Running late?, during report stay on topic so I can go home!

allnurses Guide · Sep 11, 2019

I still remember the morning that I was coming off my 3rd 12 hour shift. The nurse relieving me was pregnant and had her ultrasound the day before. Instead of coming to get report she hung out at the nurse's station showing off the pictures and in general oooo'ing and ahhhh'ing with them over baby.

I love a new baby as much as the next person but that made me nuts. I was tired and ready to leave and of course only a jerk would drag someone away from admiring a baby. I grit my teeth and waited...but I resented it enough that I still remember it 8 years later.

Waiting for Retirement · Sep 11, 2019

43 minutes ago, Nurse SMS said:
I still remember the morning that I was coming off my 3rd 12 hour shift. The nurse relieving me was pregnant and had her ultrasound the day before. Instead of coming to get report she hung out at the nurse's station showing off the pictures and in general oooo'ing and ahhhh'ing with them over baby.
I love a new baby as much as the next person but that made me nuts. I was tired and ready to leave and of course only a jerk would drag someone away from admiring a baby. I grit my teeth and waited...but I resented it enough that I still remember it 8 years later.

oh lord sing it! It's a sonogram now, it will be baby pictures before long and then whatever Darling is up to as he grows. Change the image so it works for two or three nurses with similarly-aged offspring and you just want to kill yourself at report-off time.

I remember one young nurse, rather on the new side or at least too new to be pulling crap like this, who would come in five minutes after 7a routinely, I worked nights and wanted to give the patients away. Not a big deal for five minutes except she didn't come in and sit right down for report. No sir she had to get her coffee set up and then find a pen and then write down her assignment in her Special Special Notebook and then get a new CAL printed up (because she was late enough that there weren't any left) and then, maybe, she'd be ready to listen. ?

Wuzzie · Sep 11, 2019

I had a colleague like this. She was habitually late and then sauntered over when she decided she was ready. One day I had had enough so I wrote report out before she arrived and taped it to the computer (I was in the ED at the time). I told the charge nurse what I was doing and gave her report so everything was on the up and up. Tardy Marty had the audacity to call me at home all cheesed off because she didn't get report. I asked her if she had forgotten how to read and hung up on her. Worked like a charm especially after she ran to the charge nurse to complain and found out what went down. It was suggested to her that if she said one more word she would be written up for every single tardy that followed.

Sour Lemon · Sep 11, 2019

I've (nicely) said things like, "I've got five minutes to be out the door." You can point at the door for emphasis. If they start going off topic again, I might say, "Four minutes." or "Three minutes." ?

Crash_Cart · Sep 12, 2019

Something to be said about leaving report on the old school tape recorder at the nursing station.

TriciaJ, RN · Sep 12, 2019

2 hours ago, Crash_Cart said:
Something to be said about leaving report on the old school tape recorder at the nursing station.

Except it was so excrutiating to be on the receiving end: "Room 203, uh-h, Mrs. Jones, uhhh, had a um, TAH, um yesterday. Uhhh, she's uh A+Ox3 and uhh, vital signs stable, uh, temp 38, HR 104 uhhh blood pressure 87/50, oh I guess they're not stable, uhhh, still has a Foley, ummmm..." ?

kp2016 · Sep 12, 2019

I admire your professionalism for waiting to give report to a nurse that is habitually late, but sadly that is just enabling her. I would handover to the charge and leave exactly on time.

For the record I worked with someone who was late every single day. Anywhere from a few minutes most days to 20-30 minutes once or twice a month, every single month. Throw in a small mountain of personal drama that she insisted on sharing in detail and it added up to a lot of wasted time, hers and everyone else’s.

Fast forward a few years and I had left and started at a new hospital. Wouldn’t you know it she applied for a job on my new unit. As I had come from the same hospital / unit as her my manager ask me in private my thoughts on her.... she did not get an interview. So Karma.

TriciaJ, RN · Sep 12, 2019

3 hours ago, kp2016 said:
I admire your professionalism for waiting to give report to a nurse that is habitually late, but sadly that is just enabling her. I would handover to the charge and leave exactly on time.
For the record I worked with someone who was late every single day. Anywhere from a few minutes most days to 20-30 minutes once or twice a month, every single month. Throw in a small mountain of personal drama that she insisted on sharing in detail and it added up to a lot of wasted time, hers and everyone else’s.
Fast forward a few years and I had left and started at a new hospital. Wouldn’t you know it she applied for a job on my new unit. As I had come from the same hospital / unit as her my manager ask me in private my thoughts on her.... she did not get an interview. So Karma.

God, I love it when things work out. ?

Waiting for Retirement · Sep 12, 2019

8 hours ago, kp2016 said:
Fast forward a few years and I had left and started at a new hospital. Wouldn’t you know it she applied for a job on my new unit. As I had come from the same hospital / unit as her my manager ask me in private my thoughts on her.... she did not get an interview. So Karma.

I think that's something that is hugely overlooked--nurses talk to each other! It's not a great big wide world of nursing, it's much smaller than they'd think.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2019

18 hours ago, Nurse SMS said:
I still remember the morning that I was coming off my 3rd 12 hour shift. The nurse relieving me was pregnant and had her ultrasound the day before. Instead of coming to get report she hung out at the nurse's station showing off the pictures and in general oooo'ing and ahhhh'ing with them over baby.
I love a new baby as much as the next person but that made me nuts. I was tired and ready to leave and of course only a jerk would drag someone away from admiring a baby. I grit my teeth and waited...but I resented it enough that I still remember it 8 years later.

In that moment I couldn't have patience because I was so tired and now after reading your post I am glad I said something on the spot because I don't want to think about this later in life. Thanks for your post.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2019

16 hours ago, Waiting for Retirement said:
oh lord sing it! It's a sonogram now, it will be baby pictures before long and then whatever Darling is up to as he grows. Change the image so it works for two or three nurses with similarly-aged offspring and you just want to kill yourself at report-off time.
I remember one young nurse, rather on the new side or at least too new to be pulling crap like this, who would come in five minutes after 7a routinely, I worked nights and wanted to give the patients away. Not a big deal for five minutes except she didn't come in and sit right down for report. No sir she had to get her coffee set up and then find a pen and then write down her assignment in her Special Special Notebook and then get a new CAL printed up (because she was late enough that there weren't any left) and then, maybe, she'd be ready to listen. ?

She made coffee. Geez. She was stalling because she didn't want to start her shift. The notebook.....all things that take up so much time.