Please Start!

ooh, pet peeve thread! I love these. OK, here's mine. Please stop leaving the OTC bottle of tylenol on the cart with one tablet left. Who takes one tylenol anyway?

I do take one Tylenol, I really do.:)

Please if you are going to ask me to start an IV, draw labs, do a wound dressing for you...have the supplies ready. It is absolutely irritating when I step away from my own assignment to help you and I have to also get these supplies while you are sitting and charting. How rude!

Start being a role model for our new nurses. Demonstrate a high standard with clear expectations to be followed. (Issues last night with a nurse who floated to my floor. It was obvious which floor she came from when she wouldn't answer call lights & searched the floor to find the aide to get her pt up to the bsc. That doesn't fly on my very teamwork oriented floor).

I guess I'm just saying, look at the culture of your unit. Lead by example & know that anyone new may be picking up your bad habits. "Train them up in the way that they should go" & all that :)

Also, please restart your blown IV's before you give me your patient. What makes you think I have time to "get that IV" any more then you do? Rude.

Exactly. This happens every day and it is getting old.

At least try once. Then get an order for a PICC line.

You had one patient. On nights I have three. It really is rude.

Please start:

Giving TPN through a dedicated labeled line.

Please start:

If the PICC is sluggish or has no blood return, instill the Cathflo, label it and pass it on in report.

Please start:

Sending your labs when they are due. Don't hand me labels when I come in for serial cardiac enzymes aPTTs blood cultures and hemograms that were due hours ago.

Don't pretend that you don't see lab labels for your patient on the printer. Seriously.

Please start:

Paying attention and make sure that the precedex or propofol is not low and sucking air at shift change.

Please start:

Educating the visitors. Two at a time. One designated family contact. An intensive care unit is not a place to hold a family reunion.

Please stop:

Telling them they can stay all night. That is not your decision to make.

Please start --- doing the medication/disease education!! If you are the first to give a new medicine or ask them to sign consents, ect. Explain it!!! And give them the written info handout!! It's sad when your giving a PM dose of lopressor or Brilinta or Coumadin and the pt says well wait what's that? And they've already had a dose or two ?

If someone's potassium is low enough to put them on our potassium replacement protocol then please do it when you see the lab.. Same with mag. I mean we are on a cardiac floor...

Empty your room trash cans if they're full and restock supplies. It's common curtesy.

Don't baby pts to the point where they expect to do absolutely nothing for themselves when they are capable. Because they're going to be sadly mistaken when I come on and explain to them that their arms are not broken and no I will not blow their nose for them. ?

And please, night shift, have the courtesy to order the 0900 meds from the pharmacy so that I'm not late giving them...

Uhhh, your pharmacy doesn't round and put the 0900 meds in the patient boxes? I'm confused. I mean I've come on and had people on drips like heparin and protonix and there's no extra bag in the fridge which is super annoying but it sounds like you're talking about routine 0900 meds.

Uhhh, your pharmacy doesn't round and put the 0900 meds in the patient boxes?

I'm in the ED but we end up with a fair number of boarders and no, pharmacy will only send doses that are requested by the nurse (beyond what's already stocked in our Pyxises)