Rant: I will SHOW you where it is

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

There's this nurse I work with who is probably about a slice of an apple short of a fruit salad. Multiple times she's used the last of a product (such as the glucose strips) when I'm doing q 15 accuchecks on a hypoglycemic patient. I mention this to her if she can bring me more strips since she took the last of mine from my room. She forgets and I got hunting asking her about it. She hands me the ones from the other accucheck machine and I asked her if she knew where to get them. I always refill when we're running low and 2 strips left between two machines really it's time. She had NO clue.... she's been here as long as I have.

There's been other supplies she's done this with. I walked her to where we get them and showed her. But c'mon now..it's everyone's job to load up when supplies are low. The magical fairy doesn't come and sprinkle supplies along the unit.

Vent over...

[wearingmanyhats, RN]

Ooooooh... that makes me want to scream as well... So many don't want to take a minute and think about themselves, or the next person to be in that position...

Keep smiling... it will make everyone wonder what you are up to LOL

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

I am...but I think it may be a slightly deranged smile, as everyone's keeping their distance. I will hide in the corner on the computer with my 1:1....he gets me, he's comatose. Most excellent conversation all night, and he even knows where to find the glucose strips.

[Rabid Response]

I work with one of those too. When I first started on the unit, I helped her a lot. It seemed that she didn't know how to set up/use the majority of our equipment and never had any idea where things were stocked. Also I was constantly running to answer her call lights and alarms. One day I asked one of the veteran nurses how long Wingnut, RN had worked on the unit, assuming that she had started a few days before I had. 15 YEARS!!! She has worked IN THAT UNIT for 15 years. It seems she gets by because her friends (and idiots like me) pick up just enough of her slack that she hasn't killed anyone. Needless to say, I no longer help her unless it is a matter of patient safety. I won't even double check meds with her because I don't trust her not to make a huge mistake later and have it traced back to me.

In short--I feel your pain. Working near someone like that always increases the labor load and the stress.

[poopprincess]

Annoying. People need to take initiave and familiarize themselves with the unit they work on. As soon as I got my job I spent down time opening random drawers just to see what was in them for future reference.

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

It's called Learned Helplessness and it's a very useful technique for getting out of dirty work or anything you can't be bothered with. You can just swan through life on this technique if you perfect the "oh really, I didn't know" whine alone with the eyelash fluttering - really, very effective.

[luvazsun, RN]

Geeze, my ex was like that!

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

It's called Learned Helplessness and it's a very useful technique for getting out of dirty work or anything you can't be bothered with. You can just swan through life on this technique if you perfect the "oh really, I didn't know" whine alone with the eyelash fluttering - really, very effective.

I've worked with those.

The coworker that cannot start report without her cup of coffee. Mind you, will not come to work a few minutes early to set it up. S/he gets to the coffee maker and finds that there are no cups.

Does s/he (a) go get the cups and bring the whole sleeve of cups back from the distant supply room, knowing that others will want some. (b) bring one cup for self, and gripe loudly about making the trip, forcing every other person that wants coffee to make the same trip.

If you answered (b) you are correct.

Even better, when I mentioned/corrected her on it, she said that LATER she would resupply the lounge. I was curious so I arranged, marked a few things. And when I came back on shift, low and behold, no signs of stocking

I guess that carrying a few sleeves of styrofoam cups are so much more a burden than 1 cup, that they could not lift them

A variant: you show someone (boyfriend, parent, child, coworker) how to do something that they dislike doing, and they perpetually screw it up so that you will do it anyway.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

Ha, what makes me laugh the hardest about this is about a month ago. She'd probably been here 3 months at this point, she came running out of the nutrition room freaking out that there weren't any cups. I said "Did you look under the bottom cupboards?" She seemed confused, I showed her where they were. She truly had no idea we kept the cups there. I just worry about that translating to a patient. "Oh I didn't know the patient had a tranvenous pacer." I can just see that happening and her accidentally unhooking it....

[aileenve, ASN, RN]

Its amazing what some people get away with, but don't you try it!

[honeykrown, MSN, NP]

That's why i liked it when my unit asked all new nurses to do the scavenger hunt. I was like what!!! but it was very useful in the long run cos i tend to remember stuff.

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

OMG - you mean that you DON'T have one of the magical stocking fairies that comes in and replaces everything that is running low. Nurses have to do it where you work? OMG - that is so WRONG!

You need to talk to someone about getting one of those stocking fairies - STAT!

Maybe you could get a "linen" fairly, a "IV pump/pole" fairy, an "inkpen" fairy, a "printer cartridge" fairy, a "soda/ketchup/cracker/peanut butter" fairy, and finally the most magical fairy of them all - the poop fairy to help you make magical work well, of all the "ppop" and other s#!& you have dumped on you by idiots, clueless co-workers management and everyone else.

Here is what the new ones look like ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

:tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll: :tinkbll:

Good Luck!

I have so wanted to use that smilie for a while now!

:angel: