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Nurses General Nursing

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I have become increasingly frustrated during bedside report at change of shift. Ignorant nurses wanting to know ridiculous details or why I didn't do certain things. I'm not telling the Dr. To switch my patient from their current anti-depressant to citalopram because YOU think it's Indictated. There is a reason why PSYCH decided on the particular medication and we need to give it a fair chance. I'm not advocating for an increase dose in flomax because it was started yesterday.....these things take time. I did however ask for an order for a temporary foley until the medication takes effect so the poor patient doesn't need to be straight cath'd q shift (and put it in of course). I'm sorry I didn't change the OD drsg either, my patient in another room passed away and I was comforting her husband. Nursing is a 24 hour job, not everything needs to be done between 7-3. All my patients are clean, comfortable, turned, and all the orders/tasks for my shift have been completed when I pass my patient off to you. I did not read social works last note, but I also didn't take a lunch break or pee. That's because I was helping a more junior nurse with a difficult IV stick and showering my patients because that has not been done for a week and I know you will be too busy texting to bother with it yourself.

You were the last straw- the reason why I accepted a position on another unit. We often work understaffed with high acuity patients that also require complete care. It's not safe. I cannot provide the quality care I would want my loved ones to receive and therefor feel like a crappy, inadequate nurse. I truly hope the staffing and other rough areas on the unit improve for you- surely working there is taking a toll on everybody.

the above vent is NOT the main reason why I left, but was the catalyst for being fed up with years of an unsafe environment and apathetic manager. The finger-pointing and witch-hunting when people make an error needs to stop. Mistakes don't need to be advertised during a staff meeting for everybody to know. I'm getting out before I become the subject of the aforementioned witch hunts.

thanks for reading my vent. Now I must put my game face back on and get back to work.

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I understand. I dread giving report to some people. But when I come back the next day the same stuff the complained about are not done.

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Specializes in ICU.

Oh yes. I particularly enjoy giving report to the nurse who stomps around the room while I'm reporting, checking the lines, noticing I had missed labeling one of them, and tried to rip me a new ******* over not putting a date on that particular set of IV tubing - all of which were started that shift with a brand spanking new central line insertion less than two hours prior, about seven new drips in all including several vasopressors - while the physician was at bedside inserting a chest tube.

Right.

Because if the patient is so unstable that he/she's on multiple pressors and the physician is inserting a chest tube at bedside at that exact moment, the most important task is making sure the offgoing nurse labels her IV lines. Of course. How could I ever have thought otherwise?

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I forgot my major annoyance of the week (and a question I initially intended to ask in this thread): would it be rude to say "please wait until I'm done report before asking questions- I will probably get there" in response to constant interruptions? I cannot stand when people interrupt report with CONSTANT questions that 1) I will get to if you give me a chance 2) are stupid and irrelevant

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

I have to bite my tongue at times with the interrupters. Especially after one particularly difficult report. I'm finished with report and the on-coming nurse then asks "Are they on tele?"

"Did I say they were on tele? No? Okay, then that means they aren't on tele!"

I may or may not have said the same thing when she asked about glucose sticks. This person does this with every day shift nurse. DRIVES US CRAZY!!

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I forgot my major annoyance of the week (and a question I initially intended to ask in this thread): would it be rude to say "please wait until I'm done report before asking questions- I will probably get there" in response to constant interruptions? I cannot stand when people interrupt report with CONSTANT questions that 1) I will get to if you give me a chance 2) are stupid and irrelevant

I say, "I haven't gotten there yet" and keep going. If they interrupt me too many times, I tell them to stop interrupting me, they're distracting me and they're going to miss important information.

I usually have the opposite problem, I have to interrupt and guide the other person to keep them on track. I've been getting report from some whackadoos lately.

When it comes to asking about something I haven't addressed, that's a legitimate question.

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I have to bite my tongue at times with the interrupters. Especially after one particularly difficult report. I'm finished with report and the on-coming nurse then asks "Are they on tele?"

"Did I say they were on tele? No? Okay, then that means they aren't on tele!"

I may or may not have said the same thing when she asked about glucose sticks. This person does this with every day shift nurse. DRIVES US CRAZY!!

If you did that to me, I would report you. There is no reason to be rude to the oncoming nurse when YOU didn't address a question. It's important to know whether or not someone is a fingerstick or is on a cardiac monitor.

If you don't address it, then I'm going to assume you either forgot to say and I need to ask, or that you don't know and I need to find out. Either way, it looks bad on you.

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Specializes in ICU.
If you did that to me, I would report you. There is no reason to be rude to the oncoming nurse when YOU didn't address a question. It's important to know whether or not someone is a fingerstick or is on a cardiac monitor.

If you don't address it, then I'm going to assume you either forgot to say and I need to ask, or that you don't know and I need to find out. Either way, it looks bad on you.

Eh, this quote sounds like a newerish nurse replying. Honestlyn if it's THAT important to you to find out if "the patient" is on tele, feel free to look up the order in the computer. I agree with the OP. I personally hate it when nurses try to use my report to gather their complete assessment. I am not there to do your patients assessment, do it yourself, dear.

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There are definitely some people I don't like giving report to. "Why didn't you do XYZ?" "Why did you do you X?" And sometimes you have to wonder what people write down during report. I can give report at 2300, come back at 0700 and the report I gave is given back to me incorrectly. Gotta love it!

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If you did that to me, I would report you. There is no reason to be rude to the oncoming nurse when YOU didn't address a question. It's important to know whether or not someone is a fingerstick or is on a cardiac monitor.

If you don't address it, then I'm going to assume you either forgot to say and I need to ask, or that you don't know and I need to find out. Either way, it looks bad on you.

In those particular cases - accuchecks and telemetry - the solution is simple. (1) look at the monitor. (2) look at the orders for accuchecks and/or insulin and telemetry.

Problem solved w/o management.

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Specializes in Trauma, Orthopedics.
If you did that to me, I would report you. There is no reason to be rude to the oncoming nurse when YOU didn't address a question. It's important to know whether or not someone is a fingerstick or is on a cardiac monitor.

If you don't address it, then I'm going to assume you either forgot to say and I need to ask, or that you don't know and I need to find out. Either way, it looks bad on you.

If you can't look at the orders and figure it out for yourself then.....I'm sorry?

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We've had an influx of new hires (mostly new grads) to my unit. I'm very much a hit the floor running kinda nurse, so I have to keep telling myself to just breathe and smile through the bumbling, mumbled, scattered report that sometimes leaves me with more questions than answers.

I've taken lately to asking them system by system. Is he on room air? Is he with it? Has he been in NSR? I saw a history of a-fib. How's the UO? Any n/v? Any wounds? Patent line? Alright, let's go smile for the crowd.

I'm hoping repetition and drilling will get the newbs used to giving a systems report and not so much "uh, she didn't sleep good, uh, her left foot tingles, uh, her daughter Judy is her POA, uh, oh and yeah! I bladder scanned her 1 hour ago, and there wasn't any there, she's had like 100 out this shift. Any questions?"

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