Please stop! Little things that are just bad practice.

[JBudd]

Little things that are just bad practice.

Like looping IV tubing back into itself (against our policy, and they went to great lengths to hand out caps to carry in pockets). And not even cleaning off the port you looped it into!

Disconnecting a running IV to take a pt to the bathroom.. and just leaving the bare end hanging from the pole. Don't interrupt IVFs ! Take the blinking pump with you!

What are yours?

[ICURN3020]

Or pillows! I was once out of pillows and couldn't find any even on other units. I got an admit who didn't have a pillow for the back of their head for a couple of hours. I had to call someone to bring up new pillows. They seem to be hit or miss. Maybe people steal them or something.

And blankets, towels, sheets, washcloths.....then getting dirty looks when you are forced to "steal" them from another unit!

[ICURN3020]

I can see it all now: toilet paper count at shift change! More 'paper-work"!

And this will be the day that I quit nursing!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I think sometimes we do that so we will remember to grab a new bag and have it ready so the tubing doesn't run dry and you end up having to flush out your line instead of just hanging a new bag.

Invariably, someone else fixed the beep, just adds more volume, and you're stuck without a bag anyway. At the beginning of my shift I bring enough fluid into my rooms to last my shift and one bag spare for the next shift. Then I'm never stuck without one and whoever answers the beep when there's 25 ml's left can just spike and go. The tubing won't run dry if you spike a 1L bag and program the pump for 1050 ml. It will just beep til someone adds volume.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Probably the most annoying practice I see done often at my current hospital is running IV K as a piggy back through an IV (as opposed to a central line of some sort).

Until I started working here I hadn't seen anyone run it like that in probably 15 years. It is of course accompanied by frequient complaints of pain and discomfort from the patients.

I am working on a official change in practice but it can be a long hard slog.

Yep, even our NPO patients get PO KCl if they can in anyway take it if they don't have a CVL. Most of our patients have some sort of central access and get IV, though.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

I worked in an ICU in which they thought it was a good idea to paint a healing stapled incision with Chloraprep ( chlorhexidine in the blue or orange sponge applicator. )

Chlorhexidine destroys keratanocytes and actually prevents wound granuation and healing.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

We just went back to daily chlorahexadine bathing.

Which brings me to another bad practice: nurses that insist on using microorganism laden bath basins and soap and washcloths for baths instead of the policy-mandated bathing wipes.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

We just went back to daily chlorahexadine bathing.

Which brings me to another bad practice: nurses that insist on using microorganism laden bath basins and soap and washcloths for baths instead of the policy-mandated bathing wipes.

We use bath basins and wash cloths. The basins are disposable and single use items. The wash cloths are reused but are washed. Start with new basin, fill with soapy water and wash cloths. Wash cloth comes out, ised used on a part of the patient then thrown into the laundry bag, New washcloth for next body part.

I am a huge fan of soap and water and cloth wash clothes for bed baths. Using bath basins over and over is gross. YMMV

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

TPN should be given through a dedicated and labeled line to decrease the risk of a CLABSI.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

We use bath basins and wash cloths. The basins are disposable and single use items. The wash cloths are reused but are washed. Start with new basin, fill with soapy water and wash cloths. Wash cloth comes out, ised used on a part of the patient then thrown into the laundry bag, New washcloth for next body part.

I am a huge fan of soap and water and cloth wash clothes for bed baths. Using bath basins over and over is gross. YMMV

Yep, we reused them before. The CHG bathing is supposed to replace any other bathing on my unit. Hard to convince the walky/talky patients though.

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

Just spent 12 HOURS giving enemas and wiping CRAP!!! Why????? Because the bowel prep from day shift was NEVER GIVEN in prep for this morning's procedure! Another day added to the hospital stay, and another 'I told you so' for me!!!

[Christy1019, ASN, RN]

Probably the most annoying practice I see done often at my current hospital is running IV K as a piggy back through an IV (as opposed to a central line of some sort).

Until I started working here I hadn't seen anyone run it like that in probably 15 years. It is of course accompanied by frequient complaints of pain and discomfort from the patients.

I am working on a official change in practice but it can be a long hard slog.

Just wondering...Are you talking about inpatient infusions of IV K+ or across the board it should be through a central line? I'm in the ED and we frequently give infusions of K+ peripherally, some of them are even discharged home, so it wouldn't make sense to put in a central line just for this purpose. Obviously if they can take PO that's preferred but sometimes we have pts with nausea/vomiting, or some kind of medical issue that they cannot swallow safely (OD, altered mental status etc), but there is no reason to place a central line.

[SunnyNP]

An act of kindness done unkind leaves a sting behind. Please do what you can on your shift and I do my best on my shift. Attitude is everything! Keep smiling nurse friends, after 14 years I bring in my own charmin toilet paper for staff and patients. It brings a smile to all involved to have the triple layer fluffy stuff available including my tax guy when I claim it as a work related expense. 6.99 a month x 12. It's a a charitable donation as well :)