[icunurse2007]

I work in a small community hopsital last night I encountered a problem that I dont know how to handle/////I am a new RN less than 6 months///prior experience ICU LPN 10 years....The charge nurse was a female who had been a RN for 1 year...being a new RN I went through a 2 month orientation program at my hospital with a preceptor who has been a nurse for 30 years...I was taught how to mix a IV push on a patient....this was soulumderol the new RN saw how I was mixing the IV push and told me she did not want it done like that that I needed to mix it her way...I told the chatge nurse that I had been taught by my preceptor to mix it this way and I was going to go by my preceptor instructions...I gave the IV push to the patient with no problems....The charge nurse reported me to the house supervisor abd we had a nice 20 minute winey butt meeting with the charge nurse....The house super told me THE best way to mix the IV push was to use the Nurse drug book and mix it that way....that was the way I was doing it....I work with this new RN and I have to deal with her ,,,any help on how to keep peace with this winebutt

[nursemike]

I wasn't there, so I don't mean to jump to conclusions, but your post seems to reflect a certain degree of beligerence. Well, this is a place to vent (among other things) and for all I know I might have felt pretty hostile in your place, as well--but: the best way to handle such differences of opinion is as professionally as possible. It appears that the CN was wrong and you were right, but I don't think it hurts to listen to the CN's input respectfully, then collaboratively consult your available resources, such as your drug guide or the hospital's policies and procedures. At the risk of perpetuating stereotypes, I find that women often are better at reading the unspoken parts of a conversation than many men are, so if you were thinking she was a "winebutt," she may well have picked up on that. Diplomacy is as important a nursing skill as mixing meds or placing an NG, and the best advice I can offer for getting along with this person is trying to see things from her point of view and be as open-minded and flexible as you can. I'm not saying do it wrong just to get along, and I certainly agree that if she was going to "correct" you, she should have made sure first that she was correct, but if you can find a way to look at situations such as this as a chance to both learn something together, rather than a cause to be offended or annoyed, you can feel confident that you, at least, are doing what you can to create an atmosphere of professional collaboration.
Bear in mind, too, that many tasks can be done correctly in more than one way.