I am new to this but here are my 2 biggest pet peeves:
1. The "Super Nurse". You know, the one nurse who knows that everyone else on staff is not doing anything, who charts novels, knows more than anyone and likes to think that she (or he) is the nurse of all nurses.
2. The "Super Nurse" that passes the buck when she thinks the doctor needs to be called but won't do it herself.

I'm sure every hospital and LTC has one of these.

I am a fairly new nurse and know I may take longer than others to do things but...

Nurses who always seem to have time for one hour lunches and long phone calls with family.

Nurses who always take the easiest patients (two day post ops)

Nurses who complain non stop about everyone, the hospital, the management, etc.....

Nurses who never help the CNAs no matter how busy they are.

The beep beep of an IMed machine when you are trying to fix it and it silences for a minute then starts again and you are trying to fix it and it won't work.

Patients that think that because you have put a pad on them (pull up or nappy/diaper) that they can just go in it instead of going to the toilet or calling the nurse.

Nurses that eat their young.

Nurses who bitch about patients during handover.

Nurses who pass the buck

Nurses who ask you why you did nursing as they don't like it.

PCAs hogging the linen (nurses need to make beds too, and I don't have time to run up and down the ward looking for a clean mac while you stand around talking to the other PCAs)

Pts who think that they are the only pt and should be attended to first ('No you were told that you could get up by yourself yesterday and have a wash, you do not need to be wheeled in on a komode chair')

THINGS THAT MAKE IT FUN!
Funny names on the nurse assignment board like: Spunky Sam, Naughty Natasha, Perfect PJ.
Chocolates from pts
Seeing your pts walk out with a grin on their faces after being wheeled in comatosed a month before.
The beep of an IMED.
Cheeky pts who sneek to the toilet when RIB and get stuck and have to call for you, and have a cheeky grin of their faces when you open the bathroom door.
Pts that appreciate that you are busy and they are one of 12 pts that you have today (between two nurses) and don't mind waiting for 15min for you to finish assisting them with their ADLs.

Okay - this isn't really about nurses but could just apply to any hospital staff:

People WHO WALK TOO SLOW AND DON't GET OUT OF MY WAY.
People who don't make eye contact.

Heehee. I am also one of those people who is eternally flying down hallways. More than once I've been asked where the fire is.

Nurses who conveniently don't see the orders in the chart rack.

Nurses who surf the web all night (I do not!)

(Admission of guilt: I chart novels. Always have. I love to write. I was the only nurse excited that we weren't going to electronic medical records for another year. : o )

Kim,

Just curious, why would electronic records preclude you charting novels? Isn't there a free text option? Personally, I *like* our electronic system, because not only can I chart more faster (i'm a fast typist), but I don't have to worry about my very non-nurse-like poor penmanship. Furthermore, in our system (VA), we can not only chart as much as we want, but if we want to make sure someone sees the note, we make them a co-signer and they have to at least go to the note long enough to sign it -- maybe they'll read it too!

That would be me. I am renowned as the unit 'novelist'... and I believe all the rest... at least where I am working now.

My pet peeves are people that leave insufficient records - and you have to chase up the whole story before you can actually make any use of it.

Mr. Ian:

I got deposed by two lawyers during a lawsuit one time because my charting "read like a book." My charting saved the hospital's butt. Being the unit novelist can be a burden, but someone has to do it.

MJ

Nurses who leave a mess in the patient's room and having to clean up behind them constantly: such as dressing wrappers, needle caps, trash, etc.

Making first rounds to find out all the IVF needs new bags.

Manipulative patients who make it seem that no one does anything for them, that you are the 'only' one.

Coworkers who complain all of the time but do nothing to attempt to fix the things that they complain about.

ok, that's all for now.