care of some post-partum patients lately, and I have no doubt that they are having some pain, especially post c-section, but don't continually complain about the pain if you're not going to follow the recommendations I've given, (splinting, TC&DB, ambulating, etc) or refuse pain medication.

AND that $&%^@!*! pain scale!!! If I have to chart pain scale 7/10 on a patient sitting up smiling, laughing talking with visitors one more time, I'm going to scream!

/rant

[LizzyL&DRN]

My biggest pet peeve is No PNC! One little ultrasound is all i ask, just one. Just so we know that your baby is okay, and doesn't have some horrible anomaly that having a lady partsl delivery would complicate(like spinabifida, etc).

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

Women who do drugs/smoke/drink through their pregnancies, don't get prenatal care, and then want us to "do everything" to save their 400 gram 23-weekers.

Inevitably, these are the micropreemies that survive (due to the stress in utero, their lungs mature faster) but end up in state custody after spending 6 painful months in the NICU with no visitors.

[JVanRN]

Women who do drugs/smoke/drink through their pregnancies, don't get prenatal care, and then want us to "do everything" to save their 400 gram 23-weekers.

Inevitably, these are the micropreemies that survive (due to the stress in utero, their lungs mature faster) but end up in state custody after spending 6 painful months in the NICU with no visitors.

Or the parents that treat thier kids like crap in utero then raise 10 different kinds of hell in the NICU because thier baby had a wet burp when you turned your back and now has a tiny bit of spittle on the corner of their mouth that you didn't immediately wipe up. Or they don't like the way you "made" thier baby cry when you changed their diaper because you were "too rough with them"

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

The fact that you have to have a license to hunt, drive and catch fish, but anyone with the right parts can have babies.