What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

NoCrumping · Aug 5, 2005

:angryfire I KNOW!! or they will say "Where is the NA?" this is the story of my life. I finish my shift later than everyone else every day, because I feel badly for the poor pts calling and calling and their nurse is BUSY talking on the phone and catching up gazip. :angryfire

Funny story from my CNA days.... working nights on a skilled ltc floor.... I finish rounds, go to the break room to eat, the break room is on another floor, ...anyway... I get a call from the nurse, and she tells me "room 202's light is on" I was young and dumb, so I leave my sandwich and rush up. The nurse is sitting behind the desk, reading Family Circle. That was one of the deciding moments that I was going to nursing school. True story.

NoCrumping · Aug 5, 2005

I'm a pre-nursing student , but my biggest pet peeve is listening to RNs $*^#@ about their jobs! If you don't like listening to families or providing a compassionate service that you are trained to do, then do something else. I am an intelligent woman who is working towards my degree in nursing. I'm currently doing volunteer work and loving it. But, I can honestly say I have encountered people who need a reality check themselves. They have bad attitudes and it is a shame they are RNs. You should all be ashamed of talking bad about families and patients. Until you have experienced grief first hand, you have no business &*%^&$! I chose to go into nursing because I lost both my parents by the time I was 27. My dad to a serious car accident and my mom to breast cancer. I saw both extremes of death and illness. I appreciate all the loving doctors and RNs that helped my mom and I was inspired by them. I am mortified to hear that there are RNs out there that hate and despise assisting people. I've worked over 16 years in the Customer Service world so I have seen every wretched human being as much as anyone else has, BUT I have a great outlook on life and I treat people fairly. I will make a great RN one day. I only wish those of you that hate your job so much, do something else!
Tessa~

Your really not thinking that however many years of "Customer Service" has prepared you for nursing and all that entails,are you? And, maybe you cant understand all the griping, because, well. maybe...... YOU ARE NOT DOING THE WORK. Thats great you have a "great outlook" on life... your gonna need it . Because when your not volunteering, it a whole other ballgame.

Again, I think the NURSES forums should be for NURSES. Dont we have a STUDENT forum?

It just fuels arguments.....there are 2 very different points of view... one that is from experience, and one that is from speculation, delusions of grandeur, high and mightiness, and , well , just from a student who hasnt worked in the real world of this nursing thing.

SheriLynnRN · Aug 5, 2005

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

I am 22 yo, one year out of nursing school. i don't know what kind of "work ethic" she's talking about, but in my personal experience, it is the younger nurses who don't sit down to chart until we've at least offered everyone a helping hand. On my unit the older nurses are the ones who tend to use the "not my pt" line. One in particular beleives that once she has taped her report for the oncoming shift, that she is "off duty". She has actually walked down the hall to the room of a pt asking for pain meds and said "your night shift nurse will bring your percocet in just a few minutes." She then sat down at the desk and waited for me to come out of the report room.

I don't like to generalize, and there are older, more experienced nurses on my unit who are great, but I dont think that people realize how damaging in can be to younger nurses when everyone is griping about us being lazy.

grinnurse, RN · Aug 5, 2005

Originally Posted by rn500

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!)

LOL............good thing we don't say the things that we are really thinking and a real bonus that we don't have picture phones at the nurses stations for the patients that ride the call lights when we answer them!!!!!

NoCrumping · Aug 5, 2005

I kind of laugh and get a lil bit irritated when people say "sugar diabetes", instead of, just 'diabetes". Why do they feel the need to say sugar?

milky · Aug 5, 2005

nurse thatwill not answer a call light and just let it continue to beep, even if you look at them an say hey that is your room they say yeah i know s/he is always on the light i will get it in a little bit. which i will go answer, i usually just go answer them anyway but if that nurse is sitting there jabbering or even doing paper work , i guess i am old school but i still think pts come first!

amen!!!

milky · Aug 5, 2005

I Get Sick Of Being Asked Are You An Rn Or An Lpn ?

