In a quandary...

[hookyarnandblanket]

I am stuck between a rock and a hard place: One particular nurse at my job has a serious dislike of me, which is no big deal but she uses it as an excuse to bully me when she feels like she can get away with it.

She has put me in a position where I have been forced to practice outside my scope of practice. I reported it to a charge nurse once and the DON gave her a stern warning. She did it to me again today and did it in such a way that I could not speak up and say no without causing a huge scene in front of patients and staff.

She will find the smallest of transgressions to subtly try to bully me and today, it blew up in her face. However, she is also very manipulative and will tell and do whatever she can to the DON to keep herself out of trouble.

After today, I feel that she should be reported but I have a feeling that if I do, it isn't going to make a difference. The hospital isn't going to fire her and they won't likely punish her, either. She will know I was the one who reported her and she will make my work life a living hell and if I report her for bullying, they won't do anything about it either.

Other than reporting her to the state BON, I don't know what to do. Any way I approach this, she is going to everything she can to get me in trouble.

How do I handle this? She isn't targeting any other CNAs but me.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I'm wondering how she forced you to practice outside of your scope. Do you mean physically? Or she pressured you into it and you didn't tell her no?

This is really troubling. You are responsible for your own practice. If someone tries to get you to do something that's outside of your scope of practice, you can absolutely tell them, calmly and even in front of patients, "I'm sorry, that's not something I'm able to do as part of my job."