What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

Nurses General Nursing

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Nurses that are brilliant but do not know the difference between contraindication and contradiction! :rotfl:

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Oh! Another one! People who say their patient is "alert and orientated." It's oriented, people!

How about those who think their patients have a "prostrate" as opposed to a prostate.

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How about those who think their patients have a "prostrate" as opposed to a prostate.

Then there are those who think schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are one and the same :angryfire That really frosts me :angryfire :angryfire

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Specializes in I don't have much experiance yet..

I posted a while back about a pet peeve of mine but I have found a new one!!!

The old arguement about who has a higher degree, who has worked where, and who is a better nurse!!!!

Since I am still a nursing student, I will be the first to admit that I have no idea what it is really like in the world of nursing. However, it amazes me how it seems like nurses don't get along with eachother at all. With each thread I go to on All Nurses , I can always find a least a few nurses bickering back and forth with eachother. Is it really like this in the work field???

You know, I hate that term "nurses eat their young", too. However, I am starting to believe that it may be true!! LOL :chuckle

Jennifer

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
You know, I hate that term "nurses eat their young", too.

I absolutely hate this term as well, to the point that if i see it in a thread, i'll never read it again.

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I didn't have time to read all of the posts here, so if mine has already been mentioned, please forgive and forget.

My pet peeve is when someone calls up and says "I just took my last pill and I am leaving for out of town (or some other excuse) and I need it filled within the next 15 minutes." I know that people "on the outside" don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but here, the patients in the clinic come first, refills come last. Also, wouldn't you know that your bottle is getting empty and stop and think to calll the clinic at that time?

Oh, and how about people who call you repeatedly to see if you've been able to "talk to the doctor yet?"

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

The drama queen co-worker who thinks everyone is interested in her soap-opera life, and procedes to drone on about it. I really couldn't care less how she's letting some married-to-someone-else jerk use her.

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I haven't read all 54 pages - but has anyone mentioned the family members in the ED that walk behind the nurses station? What is that??? Do they walk behind the counter at McDonalds??

Adding insult to injury was the family member that responded that it was OK that he was behind the nurse's station because he is an MD. Ok....and??? You're not an MD here & if you ARE an MD surely you are familiar with HIPAA?

But by far & without a doubt my very biggest nursing pet peeve is the expectation for preferential treatment based on one's job or social status. I did home health for a family owned/operated agency prior to working in the hospital & this became such an issue (who is friends with whom) that when I interviewed for the hospital & they asked what I disliked about my current job (home health) I specifically stated how much this irked me. I was assured things weren't that way here (hospital). Shortly afterwards, I discover that "VIPs" are indicated with a (*) next to their name on the census. Nice, eh?

It's bad enough when the patient or family think they deserve different care but I could happily work the remainder of my career without receiving report on a patient that included "He's a senator", "He's a pro baseball player" "He's a urologist". I am peeved by these people (who are not the most critical) getting a room assignment before my other ED patients that have been waiting for hours & hours.

We had a patient come into the ED recently stating that he was here to see Dr M (a cardiologist, not the ER doc). After attempting to explain to the patient that Dr M doesn't work in the ER this patient insisted that Dr M was expecting him. We gave up & called Dr M who denied that he was expecting ANYONE & did not know Mr Smith. Round & round, on & on - we paged Dr M again to relay more of the patient's story to which Dr M replies "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME IT WAS DR SMITH!!!!!!"

I have (thus far) resisted the urge to identify each of Dr M's patients by their occupation when speaking to him: "Mrs K, the elementary school teacher, would like........" or "Mr N, the operations manager at 3M, troponin is 0.35"

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oh, the latest pet peeve i have are nurses that could care less if i told them the pt has cloudy urine and non-blanching spot on their sacrum - often when i give report, i can hear them whispering gossip to a co-worker as they "take" report!! dang - i do a post-op assessment so that this stuff is clear and available before they get to pacu. a few months back i remember clear as day telling the pacu nurse that my pt had a history of seizures, allergy to dilantin, etc...and of course, pt had a grand mal in pacu, and the bed was not padded - ergo, pt fractured wrist...i was pi$$ed! :angryfire anymore if i hear the whispering i'll stop and say, "did you say something?" grrr...

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

The VIP phrase should never have a place in healthcare.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

The co-worker that tries to get out of doing anything.

The co-worker that acts like it's their first day at work, nevermind they're approaching their 20th year.

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Oh - one more... I work in OB, and I just love it when a pt asks for pain med, and when I am about to give it they ask "WILL THIS HURT THE BABY?"

???????????????????

Yes, it's going to kill your baby, that's why we give it to you!!!

Or maybe I should say...

WHAT??!! Your're PREGNANT?? For God's sake why didn't you tell me????? I can't give this to you, it's poison!!!

I know, I know... they are right to worry and they are just being protective, but it still make me laugh (inside of course!)

You shouldn't make fun of people who are just not educated like you are. I'd ask the same exact thing if I were the pt and I was pregnant. Mistakes do happen....all the time.

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Then there are those who think schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are one and the same :angryfire That really frosts me :angryfire :angryfire

I know..... everybody I know, it seems, thinks that? Why is that??????

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