I Am A Darned Good Nurse Okaaay??!!!

emeraldjay · Aug 5, 2005

I have a few pet peeves. I'm not a nurse yet, so these are from a CNA's perspective.

Patients who think I have nothing better to do all night than fix their pillow every time they decide to move the head of their bed, usually about every 5-10 minutes.

Patients who will tell me their ice water I just brought in for them isn't fresh.

The ones who don't mind me helping them to the bathroom, but get all modest and ask for "one of the girls" to help them on to the toilet.

Surpervisors that don't care when you tell them a majority of the female pts on a floor will refuse care from a male and assign you there anyway. And the ones who don't believe you when you warn them of a pt that has a history of accusing men of molesting them.

Management that believes a pt who is assist of 2 during the day becomes an assist of 1 during 11-7. I know in a perfect world the nurse could help do rounds, but they really do have more than enough to do with their own duties.

Co-workers who seem to have nothing else better to do than discuss my private life with others in front of pts. I have pts who know I am gay and they didn't get the info from me or my other half who also works in the same facility.

Managment that "fixes" problems without input from the staff that has them.

Our staffing sheet says we have 24 aides on duty but only 18 were scheduled.

Mandations because a shift was scheduled short-staffed. I'm sorry but if it was known the shift was short up to two weeks ago, pick up the phone and call a per-diem or two.

Day supers that seem to think night workers go straight to bed after getting home, so they won't bother to call you in early for fear of waking you but won't hesitate calling two or three hours before your regular shift starts. Short due to call-ins is one thing, but don't bother me if you're short due to scheduling everyone off on the same day.

If you're going to give the evening shifter the next day off because they were mandated tonite, give me the next night off when I get mandated til noon or later.

This gripe is directed to some of the lpn's and rn's of my facility. It won't kill you to pick up a washcloth and help the aides. When there are five nurses and three nurse assignments, don't whine when it's your turn to wipe some fanny.

Anyone that clocks in a half-hour early and won't even answer a call bell during am care time, because they "aren't getting paid." If you're clocked in, you're getting paid.

Don't ever tell me that Mrs X. isn't your patient, because as far as policy goes they are all your patients; on the same note, don't tell me I can't answer Mr Y's call light because he isn't my patient, I answered because you may have been busy and I obviously had a moment. (Can you tell I despise CNA's having primary care assignments?)

Okay I've ranted long enough.

milky · Aug 6, 2005

emeraldjay

anytime you wanna come to florida for a job we want you! I know its annoying the crap you have to deal with, but you have a good head on your shoulders and sound like a team player. And yes I cannot stand the infamous line "its not my patient" I happen to be a nurse who has absolutely NO problem helping a CNA out cleaning fannies or whatever else. We all have to stick together as sisters and brothers no matter what ethnic origin sexuality creed etc.

Dragonfair · Aug 6, 2005

Not getting off your buttocks and using the feet that God gaive you. OOOOOOOoooooooh I don't do that kind of stuff.

kadokin, ASN, RN · Aug 6, 2005

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

Amen to that. But it's not always the young ones. Sometimes it's just the indolent or the inherently pretty that think they don't have to work for a living. :confused:

kadokin, ASN, RN · Aug 6, 2005

nurses who say aw-toe-log-us instead of autologous. emphasis on "log" instead of "tol".
nurses who say orientated instead of oriented.
people who don't know the difference btwn good and well, as in i did good on that test instead of i did well on that test.
i know they are silly, but butchering the english language drives me nuts.

Me too! In nursing school, a BSN program, mind you, our instructor referred to "sonimeters" as a measurement of cervical dilation. The first time I had ever heard of a "sonimeter". A new addition to the metric system, I presume. Could she have meant centimeters, perhaps? And of course, she was talking about "dilatation" rather than dilation. And, wouldn't you know it, our faculty made sure to "orientate" us to every new unit. These are highly EDUCATED people, for heaven's sake. Take some time to learn to use your native language! And we wonder why we don't get enough respect amongst our peers and other professions.