Speaking of tape residue...(and other pet peeves)

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Mar 17, 2014

Disorder in general. I call OCD a "vocationally advantageous disorder". I really hate when all the kid's belongings and items are just "thrown into the bottom drawer of their their giraffe or open crib. You have no idea what they do or don't have and often you have 6 rolls of tape, 3 neo-suckers, a temp probe wire (with the last cover still glued to it. If you are lucky, you have a gummed up used logan's bow thrown in there for good measure. I have to say, I haven't seen a truly encrusted mouth (that was truly neglected, not the kind that accumulates magically in a couple of hours) since I worked with adults. There I saw scary things in mouths; like full sets of teeth!

Oh, one of my biggest pet peeves is tape on any tube that isn't tabbed. You might as well have condemned that kid to getting a brand new tube the next time they need a tape job! People are usually good about tabbing ETT tape but OGs; for some reason people must think their tape job will be the last OG tape job that kid will ever need!

rnkaytee · Mar 17, 2014

1. Anyone who doesn't tab their tape pulls back a bloody stump.

2. Yes to everything else! We have housekeepers who clean our isolettes so they're usually okay to start but we also wipe down inside/outside/area at the beginning of our shift.

3. If a nurse doesn't clean/swab his baby's mouth, he is not doing his job and is neglecting his patient. Absolutely! I have had several times where I think a kid is getting sicker only to find that its their airway clogged full of gunk.

Humbled_Nurse · Mar 18, 2014

Agree with everyone! My biggest pet peeve as Tiffy mentioned is disorder. The clutter drives me nuts. Messy bedside carts and especially cluttered beds. The bed may not necessarily be dirty, but there will be a ton of blankets, developmental items, etc... I like my beds simple and neat. They don't need 20 million blankets in there.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Mar 18, 2014

Clean up your bedside and at least leave me enough stock to get thru the first round of the day! If your kid pukes, clean the bed linen up, don't cover it up with 4 wash clothes. No scum mouth either...ewww! Contributes to VAP! Don't make promises to parents that the next nurse will do this or that, I may not be able to get to it and then they are ticked with me!

Change your suction tubing!!!

HyperSaurus, RN, BSN · Mar 18, 2014

What's 'tabbing the tape'?

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Mar 18, 2014

What's 'tabbing the tape'?

Folding it back on itself giving a "tab" to pull it loose with. Almost impossible to dislodge tape that has no tab especially when one has to wear gloves to do everything nowadays.

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Mar 18, 2014

Change your suction tubing!!!

AND canister. I despise it when I do my bed check, and find a half-filled snotty, bloody canister with a "change by" label that was due 5 days ago.

Also, stop tying the 2nd o2 tubing in a knot when you don't have a manometer. It's worthless, and dangerous if I need to bag my baby later. Either get a new bag with the cap on it, or find a manometer.

AND, just because the baby is now intermediate care doesn't mean you don't need an ambu bag and suction canister at his bedside.

katierobin23 · Mar 18, 2014

Love all of these! One little thing that really drives me crazy is when the baby is on a cannula and the dots are put on so that one side's tab is up and the other side' stab is down! Obviously not a dangerous thing, like the suction and bag/mask not being available, but it drives me crazy!

Also, when a baby has an NG and has tape across his/her entire face, on both sides of the nose, clear across the cheeks. Not necessary! Poor baby just looks ridiculous and it hurts more to take it off. There is only one nurse in my unit that does that thankfully!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 18, 2014

katierobin23, I'm a fan of those Tender Grips when they're used properly. In fact I love them for securing NGs or NJs. But what drives me nuts is that the RTs who are extubating and putting the nasal cannulae on put the Tender Grips too low on the cheeks, too far back, right in front of the ear, and don't squish the cheeks a little so that the prongs are actually in the kid's nose. How many times have I found a desatting baby with the cannulae sitting on their lip with the prongs blowing toward their closed mouth? Or IN their mouth...

katierobin23 · Mar 19, 2014

katierobin23 I'm a fan of those Tender Grips when they're used properly. In fact I love them for securing NGs or NJs. But what drives me nuts is that the RTs who are extubating and putting the nasal cannulae on put the Tender Grips too low on the cheeks, too far back, right in front of the ear, and don't squish the cheeks a little so that the prongs are actually in the kid's nose. How many times have I found a desatting baby with the cannulae sitting on their lip with the prongs blowing toward their closed mouth? Or IN their mouth...[/quote']
Yeah, that's a big one too. We've gotten in the habit of using the teddy bears from the little tegaderms instead because it's not worth fighting with some of the RTs who insist on using the dots incorrectly. My original post though was about the tabs from the tape layer being pointed in different directions...that's just me being a little too OCD-ish though lol

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Mar 19, 2014

KatieRobin; I understand your dismay with the NC holders pointed different directions. I'm OCD that way too. I'd forgive it though if people would just realize that you can hardly ever position those too high in the cheeks!!

I get so frustrated when another nurse's kid keeps desatting over and over because the cannula's always out of the kid's nose. I've been known to wait until they go to lunch then fixing it while they're gone. They always appreciate it!

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