[BigDog]

Am I the only one who gets a weird vibe from some of the techs.In previouse rad job chalked it up to people being people.All the techs seem to dispise my existence.New job new people not here long enough for it to be personell.How should I handle it

[dianah]

It's difficult to answer your question without observing you and your work environment. I know when I started in Radiology, it took 1-2 yr for the techs to warm up to me. I was the second RN they'd ever had, and as the first one was AWESOME (we worked together), I had large shoes to fill.

Are you the only RN? Are you the first RN the dept has ever had? Has the dept organization been turned upside-down re: reassigning responsibilities/tasks from techs to you? They may be feeling threatened just by your presence in the dept. My gut is, it will take time to win their confidence and loyalty. I advise tincture of time, diplomacy, professional behavior and putting the patient first at all times. There will always be some days we'll be served (and eat) Humble Pie. A good listening ear and, thinking twice before opening mouth once both help too. Be willing to learn from their experience and knowledge, too. They don't really know what the nursing scope of practice is; it's our job to advocate for our pts, making our actions and decisions evidence-based. Sometimes it IS a tightrope we walk!

Here I said I couldn't give advice without knowing more of the situation, and then I go and spout off! Perhaps I've over-stepped myself, and if so I apologize. I wish you luck in your transition. ------- D

[BigDog]

Thankyou for ear and advice I am the first nurse and many of the things you mention Ithought of just wasnt sure if i was sparanoid or what.

[DutchgirlRN]

I feel very fortunate because our techs are very friendly and treat me like one of them. I don't feel any different among them.

About 6 months ago the hospital laid off the hospital radiology nurse. CT was told to call the ER for a nurse to push Lopressor and the cath lab for a nurse to do the conscious sedations. Well that didn't go so well. The nurses who came over, came with attitude plus put their departments short while they were gone.

Their answer was to pull the nurse from the outpatient center up to the hospital from 7-3 and then from 3-7 still use the ER and cath lab nurses. This put the outpatient center in a world of hurt. The techs were having to bring back their own patients, do the histories, start the IV's, draw blood....they just couldn't do it all. The manager then had to fill in as the nurse. (There's a radiologist there in house for emergencies) Now the manager couldn't get his own work done. So they decided to replace the hospital radiology nurse.

Radiology does treat their nurses well and are respectful. I do hear that that's not the case in nearby larger hospitals where they have several radiology nurses at their disposal. I'm staying put!