What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

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

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Of course, Have you ever done this before? You have one stick to get the IV. Nurses who talk loud in the hallways. All this about HIPPA laws when you have to talk to a patient in a semi-pvt room and the roommate hears it all. New patients in the last 20 minutes of your shift.

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Family members that just walk past all the signs & closed doors right into the PACU- as if they own the place!! Also, docs that bring family members back w/out asking first; or asking obviously dumb questions-- "ok to bring the wife back?"-- "ah, no, I'd like to get the TUBE out first!!-kinda freaks family members out!!"

Nurses that have a patient for 2-3 hrs and chart 3 lines--"Pt rec'd in PACU. Up to BR. D/C home" I am seeing this more and more in newer grads- I know computerized charting is in, but aren't they being taught old fashioned CYA charting??

Also, nurses that suddenly have to "leave early" when we get add-ons......

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
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.

Ah, I see you've been learning medical talk. ;)

All those terms are still in use, albeit a tad archaic, and all are correct.

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My biggest pet peeve is dealing with nurses who are unhappy in their own lives and bring that anger and frustration to work with them. I try to be positive with everybody I meet and really feel sorry that they are unhappy but we all go through things.

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Family members that just walk past all the signs & closed doors right into the PACU- as if they own the place!! Also, docs that bring family members back w/out asking first; or asking obviously dumb questions-- "ok to bring the wife back?"-- "ah, no, I'd like to get the TUBE out first!!-kinda freaks family members out!!"

well actually this is will not always freak the family out...my mum #1 used to be a nurse and #2 even if she had never been a nurse realizes that it is needed to regulate the breathing because my doc explained that

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HUGE pet peeve is RNs/CNAs talking on their cell phones on the unit while walking in and out of patients rooms :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire One RN (no longer working there) had the headset on and was gabbing away, I was helping her with a patient, the patient would ask "What" because he thought she was talking to him. You spell it R-U-D-E. This nonsense would happen at 0200 or 0300 in the morning, they would be calling a buddy on another floor. Don't you have work to do? :madface: :madface: :madface: I stated very loudly to another co-worker within ear shot of one of these offenders "I refuse to help anyone play catch-up if they're behind in their work after they've spent 3hours on THEIR cell talking to their BF!!!" Thankfully a new NM came in and brought the hammer down on this problem.

I used to work on a unit where you NEVER heard the words "That's not my patient", it was wonderful, of course the PTB eliminated that unit and I since moved on to another facility. "That's not my patient" is now another HUGE pet peeve, especially when I'm running my butt off and I ask a CNA who is sitting on the computer for help. I WILL NOT tolerate this, YOU are not paid to sit and play on the computer, you are paid to provide patient care. If I was capable of doing EVERYTHING, YOU would not be here!!! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

One more HUGE pet peeve. Having to ask for every little thing to be done, few examples:

1. pt admitted incontinent, has been incontinent during stay, was incontinent yesterday, YOU STILL NEED ME TO TELL YOU EVERY 2 HOURS TO CHECK AND SEE IF THIS PATIENT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED???!!!

2. full urinal prominently on top of overbed table almost full to overflowing, THE PATIENT HAS TO ASK YOU FIRST BEFORE YOU EMPTY IT???!!!

3. FOUL smell permeating the unit, you walk into the room of origin where there is a commode full of poop do VS then leave, SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL YOU TO EMPTY THAT COMMODE???!!!

4. linen hamper emptied, I come out of room with soiled linen and when I go to place it in the hamper, no linen bag, YOU NEED TO BE TOLD TO REPLACE THE LINEN BAG WHEN YOU DUMP LINEN???!!!

I could go on but I think you get my point. It is spelled L-A-Z-Y !!!!!!! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

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So far mine is when nurses talk 100 miles an hour in report and I can't keep up but it might just be me because I am a new nurse, I guess I'll find out in time but for now I have to say can you please slow down and I've had to say start over before, I know they probably hate; I think some of them forget what it was like to be a new graduate.

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The nurses that feel the need to inform me when they are menstrating. Had a tech today "don't mess with me today, I've got PMS".....ummm....thank you very much, I'll walk on eggshells, allow you do be lazy and short-tempered, appreciate the info. :)

Omg-I don't really have many pet peeves yet, but I realy, really hate, in general, the belief that some women have that just because I am a woman too, I want to hear ALL about their PMS, their period, and their sex life! Unless you having an uncontrolled haemorrhage and need emergency help, I don't want to know, nor do I care! We are not all "sisters" because we are women; I have three sisters, I don't need anymore! sorry to rant, but when I worked OB ( Iwas a Tech)this was often a "main topic" (time to go stock the rooms)

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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?

LOL-the little old ladies who say "I've a touch of sugar"

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The VIP phrase should never have a place in healthcare.

I recently had a patient who was found "down" so very little history, and sister, when located didn't provide much more-pt informed me at one point that she was a retired surgeon-wow, how differently the docs talked to her and treated her after I mentioned during report that she was a surgeon.....

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My biggest pet peeve is when there are 4 licensed and 1 CNA for 32 patients on the evening shift. We have at least 8 patients that are total care feeders, and then the nursing supervisor comes up to me saying that a family member called the operator to complain that she can't find a nurse because "everyone's at lunch". I explain that everyone is feeding patients, (I even had a portable computer with me and was charting in between feeding a patient bites of food.)

So then the super says, "well someone needs to stay at the desk" If you want someone to stay at the desk all the time, then give me the staff to make that possible. Because if I wasn't out feeding patients when I'm charge nurse, then we would have complaints the patients weren't getting fed in a timely manner.

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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~

I can assure 100% that those "loving doctors and nurses that helped" your mom, often griped to other nurses about pet peeves, families, patients and co-workers. If you knew as much as you claim to know about pysch, you'd know it's basically a form of group therapy, where people can share and vent without having to explain that they do like their job, it just makes them crazy sometimes; it is what makes us able to answer that call light for the 50th time in one hour and be a "loving" nurse. It keeps us sane. I don't think that any nurse posting here has said "I hate and despise helping people". You are just too far up on your self-righteous horse to see clearly. Nurses are humans, not saints, who do a pyschologically and physically demanding job. You seem to think that you are a saint and will continue to be one....

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