What nursing task do you loathe???

[richardgecko]

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?

[Lacy Lu]

Taking a vented patient to MRI. Ugh. It's literally 1 mile from my department. Shoot me.

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

Putting on TED hose. I would rather wipe a bottom or do a suppository.

[annabanana2]

Fecal disimpaction

[kiszi, RN]

Talking to the family member from out-of-state who suddenly appears and starts asking accusatory questions as soon as you walk in the room.

[RunninOnCoffee]

Placing NGT's. For some reason that feels like one of the most barbaric things to do to someone. I know good and well they will feel so much better once the abdomen is decompressed, but shoving something through the nose just looks like pure torture!!!

Oh and I second the CT runs or any field trip with 5 million lines, pressors, Codmans, vent, and the works!

[vanilla bean]

Charting. Then more charting. Then charting some more. Nonsensical charting. Double, triple, quadruple charting. I hate the ridiculousness that has become charting in the hospital. Can you tell? lol

[anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP]

Phlegm

Teeth/nasty mouths (even just seeing a loose tooth wiggle)

Eye injuries

Nail injuries

I can handle about anything else but these make me cringe just thinking about them.

[Farawyn]

trach care

just. too. much. mucous.

I can handle a dog team foaming at the mouth after a nice mush, some of it even flies back to the sled (passengers are at a disadvantage). Copious sticky, slurpy, slimey, and sometimes smelly snot coming out of the trach = blech

You forgot tenacious and green.

I'll do your trach care for ya.

You do my ostomies.

[Farawyn]

Putting in IVs. I miss every time and it makes me feel like an incompetent nurse.

For now on, I won't even attempt it. I suck at IVs.

I love IVs and blood draws. *pop*

You need to practice as much as possible. It becomes FUN!

[pixiestudent2]

Feeding patients.

It takes everything in me not to vomit directly in their mouth.

Especially hospital eggs.... Seeing the Smushed bits in the thick string of spit when I pull the spoon back does me in....

So far that is the only the I absolutely hate doing, it makes me ill.

[Hygiene Queen]

Ortho static vital signs. BORING!

I hate this so much, it is the one thing I will gladly delegate away, if I can and if I can catch a free, trustworthy tech. I totally admit it!

I also hate doing fingersticks and hate worrying about insulin and blood sugars. I see a carb count and I cringe.

I have no clue why I hate these things.

I also recall how I hated to give a particular nursing home resident his shower. He was easy enough, but he refused to use a shower chair, was unsteady and liked to use the shower curtain (of all things!) to catch his balance. Made me nervous watching him swing back and forth from the curtain like a monkey! My best friend, however, hated giving bed baths... well, I love to give a good bed bath, so we traded.

Well, wouldn't you know my bed bath resident decided to die (out of freaking nowhere!) on me in the middle of the bath I rolled her over to wash her back, rolled her back and she was dead! My friend still makes fun of me for it 25 years later... and I learned that trading off seemingly annoying tasks doesn't guarantee you won't find yourself with something even worse.

[Farawyn]

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