team working

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Apr 10, 2006

Ok...I just have a question.....when doing team nursing, your team should work as a team right??? It doesn't matter if you're the RN, LVN, or the nurse tech as long as we all work together to have a smooth and well accomplished day...But...what if one of your team mates just don't want to work as a team? How do you set the line straight? I just had a very unfair day last week with my Nurse tech....she was constantly on herr breaks and long ones too and she's nowhere to be found when needed....I had to do her job on top of mine (answering call lights, assisting patients to the BSC, refilling ice pitchers, changing bed linens)...I ended up not having any of my breaks and working overtime because I was behind with my charting and IVPB's.....Luckily my LVN was there to help me whenever she can and the night nurse who took over was kind enough to hang my 1900 IVPB's. I had one situation where one patient needed to be changed and this nurse tech was getting ready to go on her 9 AM break and I told her when she get back to change this patient ( I was assessing my other patients at this time and checking all my orders and IV meds) and after 20-30 minutes she gets back and questioned me as to why this patient was never changed and why I had to wait for her ( I frozed because I hate confrontation and I'm new to the unit)..I guess my concern is, she should have at least made sure that all patients are clean and have everything they need (ice pitcher, linens changed, bed pan etc, vitals) before she go on her morning break....Being a leader is something new to me and I don't like telling people what to do....So, can you all suggest to me how to be an effective team leader without sounding like you're bossing everyone around? Is this Nurse tech trying to manipulate me just because I'm new and testing how far I would go? How do you handle this type of situation?

Hi. I'm fairly new too-been an RN since July 2005. We have team nursing on my unit too-RN, LPN and PCA working together. I don't love telling others what they need to do either, but sooner or later you will learn to just do it because otherwise you will burn out from trying to do everything yourself because you just can't do it all! The nurse tech sounds like she is testing you since you are new and that is not acceptable. You should tell her exactly what you wrote here: that before she takes her break, she needs to make sure VS are done, and the pts have their basic needs taken care of so it doesn't all get dumped on you in addition to all your assessments, meds, IV pushes, treatments, doc calls, lab checks, family issues, etc that you alone need to do. At the beginning of the shift you should mention this to her and not let her take advantage of you. I think the more you work, the easier it gets (eventually) to feel comfortable with speaking up and asking others to do their job. She is there to do a job as you are. Good luck! :)

-Christine

HeatherLPN · Apr 11, 2006

I don't mind helping out my aides, and luckily for me, for the most part I have good ones that I can ask to do things w/o any hassles. I think part of it is the way you approach it, and part of it is the attitude of the aide. Some will get offended if you ask/tell them to take care of something no matter how you word it.

I know a few times we were having rough nights and I came across as harsh. I just made it a point to apologize to my aides at the end of their shift. Some are going to be nasty no matter what you do, b/c from what I've seen, in some facilities the aides run the place and they know it. Some like to intimidate nurses, especially new nurses or ones that are younger than them. Yeah, it might bother you, but eventually you learn to just shrug it off. Patient care is more improtant than tiptoeing around someone's ego.

wonka · Apr 12, 2006

If she's pretty set in her ways and you know that you dislike confrontation, make sure to overcommunicate your expectations and make sure that she understands them. Better to invest time upfront in communication than be left feeling frustrated!