What's Rude?

[Ruby Vee]

We all have our pet peeves, something that we are SURE is rude whether it bothers others or not. So I'm wondering -- what bothers you?

Things that bother me:

In a nurse's station with four or five unused computers, why does anyone have to sit down at the one I'm using, clearly marked with my scut sheet, my pen, my drink and my charting all pulled up and not finished? They take my spot, log me off (so I have to start over with any charting I didn't sign before the arrhythmia alarm jolted me out of my seat) and log in over me. Then when I return, they tell me "I didn't see your name on it." Why not just use the computer with the screensaver up and no ones stuff there?

People who put their feet up on the chairs in the nurse's station. Not only does it look totally unprofessional to anyone who visits the station, including families, but the C. Diff that that they' we picked up on their shoes is now transferred to the impossible-to-clean fabric chairs in the nurse's station.

Saying "no prob" in response to a thank you.

Taking the nurse's chair. Our rooms has a sofa and two chairs for visitors, a recliner for the patient and a chair at the computer station for the nurse to use when charting. So why do the visitors always have to take the nurse's chair? Clearly, the nurse can't chart from the sofa.

After you've taken the nurse's chair, why give me attitude when I ask you NOT to sit in front of my computer, but to sit in one of the five spots provided for visitors?

Visitors using the patient bathroom.

Staff who let patients use the staff bathroom. I've never been able to figure that one out.

I'm cranky today, I have lots more. What's yours?

[smf0903]

Oh Evastone, I can't do names for the life of me. I have a hard time recognizing people I've worked with for years outside of work. Been that way my whole life, I stuggle with faces and names. I love badges! but ours are so often flipped over, not intentionally, that I just wing it. Not with madeup names but simply don't use them. Makes it hard to complement or complain about someone, when you can't come up with their name.

So my peeve is at myself and those darn badges that won't stay face up!

Our badges are doubled so that if it flips over our name is still facing out. Mine would forever be flipped the wrong way of we didn't have them like this!

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

I'm not a nurse yet, so I have no nursing related ones, but I have plenty of human ones.

I really hate that people talk on their phones in public. I know this is a commonly accepted thing now, but I wish it wasn't. I don't want to hear about your lady parts smell, or that your friend Tanya looks like a fat Amy Schumer, or that you're broke. I should be able to remain blissfully ignorant about your life unless I ask for more information.

I also really hate when people leave time on the microwave. Like you put something in for 30 seconds, and take it out at 26 seconds and leave 4 seconds on the clock without clearing it. PUSH CLEAR.

Being a student, I really hate when people try to psych you out about a class. When they hear you're in chemistry and they are like "oh that class is SO hard!". Either be supportive or shut your trap. Chemistry was pretty easy for me, so there.

I also hate, as a student, when a professor gives you a lecture or outline on a chapter and then tests on stuff that's not covered in the lecture or outline.

And finally, I hate the "how do you do it all?!?" exclamations when people find out I homeschool and go to college full time. I do it because I want to. It makes me really uncomfortable when I feel like people are giving me too much credit for doing something for me.

That feels better, thanks.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Nursing and not: asking about my personal life first thing after saying "hi". How many kids, why I do not have more, where I come from, how it turned to be, how long I am married, where is my family, etc., etc. No, sorry, you are not just "curious". You are nosy, plain and simple.

I am kinda fine with using "wrong" bathroom. After all, urgency happens, we all know it. But, please, keep it CLEAN after you were granted the privilege of using staff bath.

I absolutely cannot stand people eating/drinking in the presence of another human being who is totally here and NPO. Been there, done that (meaning NPO role), it SUCKS like not many other things in life. Even worse, I guess, to come smelling as a tobacco barn to someone who is told daily about quitting it for the sake of dear life.

We really love music therapy, it is great for TBI, long weans and pretty much everyone, but please use headphones. Not everyone around you loves gospel/rap/whatever other genre you seem to enjoy so much.

Same goes for that VERY smelly lotion you just brought. And for nail polish remover, too.

Nursing: wearing pants too small a size so that, when the wearer bends, everybody sees... well, almost everything.

Asking me for help and in 5 min wondering why I am not still there. Unless it is an emergency, I'll be happy to do it right after I at least finish the task I got on my hands now.

P.S. Ruby Vee, what responce do you prefer on "thanks very much"? Just wondering:yes: I like "you're welcome".

[smf0903]

I really hate that people talk on their phones in public. I know this is a commonly accepted thing now, but I wish it wasn't. I don't want to hear about your lady parts smell, or that your friend Tanya looks like a fat Amy Schumer, or that you're broke. I should be able to remain blissfully ignorant about your life unless I ask for more information. ​

I wish I could like this a thousand times! My inlaws, who are in their mid-70's, think nothing of taking phone calls in the middle of dinner at restaurants. The cherry on top is that they never talk with the phone to their ear, it's speakerphone all the way I have to excuse myself from the table any time they do this, I think it is unbelievably rude and disrespectful. I love them to bits but I want to chuck their phone into a flaming pot of fondue every time they do this.

And thanks, by the way...now every time I hear the name Tanya I will be envisioning a fat, broke, smelly Amy Schumer wannabe

[westieluv]

Co-workers who go outside to take smoking breaks repeatedly during a shift, leaving the non-smoking staff to cover everyone's patients. This is my favorite: "I'm gonna run to the bathroom", then returning twenty-five minutes later reeking of tobacco smoke when the bathroom is within a few steps of where they were working.

