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.
What's rude is nurses who make fun of patient's bodies. It is cruel and distasteful. I don't want to hear you criticize someone for the size of their genitals, the shape of their nipples, or anything of this sort. I would never want a loved one to be near you! Have some compassion. Why did you become a nurse anyway?
My pet peeve is nurse's who ask for your help cleaning/bathing a patient 10 MINUTES BEFORE SHIFT CHANGE, just when you are trying to tie up your own loose ends and close out your charts, clearing your pumps, etc. Why don't they plan better and ask for help earlier?
I just love it when a sick-as-stink patient's family member repeatedly asks me to get the pt something to drink when I have repeatedly given the reasons that pt is NPO. I love it even more when after the fourth time in 20 minutes that I've explained this, the family member calls me a "********* ******," for not allowing even an ice chip. Yeah. Love that. Especially when I hear that pt died less than 5 hours later.
My other favorite is when I've been in a critical patient's room for hours and hours on end and have only left to go pee and to grab meds and other supplies to keep the patient alive, alarms are blaring from one of the four IV pumps, the vent or the monitor and my room phone is ringing me....there are bougies and blood on the floor...the patient's wife comes up to me and says, "When you get a fresh pot of coffee made, I'll take a cup. Just a little cream and sugah, but not too much, dear."
Yeah. Love that ****.
Oh. Heel. No.
One of our charge nurses has actually advised me to say "What did I just say?" when getting the same repeated question. In my case it was repeated complaints that our gang related GSW pt couldn't have unlimited visitors.
For the coffee lady...oh my. "There's a [coffee chain] on 1st floor near the lobby." Or "I won't be making coffee, just so you don't keep waiting on it..." on the other hand, depending on my mood and situation it might get a less helpful response.
I once had a stable, vented, LTACH-on-Monday TBI pt; and a young woman going into cardiogenic shock. As in, a needed chest compressions, got a balloon pump at the bedside, pushed epi and bicarb all the way down to the OR, came back on ECMO cardiogenic shock. While meeting the pharmacist just outside the room for more drugs (we'd exhausted the crash cart supply), the mom of this other guy asked "When will you be getting him into the chair? The dr said it's good for him to get in a chair." I think I said "It's not my priority right now" and disappeared back into the room.
Let me preface this by saying that this does not describe all new grads or even the majority of them, but here goes:
I hate when a brand spankin' new nurse starts working at a hands on nursing job and lets everyone around him/her know right off the bat that this type of work is beneath him/her and he/she is just marking time "wiping butts" until they can graduate as a CRNA or NP.
I mean, I know that we need CRNAs and NPs in the world, but where would we be without a huge fleet of dedicated, bedside, "butt wiping" nurses actually giving hands on care to their patients? There is nothing wrong or demeaning about providing basic comfort to sick human beings.
I do home care so mine might be different. But not being in when I show up for your appointment time and then getting a phone call saying "can you come back at 3?" No. No I can't. You've just wasted my time. I'm seeing someone else at 3. Do you do this with the plumber?
Non nursing - close standers in grocery store lines. Creeping up to me before I've paid and getting close enough so you can read my PIN number will not make me pay for my groceries and get out of your way any faster. This will only piss me off enough to start chatting with the cashier so your wait is an extra 20 seconds or so. Keep a respectable social distance please.
Rude is not doing your job and acting like I am the idiot when I try to get you to DO your job. I know sitting on your butt and playing on your phone is so much more fun.
Rude is acting like all is fine when YOU make out the assignment, but all is evil and purposeful when I make out the assignment.
Putting your feet on the chairs at the nursing station (I hate that too!)
Sitting and playing on your phone at the nurses station.
I could go on all day....lol
Oh, patients that want to order food for family members. Kind of sad, but not appropriate.
Nursing: people who answer the phone without identifying themselves or department, and conversely, people who do not listen as I identify myself and department.
Non-nursing: cashiers who continue their conversation with coworkers while ringing you up, never making eye contact through the whole transaction. And the "no problem" in lieu of "you're welcome." I once almost wrote no problem in the line for a tip at a restaurant instead of a $ amount. The service was fair, but the no problem was grating.
Ding ding ding......
I work ER, and have to call nursing homes, assisted living, etc. I say "Hi, this is HHERN, I am a nurse at Saint Hooligan's". They say "Hi, this is Mindy".
I generally ask "So, what do you do there?". People seem to think this is a weird question.
So, what's the problem with "no problem"?
Not an uncommon response in other cultures- De Nada, for example.
‘No problem', coming from a millennial's mouth, within the context of helping someone – whether it be holding a door open/picking up something someone may have dropped/etc. – and, naturally, being thanked for it, implies that the kind gesture was indeed, not a problem, that it was just the thing to do, that they were happy to help and that no thanks was really necessary.
While a Baby Boomer's ‘You're welcome' in contrast, says something miles different, it actually highlights the fact that the person went out of their way to help someone; almost brings attention to it in a way, saying 'Yeah, I helped you, I did you this favor I accept your thanks.' which, malicious intent or not, is strikingly different than the millennial downplay of their act of kindness for the sake of helping someone.
I might be an anomaly. I am a Baby Boomer (52) who says "no problem"
As with all things, somebody's tone and intention far outweighs their verbiage.
