What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

Midwest4me · Apr 4, 2004

nurses that walk out in the middle of their shift, when you are already short hand.

I can well imagine that would be highly frustrating. It seems to me that would be considered "abandonment" and therefore illegal. I've thankfully never been on a shift when that happened....my heart goes out to you and others who've had to shuffle responsibilities to cover for those of the errant nurse who left!

aurora_borealis · Apr 4, 2004

Oh do I have many, in no particular order:

1) The family member comes to the nursing station saying "Mother needs a blanket" (or whatever.) Okee dokee, glad to oblige, but who the hell is "Mother?"

2) Family member who has the audacity to actually enter another patient's room to tell me that "Mother" needs something, and then gets annoyed when I ask them to please leave the room.

3) When I check VS on a patient, and a visitor asks me to check theirs also. After all, they say, it will only take a minute. More often than not this escalates as everyone wants their pressure taken also, Like I have nothing better to do.

4) The patients who refer to me as "my girl." I ain't your f***ing girl.

5) Visitors who ask me to fetch them a cup of coffe, and when I tell them where they can get it for themselves, as in 10 yards away, they feel put out. I ain't your f***ing waitress.

6) Patients and/or family members who totally disregard what I say and demand to talk to their doctor.

7) Patients who refuse all tests and procedures. Excuse me, but just what the hell are you here for, anyway?

8) Pysicians who order "turn patient q 2hours" or "suction prn" Golly gee, really? Who knew?

9) Physicians who patronize me.

10) Physicians who won't listen to me because I'm "just a nurse."

11) But my biggest pet peeve is nurses who won't contradict, question, or confront a physician. In other words, they don't advocate for their patients. I was fortunate by both attending a nursing school that had long ago dismissed the "nurses are handmaidens" mentality, and was mentored by one of the best nurses I've ever known. She instilled in me that the patient, not the M.D. was the priority. So many nurses are afraid of confrontation, apparently believing if the doc orders it, well then, it must be right. Sometimes I feel like I was educated on another planet.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Apr 4, 2004

I just miss good ole Marcus Welby MD

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Apr 4, 2004

Played unit secretary last night (3-11), and despite the night that it was night shift, i was beyond busy. But i did have to take part of my lunch break to write a complaining letter to the NM about ONE nurse who received TWENTY-EIGHT personal (non-emergency-mom-bobby-won't-stop-pulling-my-hair) phone calls and went off on me when i tried to screen them by saying "Is this an emergency?". Her reply "If it's my ***d**n kids, it's ALWAYS an emergency to me *****". Luckily she was overheard saying this, and those two nurses that heard her say this signed their name to my little note. :)

Kinda hope that fan's on 'high' when the doo-doo hits it. :)

smk1, LPN · Apr 4, 2004

when i was a Nursing assistant- aides who knew that residents had a particular order in which they wanted their personal care done but fail to write the order down for everyone else. example Flora likes to put on her bra and shirt and ted hose first THEN her panties and pants THEN her earrings makeup etcc. THEN shoes (literally there was a resident like this in an assisted living home.) 1 aide usually took care of her but when she got sick this woman became very irrate because i assume she would want her bra and panties on first. (sheesh i know i want my "fun parts" covered asap if someone else is there) ahhhh the lack of communication......

ejohnson · Apr 5, 2004

I'm a young nurse, actually a student, and you should be thankful that we are going into this field because if it weren't for young nurses, who would take care of you when you get old. I have very good work ethic and I believe your statement is very close minded for a nurse.

These young nurses werent raised with the same work ethic I was raised with

missmercy · Apr 5, 2004

I'm a young nurse, actually a student, and you should be thankful that we are going into this field because if it weren't for young nurses, who would take care of you when you get old. I have very good work ethic and I believe your statement is very close minded for a nurse.

Way to go kid!!! we NEED nurses like you who will work hard,and sass back a little but remember-- we DO have some room to gripe-- nurses like you are a cut above many we see -- be a bit tolerant of some of us -- we're thrilled to have newbies like you!!!!

nursemjb · Apr 5, 2004

The alledged nursing shortage, but hospitals aren't willing to work with nurses re: flexible schedules, nurse to patient ratios,etc. Along with this there are the specialty areas with their noses in the area and not willing to train nurses out of their specialty. This kind of thing will come back to haunt the hospitals as the population ages. :balloons: :)

AmiK25 · Apr 5, 2004

Oh do I have many, in no particular order:
1) The family member comes to the nursing station saying "Mother needs a blanket" (or whatever.) Okee dokee, glad to oblige, but who the hell is "Mother?"
2) Family member who has the audacity to actually enter another patient's room to tell me that "Mother" needs something, and then gets annoyed when I ask them to please leave the room.
3) When I check VS on a patient, and a visitor asks me to check theirs also. After all, they say, it will only take a minute. More often than not this escalates as everyone wants their pressure taken also, Like I have nothing better to do.
4) The patients who refer to me as "my girl." I ain't your f***ing girl.
5) Visitors who ask me to fetch them a cup of coffe, and when I tell them where they can get it for themselves, as in 10 yards away, they feel put out. I ain't your f***ing waitress.
6) Patients and/or family members who totally disregard what I say and demand to talk to their doctor.
7) Patients who refuse all tests and procedures. Excuse me, but just what the hell are you here for, anyway?
8) Pysicians who order "turn patient q 2hours" or "suction prn" Golly gee, really? Who knew?
9) Physicians who patronize me.
10) Physicians who won't listen to me because I'm "just a nurse."
11) But my biggest pet peeve is nurses who won't contradict, question, or confront a physician. In other words, they don't advocate for their patients. I was fortunate by both attending a nursing school that had long ago dismissed the "nurses are handmaidens" mentality, and was mentored by one of the best nurses I've ever known. She instilled in me that the patient, not the M.D. was the priority. So many nurses are afraid of confrontation, apparently believing if the doc orders it, well then, it must be right. Sometimes I feel like I was educated on another planet.

When I was in a particularly testy mood one day, I actually paged a trauma resident who had written an order to turn the patient q 2 hours....I asked him if there was a special way he wanted me to turn the patient or would the standard method be sufficient? He actually thought it was really funny and said he would never write that order in our ICU again!

Lorie5477 · Apr 5, 2004

I would say my pet peeve is most definitely the nurses who doubt any and all medical problems they don't understand. Education didn't end when you got your license.

RNRose2003 · Apr 8, 2004

I think it is really unfortunate that some nurses can't spell and that many interchange homonyms (i.e. accept/except or there/their). These nurses' charting looks unprofessional, in my opinion. :imbar

veteranRN · Apr 8, 2004

How about when a physician misspells simple words. Don't they look like morons???

(Hope I didn't make any spelling mistakes here!)