Some of the patterns I can think of in types of people that irk me at work:
CO-WORKERS
Houdini – “code brown?” Hides in nearest cubby, preferably with a locking door.
The absent MD – “yeah, whatever you think. Can you put that in as a telephone order?” gets paid five times your salary while you do their job.
The cell phone addict – half day working, half day texting (also tends to be a Houdini)
The old-school MD – wants to order Tylenol in grains. grumbling about how it used to be, pecking away at the keyboard with index fingers, eyes shooting from monitor to keyboard. they will get it done… eventually
The phone snarler –$150k in student loans for a job they hate. Capitalizes on elitism. You, random person on the phone, are their prey.
The benefit milker – need I say more?
The over-glorified RN – delusional “everyone here is stupid… except me.” Spends less time actually working and more time trying to find a problem with other peoples work. finds the most condescending way to point out an error.
The work dumper – Feels entitled with their seniority. Takes advantage of the passive orientees while they flip through catalogues and watch TV, hoping this new slave doesn't develop a spine.
The futile administrator – “here’s my solution," E for effort
The over-stepping CNA – wants all of the glory, possesses none of the qualifications. Tries to delegate to RNs, has been “working on my nursing degree” for a decade.
The drama queen/king – oblivious to the fact that you’ve got work to do. Tends to catch you while you have no escape route. Can’t understand why you wouldn’t want to stick around and hear about their juicy little nugget
PATIENTS:
The med seeker – always nauseated, always in pain 10/10, loves their IV drug cocktail.
The bum – saying the s-word in the ED earns them 2 weeks of hot meals and warm bed. $1000/night on the backs of tax-payers.
The puppetmaster – Hitting the call button like its Jeopardy! And they’ve got the answer every 5 minutes.
add more if you can think of them. I'm sure there are some I left out.
Patients and families that think they know everything about being a doctor or a nurse b/c of google.
"The Micro-manager"
Husband/daughter/sons that come to visit for an hour every other day, and immediately start barking orders, complaining and being down right nasty towards you.
The perfectionist/OCD patient Generally these are little old ladies. The ones who you have to assist to the bathroom and then wait while they count out 4 squares of toilet paper and have to have it folded just right before they can wipe.
The better-than-everyone-else nurse The one that sits at the desk and when asked for help cleaning a patient states that she didn't go to nursing school for 3 years to wipe butts.
The Altruistic Manager? What on Earth is that? Are they like ghosts, everyone swears they exist but no-one ever actually saw one?
I was one. Administration hated me for it (one person) and while I made these changes, they were fast to get me out and they did. So.... they are like ghosts because they don't last long with administration.
"The gives way too much unecessary information in report nurse"
The nurse who will, while the patient is coding during change of shift will give you information and start with "The patient was at home, eating when.... then go into the details of their sacral redness, but it takes atleast 20 min to find out why the patient was just coded for 15 min.....
"Wannabe RN" LPN who can't keep her nose out of others business, does very little work and expects the RN supervisor to pick up the rest.
The "Up the DON's *** LPN/CNA/RN who snitches out everyone else on the shift over stupid stuff, yet is too dumb to realize that he/she is being watched also.
The "I want to be the DON but can't RN" and bosses everyone else around while never getting done and is collecting overtime every paycheck while the rest of us are still poor.
The Scared Out of Her Pants Student: Nursing student reading post on AN praying God, please don't let me fall into any of these categories when my day comes!
The perfectionist/OCD patient Generally these are little old ladies. The ones who you have to assist to the bathroom and then wait while they count out 4 squares of toilet paper and have to have it folded just right before they can wipe.
The better-than-everyone-else nurse The one that sits at the desk and when asked for help cleaning a patient states that she didn't go to nursing school for 3 years to wipe butts.
"Wannabe RN" LPN who can't keep her nose out of others business, does very little work and expects the RN supervisor to pick up the rest.
The "Up the DON's *** LPN/CNA/RN who snitches out everyone else on the shift over stupid stuff, yet is too dumb to realize that he/she is being watched also.
The "I want to be the DON but can't RN" and bosses everyone else around while never getting done and is collecting overtime every paycheck while the rest of us are still poor.
Is that the same LPN that is constantly complaining about RN's and feels some what shafted because they do not make as much money but clearly know as much if not more than all of the RN's combined? This is also the one that for some reason just cannot quiet seem to find the time to go back to nursing school because he or she is too busy going to the club getting drunk and making sure everyone knows about it on monday. They seem to have quite a bit of baby momma/daddy drama too.
Waiver: This is in no way a jab at LPN's. There are many many great ones out there. If youi happen to be an LPN who finds this comment offensive, I probably AM talking about you!
The Altruistic Manager? What on Earth is that? Are they like ghosts, everyone swears they exist but no-one ever actually saw one?
I have actually seen a ghost. Not so much the manager...
I am just kidding, I have had the privilege to work with some great managers. They don't last long. The old staff that do a crappy job hate them and the administration who are willing to keep the old staff that do a crappy job because God forbid anything ever change hate them. So they have to have a backbone of steel and even then can't seem to last long.
THE 'THANK GOD YOU ARE WORKING WITH ME NURSE': your coworker who is willing to help out, capable, competent, and with any luck has a wicked sense of humor. May be few and far between, but they are the reason I can still come to work. Because they remind me that I truly am part of a healthcare TEAM.
JUST BECAUSE I WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL DOES NOT MEAN I AM A HIGHER CLASS CITIZEN THAN NURSES: the doctors I have had the privilege to work with who treat nurses with respect and acknowledge that sometimes the nurse knows best. I even worked with a doctor who told pt's "You should ask the nurse that, as she has more experience with that particular piece of your case than I do". Amazing!!!
glutton4punishment
142 Posts
"The Google MD"
Patients and families that think they know everything about being a doctor or a nurse b/c of google.
"The Micro-manager"
Husband/daughter/sons that come to visit for an hour every other day, and immediately start barking orders, complaining and being down right nasty towards you.