I consider helping my team to be a part of my job, not a favor. In fact, when I ask somebody, "could you do me a favor and medicate....." I really don't consider it a favor, I consider it my coworker's job. So, when I say "no problem", that is really my intention.
On the other hand, a family member just thanked me for saving a PTs life. It took 8 hrs of 1-1 scrambling, on a PT who would have been 2-1 had staffing been appropriate. I said "You are welcome. I am so happy we were able to help, and your mother is doing well." "No prob" would have really trivialized her gratitude, which was deep and sincere.
Ruby and J22- I know you are going to thank me for this clarification. No problem.
Specializes in Cardiology, School Nursing, General.
-Walking into my office demanding things-I have a 4th grader that I've trying to retrain since I started here, he walks in and yells what he wants "Ice pack" "bandaid" whatever, makes me crazy-
-Parents that berate the nurse because their special snowflake has head lice, yep it's totally my fault; in fact I sprinkled them on their head just to inconvenience you!
-Teachers who constantly question my nursing judgement or make diagnosis- snowflake coughs r/t allergies and walks in saying "My teacher said that I have pneumonia"
I swear to god you might be having my same expereince as well. I'm not a nurse, but a medical aide.
-I had a kid come in yelling at me, "I got sneezed on, I might be contagious!" He is known as a drama king here.
-This kid has type 1 diabetes and on the diabetic plan if the child is above 160 in BG, I have to call mom and notify her, she doesn't like this one bit. But his BG has been running from 300 to 400 lately and mostly because of poor diet (mcdonalds everyday for lunch).
-A kid told me his teacher told him he had chickenpox because he had bug bites all over his skin...
Rude is a family member who continually speaks for the patient, sometimes even speaking over the awake, alert & oriented patient's voice. Including but not limited to: demanding pain meds for the quietly sleeping patient, pushing the pain pump button after explicit instructions not to, subjecting the healthcare team to interminable monologues on THEIR personal medical history, and, as illustrated by a recent thread, announcing over & over that they too are "in healthcare."
True story: patient's 20-something daughter at bedside, being totally obnoxious with unnecessary questions, unnecessary bustling around the bedside, etc. All while wearing blindingly white, fresh out-of-package scrubs. I did not bite and did not ask daughter what part of healthcare she worked in. Night nurse tucking patient in that night asks patient where in healthcare does daughter work? Big sigh from patient. "She doesn't. She just bought those scrubs to make you think she does." Which is both crazy & kinda sad, now that I write it out.
Or the complete opposite family member that wont let you medicate a family member bc they will either get "hooked on it" or "morphine kills hospice patients!"
Even though they are 95 years old we dont want to create a drug problem or perhaps give too much morphine WHEN THEY ARE ACTIVELY DYING!
Sad sad sad... alot is created from media. All the warnings on Fentanyl patches one week and residents remove them or decide they want it dcd than complain 2 days later about diarreah, runny nose, rls and insomnia!!
I hate to say i told you so but...lol😂
I want to say your 90 years old in a med controlled environment. You do not need to worry about becoming an addict!
Another thing is the nurse that withholds pain meds when a patient clearly needs them. I hear in report "they didnt ask for it." Well thats bc they are actively dying!!! Nothing grinds me up more than that is to have a nurse that doesnt want to overmedicate the dying hospice patient! "I didn't want to snow them." REALLY??? They are dying!
So now i have to spend my entire shift running comfort meds to the rooms at the end of the hall (always seems to be the farthest rooms for some reason) and back every hour to get Mr. Doe's resp rate down to under 20 from the 38 i started with at the beginning of my shift bc "he didnt ask for it!"
People CONSISTANTLY asking ALL the time if im going back to school for my RN! After almost 10 years of hearing it i want to scream when someone asks. And they ask alot. Oh your only an LPN? Are you going back to school?
NO
Than they look confused like its some mandatory thing you have to do. So than its expected to explain why.
I happen to like being an LPN, I make a competitive wage and want to help my children pay for college expenses not create more for me to go! At my age i would probably never break even with wage increase vs. college tuition. An old coworker got a position at a local ltc facility as a new grad lpn to rn and only is making one dollar more than I an hour! Definitely not worth the time, effort and expense at this point in my life. So i am not going to be an rn at least anytime soon! Lol
You aren't!! and I was just living this on Sunday. Walking down the aisle and the guy sees me - like, even makes eye contact, and he and his cart are just parked right in the middle of the aisle with his bratty kids handing all over both sides of the cart. Not once, but TWICE he did this. I said excuse me like 4 times to this guy. After the fourth time, I just moved his cart for him. GRRRR!
Remember those Wheelies? Real popular a while back, now less so, but they still are around (shoes where the kid does something - bangs them at an angle, or some other arcane thing - and wheels pop out, turning the shoes into rollerskates?). And the parent ignores the kid, or kids that are suddenly zooming through the confines of the store, almost crashing into painful, slow jointed me. That really ticks me off. Now I shop at the roller derby? Watch your sweet little pumpkins! They're dangerous!
RNexplorer
58 Posts
What's rude is nurses who make fun of patient's bodies. It is cruel and distasteful. I don't want to hear you criticize someone for the size of their genitals, the shape of their nipples, or anything of this sort. I would never want a loved one to be near you! Have some compassion. Why did you become a nurse anyway?