What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

rn500 · Mar 29, 2004

Even though I'm not a nurse yet, I work in a hospital with OB pts. But hey, I'll give you my pet peeve anyhow.
And my #1 pet peeve is:
Pts who use EMSA (city ambulance) as a taxi service.
We have pts who believe they are in early labor (contracting one every 15 minutes), who have not even called their primary care doctor, call 911 and INSIST on being taken to the hospital by ambulance because they just can't wait for someone to get off work, drive over and take them in.
I know that I'm not in their shoes, but I find this very annoying.

:angryfire Oh sister, do I know this one!! Drives me nuts. Especially when, 10 minutes later, 5 family members arrive BY CAR!!

MellowOne · Mar 29, 2004

My biggest pet peeve,

Charge nurses who try to refuse every patient that you want to send to their floor. "Why do we have to take this patient? Just because his hip is broken and we're an ortho floor. Why can't they go to another floor?"

It's a hospital and you're a nurse. Take the patient and take care of him. If you don't want to take care of sick people, find a new job.

Be well...

The Mellow One

kimmicoobug · Mar 29, 2004

I have a lot of pet peeves!!!!

1. When I have a full code patient who is crashing and needs to be sent to ICU with falling BP's and HR in the 140's and 02 sats that won't maintain...and the doc says "sounds like he is doing fine"....careful charting with this one...

2. When you call another doctor about his patient being fluid overloaded and has developed pulmonary edema with sats at 78 % on 15 Liters NRB, and he wants to argue for twenty minutes because there is NO way that patient could be overloaded according to his math. He gets so twitterpated, that he comes in at 0200 for me to prove him wrong...I just wanted the Lasix, man.

3. When your director starts preaching the little things we could do to improve customer satisfaction...hmmm, I am all about patient care, so give me less patients than the usual 7-8 I have every night, and then maybe I could better serve my patients/customers.

4. When you have had the night from hell with little emergencies all night with all 8 of your patients, and then you get an admit, so you just can't get to everything. Then, the day shift nurse always complains that night shift never does anything. Come and work with me sometimes, and you'll see that I am usually running my tail off. I have double the day shift load...and you would think the patients would sleep at night, but that is when they seem to crash.

5. When you have a charge nurse who is a control freak and everything has to be done her way, and on top of this, she is lazy and tries to pass the buck on to others.

6. I am young and "cute", drives me crazy when certain doctors are always telling me how great my skin is, how good I look at the end of my shift, or what nice hair I have. Thanks very much, you're married, and so am I...and I am not a cheap piece of *ss.

7. Then there is the security guard who tells me how "awesome" I look, almost on a daily basis...seriously, I always divert his attention. Doesn't he worry about being slapped with sexual harassment?

Well...I have some more so I will come back to this thread later....Good topic.

kimmicoobug · Mar 29, 2004

But, to add to my previous post... I love my job. I love the NACs that I work with and I love most of the night shift crew. I have such a good rapport with the RT's, a few of the doctors, and most of the nurses in the hospital on nights...Nights rock.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 29, 2004

What annoys me about that is when we have the one coodinator who sends pts. to our floor, then starts in on another floor. In other words, she fills our floor first, then fills another floor, then moves on to the next on. Instead of "taking turns" with admissions. Then we wind up having to call people in, while other floors have to send 2 or 3 nurses home due to low census! :angryfire

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2004

Welcome to the wonderfull world of nursing

aint life grand

inna · Mar 30, 2004

When the Unit Secretary is sick and no Techs showed up for the day. And the supervisor can't give you one because "NO ONE'S SCHEDULED FOR THE DAY". And once you survived that day....Then that would be a clue to the management that it's okay ...the nurses made it... they will make it again next time.

LolaRN · Mar 30, 2004

I just had the worst night. Reading these makes me realize that it's not just me. I keep wondering what I am doing wrong (yep I am a new nurse-just 2 months). Thanks for the posts.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2004

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Welcome to the wonderfull world of nursing
aint life grand

NGACAYAN-CORTES · Mar 30, 2004

huh what do you mean[/quot]
nurses without a heart.i am referring to those nurses who work just because they are getting paid for it! they work without giving into consideration the patient's needs and feelings...

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2004

whats wrong with getting paid for it

I care for their feelings when Im on the clock ands getting paid. I clock out and it is my own life and my own concerns.

I am a nurse

not a priest

this is my chosen job

and I do it well

Calfax · Mar 30, 2004

I didn't read all 14 pages of peeves..but if anyone said "orthostatics" I'm with them. I can't think of another more pointless test for patients to do and waste of time for me....