What nursing task do you loathe???

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Just realized today that I can't stand ostomy appliances. It's not the poop, it's just cutting and sizing the appliance and that messy paste. Tedious and irritating but somebody's gotta do it.

How about you?

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
Condom catheters, constantly rolling those things back on. It's like attempting to put a party hat on a turtle who is sticking it's head back in. I've come right out and told doctors "um, you know the whole concept of a condom is that it's not being put on something flaccid?"

OMG - putting a party hag on a turtle. I just officially lost it :yes:

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
OMG - putting a party hag on a turtle. I just officially lost it :yes:

I laughed so hard that three cats got down and stomped off!

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Anyone else remember water snakes?

Those slippery suckers totally came to mind during a few particularly difficult catheter insertions on a male. :rolleyes:

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After reading this post and others- NURSING!!!-- gag , puke, oh well, back to work- time to save the patient from their Dr.s!!! Someone got to do do it..!

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I have been an RN since 1980 and oral care & cleaning yucky dentures is still the only activity guaranteed to make me gag. I cannot even stand to watch people on TV brushing their teeth.

I've found my twin! I graduated the same year as you and have the same aversion which my own family thinks is hysterical.

I can tolerate all sorts of sites, smells, and body fluids but dentures and people brushing their teeth, even on TV, will start me gagging or worse.

Finally, someone else who understands! 😀

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Trying to use a translator phone with a hard of hearing patient. Frustrating for the patient and myself.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
I've found my twin! I graduated the same year as you and have the same aversion which my own family thinks is hysterical.

I can tolerate all sorts of sites, smells, and body fluids but dentures and people brushing their teeth, even on TV, will start me gagging or worse.

Finally, someone else who understands! ������

Might we be triplets? Or at least kin of some kind?

My siblings used to think it was very humorous to torture me by coming into the bathroom and brushing their teeth , while I was a captive audience by sitting on the toilet at the time of their surprise visits, KNOWING HOW VERY MUCH I HATED IT!

They thought it pretty funny. It made me really mad and really sick!

I had to close my eyes and block my ears......Do you know how hard it is to block out the sound of loud gargling? Worse than fingenails on a chalkboard!

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Yep. No ostomy for me. But then again, I HATED trach care but now have 2 trach patients. Go figure.

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Specializes in ICU.
Ortho static vital signs. BORING!

Haha, that made me giggle, so true.

Personally I hate glucose checks. I hate giving 1 or 2 units of insulin for that glucose of 140. What the hell is that 1 unit going to do. Its just a huge pain in the but.

Checking gastric residuals is a pain too. And disgusting.

Inserting NGT's is what I hate the most. I have always said that if I ever need one, they can put it in under anesthesia. Yet I have to put them in all the time. Every time I'm just like sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry, please don't hate me.

Believe it or not I don't mind ostomy apliances. My favorite are the ones where the prior nurses just made the alliance so awful that they just gooped the paste on over and over and wonder why it just won't stop leaking. So I like to take the whole thing down, clean it up proper, make a nice new one and make it work properly!

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Wrapping edematous/ulcerous legs when the patient cannot lift them.

My Back!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
I love putting in IV's It's the best part of my job. How long have you been working. you might think about taking a daylong course in IV/venipuncture then practice practice practice. I actually let a new RN start one on me the other night just to practice.

I have been off orientation for less than four weeks. I work on a floor where people have crappy veins. I just emailed my manager to see if I could go practice on a floor where IV starts are frequent.

I just feel hopeless and that it is a skill I will never master. :(

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
I have been off orientation for less than four weeks. I work on a floor where people have crappy veins. I just emailed my manager to see if I could go practice on a floor where IV starts are frequent.

I just feel hopeless and that it is a skill I will never master. :(

Spending a day in outpt pre-op or ER would give you lots of chances to start IVs & boost your confidence.

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