What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

justiceforjoy · Mar 20, 2009

This is the cause of the vast majority of everyone's pet peeve in this thread: passive aggressive attitudes.

Recurring theme: Nurse comes in at shift change, but grabs a coffee and starts chatting for xx minutes before reporting on. If you see them doing that, tell them that you need for them to start working at their shift starting time, or track them down when you are ready to report off and report off to him/her. Getting upset about it and venting about it on a forum isn't going to help much.

Call out nurses that are late. You're always going to be at least partially responsible for the environment in which you work, so don't sit and stew about little things, because they do become big issues the longer they stew.

ERRN92 · Mar 20, 2009

I work in a hospital that has a "medicine" er and a "trauma" er. Trauma er thinks they're the only nurses that save lives. They're the only nurses that are qualified to save lives. I guess no one ever dies from a heart attack, head bleeds, stroke or organ failure. There are GREAT nurses in every department. !!

treysdaddy08 · Mar 20, 2009

Interesting answers. I think #1 the biggest of pet peeves is when patients or their families think the smallest of things is very, very important and you should stop what you are doing immediately to do what they want. I know, they don't know any better and to them it IS important, but it still BUGS me. #2 has to be when the family or the patient stands at the desk and waits to either speak to you or the doc taking in any and all conversation. Of course, I always ask them to wait in their room, but I can usually see they dislike this and want to listen to things that are not to be heard. It is just annoying. That's my 2 cents.

I must disagree with #2. I'm sure there are pts that just want to "listen to things that are not to be heard", but, in my experience as a pt (actually, my wife was the pt while she was pregnant), I went to the desk because we needed assistance with something or wanted some info. I realize that nurses are busy and time does seem to go by faster, but when you're waiting in that room for 15 minutes for the nurse to come for whatever reason, it can get annoying really fast. I know that I'll get a response faster if I wait patiently where I can be seen.

AOx1 · Mar 20, 2009

The parents who can afford iphones, incredibly long acrylic nails with art on them, cigarettes, expensive bags, etc, but not the copay medicare requires for their child's asthma inhaler, then ask if you can cover it, since "you're a nurse, you're rich." Um, not last time I checked!!

:chuckle

VivaRN · Mar 20, 2009

Professional nursing organizations that continue to squabble over "nursing issues" such as BSN entry to practice, instead of partnering with other professional organizations - such as Physicians for Human Rights - and raising nursing up there as caring about the wider world.

Any nurse who breaks the patients' or families' trust.

Nurses who act ditzy in front of other healthcare professionals.

Nurses who do not understand, or care to understand, the "why" behind the task

Nurses who are not open to research and professional development, such as pain med tolerance vs. addiction

Nurses who discuss patients or personal matters within earshot of the patient.

Nurses who let me get their lights because I cannot ignore what might be an emergency

Nurses who leave pills at the bedside and the patient doesn't take them, and then I find them later - 6 pills in the sheets - no clue what they are, everything is signed off as given.

Nurses who talk over A&O intubated/trached patients like they aren't there...

Ok, done for now

Shanny246 · Mar 20, 2009

My son was admitted frequently to Children's Hospital Boston, and while I met A LOT of great nurses, I also met a decent amount of ignorant ones. My biggest pet peeve was having a nurse that did not listen to me. As a stay at home mother to my son, and the one that did all of his cares, I knew best. However, because I am young (22) they did not listen to me. For example, my son did not have "good" veins for blood draws and IVs...I would tell them that he needed the IV team to do all vein related things. (In just a 2 week visit he was stuck over 20 times...heartbreaking) They did not listen to me, and in the mean time my son had to suffer because of it. Also, one time my son had an IV in for a couple days recieving antibiotics. The IV was flushes frequently, and after a day he cried every time it was flushed (he was not doing this the previous day)...I told them to take the IV out bc there was clearly something wrong with it. She told me it was fine...and hours later it stopped working and my baby boys hand was swollen. :cry:

*LadyNurse* · Mar 20, 2009

family member who constantly try to inform me of their "medical" backgrounds, attempt to use "medical" terminology, and constantly try to rationale everything that I do or don't do. This is usually continues until I ask if they have a "medical" background and they answer..."i looked it up on webmd..."

Cranmans · Mar 20, 2009

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!

calm down....i'm smelling neg.

WoofyMutt80 · Mar 20, 2009

Strangers that find out you are a nurse and start asking medical questions AND expecting answers!

I got that all the time, but as a HHA! And then the pt or family would get ****** and asked where I was educated and why I could not give medical advice! Now as a MA, in a Cath Lab at a teaching hospital, we get alot of med. students who ask me medical questions that are beyond my reach and I so want to say "just because I wear scrubs doesnt meant I went to Med School!" Also I wear my AAMA pin and my Medical Assistant tac which is big enough for everyone to see!

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Mar 21, 2009

Full code patients who are terminally ill , have end stage disease or are over the age of 80!

I know it can be frustrating to see patients suffer but some people don't believe that you should just roll over and die because you've passed a certain age. Me personally, I'm going out kicking and screaming..it's the principal of the thing. :smokin:

My grandmother was in the hospital, and you would not believe the number of times they came to talk to her about DNR..she was sharp as a tack at 89 and was polite at first, and then told them where they could stick it when they persisted. :yeah:Everyday, I see patients who are criminals, drug addicts, etc and their life is more valuable, why? Because they're young? Many of these people contribute zilch to society.

I just think just because someone is sick or old doesn't necessarily mean they are ready to die. It's one thing if the person is unable to make their own decisions and the family doesn't want to let them go. But, there are plenty of people who are with it mentally, and don't think advanced age automatically means you are less valuable.

I have a living will, even at 37..in it, I state I want everything done, unless I am brain dead. I also spelled out the fact that I am NOT willing to donate my organs.

SoundofMusic · Mar 21, 2009

Whew -- I found out what it was TODAY -- nurses who do NOT check off their orders and leave early at the end of the shift, and who give lousy report to boot. I had one do this this a.m., and it made my entire day horrible. I spent half the day fixing and checking off HER orders from the night before. I was behind all day and then got a bunch of crazy stuff thrown in to make it possibly my worst day in nursing thus far.

I will NEVER, ever allow another nurse to leave me with unchecked orders -- this is an abomination to the oncoming shift, believe me. Each shift has its own work and its own difficulties -- one cannot spend time tidying up from the prior shift. It's just either lazyiness or horrific oversight.

justiceforjoy · Mar 21, 2009

Calm down....I'm smelling neg.

haha... Everyone take note! This is the nurse that doesn't answer the call bell :)