Stupid things that bosses have you do

[JB2007, ASN, RN]

I have been told that I just have to do something completely stupid many times because State is coming soon, but today just about made me blow my top. I was told to "start kissing this resident butt and that residents family collective butts because they are malcontents and we do not want them complaining to the state". My jaw dropped and once I collected my wits I told my boss that I would not kiss anyones butt let alone those particular peoples' butts. I told her that I will give my residents the best possible nursing care that I can give and the attention that they need. I have 30 residents to care for and I do not have time to cater to a few rotten apples. I told her that is where I draw the line and she needed to get me off of that miserable unit ASAP. Nobody wants to work it because you work twice as hard as any other hall in the facility. I was told this by several other nurses. I honestly can not take this crap anymore!!! I do not kiss their butts what on earth makes these people think that I will do this to keep a few miserable people from complaining!!! These are the type of people that looks for reasons to complain and the higher ups plan will not work. I think it is time to look very seriously for a new job. Am I being completly unreasonable here? Thanks for reading this post.

[caliotter3]

The sad thing about putting forth this kind of effort is that the resident or family will most likely complain anyway.

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

I had a patient not that long ago who I had for three shifts out of four in a row b/c no one else wanted to deal with her. I just found out she complained to my unit manager b/c I told her, when she asked what would happen if she continued to refuse treatment, that death was a possible outcome. It was the truth, and not farfetched at all; the doc told her the same thing. So I got to get a lecture on how I approach patients. I've had a whopping THREE complaints from patients or family members over five years, seems like that's a pretty good track record to me and I could have been spared the lecture. Made me want to

[texastaz]

My heart goes out to you. I have yet to beable to come up with a positeve way to express to staff that perhaps I would also like that warm little kiss. It hasn't ever been about me not doing my job - but if they want more - so do I.

[Pooksmom1996]

No, you are not being unreasonable. You are a professional, and should be treated as one.

Best wishes to you!

Pooksmom

[oramar]

Totally unreasonable request, got to be a little nuts to say that to someone.

[soulofme]

Give em a hershey kiss and tell them to sit on it...there, U kissed their butt....

[changeofpaceRN]

Whatever happened to treating everyone equally? If the care is adequate, let them complain!

[Pooksmom1996]

I feel for you-I know of a situation in a LTC facility in my area where a resident's wife is always complaining about her husband's care. The worst part is, she is not only reports the real mistakes, but she also twists the truth to try to get people suspended or fired. The management takes her at her word, without even asking the staffperson if the claims are true.

[Midwest4me]

Give em a hershey kiss and tell them to sit on it...there, U kissed their butt....

Now THAT is funny! Thank you--I needed that today.

[3boysmom3]

I had a patient not that long ago who I had for three shifts out of four in a row b/c no one else wanted to deal with her. I just found out she complained to my unit manager b/c I told her, when she asked what would happen if she continued to refuse treatment, that death was a possible outcome. It was the truth, and not farfetched at all; the doc told her the same thing. So I got to get a lecture on how I approach patients. I've had a whopping THREE complaints from patients or family members over five years, seems like that's a pretty good track record to me and I could have been spared the lecture. Made me want to

Ain't it the truth? With HCAPS scores now, hospitals can suffer financially from Medicare if patients who are surveyed after discharge don't give glowing satisfaction scores. Wonder if that'll even amp up the "kiss up" directives!

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

UGH, I cannot STAND attitudes like this. :angryfire I don't treat ANYONE any differently, and constantly complaining about asinine crap is going to work against you, if anything, certainly not IN your favor. GRRR. The patients that are going to get more TLC from me are the ones that obviously have very little or NO family, and haven't been well taken care of at home and NEED that little bit of extra comfort, not the other way around! Good grief.

I remember a while back we had a patient that we were told was, uh, "VIP." (we don't see that very often, I don't live in a very big city or a *famous* locale or anything like that). His family owns one of the largest companies in the area (so, they have CHING) and he's on the hospital board. (My reaction?....big flippin' hairy deal). He was also the whiniest, biggest baby I've dealt with in a LONG time. We were told to spend extra time with him, and treat him with "kid gloves." Oh, BS. You're a grown man, so suck it up, babes. Being rich and on the board gives you NO more right than anyone else to getting good care from me....you're not going to get any less, but it's not going to be more....I give the best care I can to everyone (and so do the bulk of my colleagues, for real, I work with a great team), and I can say that honestly, so what did our admin want from me/us?

In turn, NORMALLY we are not supposed to accept gifts, etc from patients, but administration approved his gifts to the staff members that took care of him, which were gift certificates to a local pub/restaurant. He gave them to quite a list of people (he had quite an extended stay), so no doubt he spent a lot of money to do that. Now, don't think I'm unappreciative of the gesture, but I also don't understand why he got away with being able to do that, when other patients would be told they can't give such gifts to staff, and normally we're told we can't accept them? If he comes back as a patient, is he REALLY going to expect better treatment since he "paid us off" last time?

Sorry to go off on the rant.......I hate this kind of thing (obviously, right?).