Nurses who discuss their personal lives loudly at the nurses' station or make off color jokes or comments within earshot of patients and families. I used to work with a nurse who would yell out things like "Hey, why don't you take me out to dinner and a movie? I put out!" across the nurses' station where family members, doctors, and who knows who else could hear her. Very professional.

Co-workers who call off a lot (and are not dealing with illness) and cause everyone else to constantly get nagged to come in on their days off. If you don't want to work, quit your job. You don't have the right to leave holes in the schedule every time you have a party to go to.

family members who expect to be waited on as if they were the patient. "Honey, can you please bring me some pop and a cup of ice from the kitchen? Oh, and I need a blanket too." So out of line but God forbid you upset anyone who might be filling out a Press Ganey survey in the near future.

[EDnurseNY]

I have to laugh because before I even read your post, I was thinking about the nurses that "stake out" a spot for a shift. I am the one you be getting frustrated with LOL.

We have one nurse that will actually tell a physician to get off of "her" computer. It is more frustrating that she carts up front rather than back at the nurse's station.

Add me to the laughter because of something that happened at work the other day. Without getting into too much explanation of the setup of the unit, there isn't a central nurses' station. There are nurse-designated computers between/every few rooms, and in the center is where the residents, attendings, and consulting doctors each have their designated areas and computers. It's organized pretty well for our uses, as odd as it may sound. There are literally designated spots. I am also orienting as part of a group of orientees, so in my area there were two preceptors and three orientees to share three computers. A doctor from another service disregarded his (completely empty) designated section and used a nurse computer in my area, and left it logged on.

My preceptor had me kick him off when he got up, and told me she was about to tell him off. So your situation, in reverse.

[MikeyT-c-IV]

There is almost nothing that pisses me off these days. I'm getting too old to even give a flip about non-patient care issues. In regard to your posted position at the nurses station please remember in this day and age in which we are all expected to electronically communicate... sometimes you just lose your spot. Ugh... that sucks so bad! (but it would piss me off if other computers were available.)

Feet propped up at the "nurses" station... yep... completely unprofessional (and unsafe.) Same thing with cell phones... in the professionalism arena.

I TOTALLY GET patient care issues... and I capped "TOTALLY GET" because I figure it'll get under your skin if "NO PROB" get's under your skin as much as capped letters. Who cares.

I'm totally kidding as it's no prob.... but yes. I get your issues. The only thing that pisses me off is nurses that don't act proactively to provide good care. And as you know it's not so rare.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Oh Evastone, I can't do names for the life of me. I have a hard time recognizing people I've worked with for years outside of work. Been that way my whole life, I stuggle with faces and names. I love badges! but ours are so often flipped over, not intentionally, that I just wing it. Not with madeup names but simply don't use them. Makes it hard to complement or complain about someone, when you can't come up with their name.

So my peeve is at myself and those darn badges that won't stay face up!

I have the exact same problem. When I hear someone's name, I resolve to remember it, then realize I've already forgotten it. No memory for faces either. I have a great memory for all kinds of useless stuff. But not names or faces.

[Davey Do]

​What bothers me about People being rude?

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Biggest current pet peeve as it's not just rude, it's poor patient care; the nurses who allowed a resident to go 3 days without a vital pre-op med without updating the surgeon or insisting that our pharmacy deliver the med from a back-up pharmacy. Now the surgery has been delayed and guess who took the chewing out from the surgeon? Not the nurses on every shift for 3 day that did nothing.

Sadly it's not unusual for our primary pharmacy to be lax on deliveries, and sadly it is also not unusual for some nurses to do nothing about it for several shifts.

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

Things that bother me:

In a nurse's station with four or five unused computers, why does anyone have to sit down at the one I'm using, clearly marked with my scut sheet, my pen, my drink and my charting all pulled up and not finished? They take my spot, log me off (so I have to start over with any charting I didn't sign before the arrhythmia alarm jolted me out of my seat) and log in over me. Then when I return, they tell me "I didn't see your name on it." Why not just use the computer with the screensaver up and no ones stuff there?

THIS! This a hundred times. When I used to work night shift I'd have everything in front of the computer, so I could return and finish up my charting quickly after 6 AM medications. And it never failed that the early CNAs would park right at my computer, even though there were multiple unused ones. Also drove me batty when day shift came in and were so loud. After a night of dim lights and soft voices, it was jarring. The rest of the hospital came on at six except nursing. Nursing changed shift at 7. Nothing like having multiple phone calls, Drs wanting to round, and patient's going here and younder, as you're trying to wrap up.

On a personal level, I hate loud gum chewing. Makes me want to get the heck away from that person ASAP. I don't like saying anything about it, but I have on a couple of occasions. It was so distracting I couldn't work.

[kiszi, RN]

The constant interrupters during report. These are usually also the same ones who don't listen and ask you about things you've just told them.

Speaking of report, I also find it rude when I just walked on the floor and somebody hounds me to give report. Can I put my coffee down and get some report sheets at least?

Standing at the pyxis just taking your sweet time and having a conversation while there are people waiting to get in