To tattle tale or not tattle tale... that is the question.

[bluesky]

Hey all.

There are quite a few nurses on my unit who have scored points with management and made a select group of other nurses look pretty bad by ratting out on them about pretty small insignificant stuff like so and so didn't date her lines or so and so didn't put one assessment in the computer for q 1hr neuro checks or so and so didn't have time to change her lines (because, well so and so admitted a 1:1 pt at 17:30 while still keeping the other stable pt anyway) and then there's always the arcane so and so didn't follow SICU protocol z even though she used critical thinking to solve the problem and advised the residents immediately, etc.

I've NEVER been a snitch for little stuff that didn't compromise the pt. As such, I have ended up protecting a few of the nurses who have now turned into snitch nurses. They are well respected not because they don't make mistakes but because the rest of us aren't petty enough to report them.

Well at any rate there are quite a few of them on my unit and I don't want to start biyatching about them but I'm tired of helping them look squeeky clean at the expense of others including myself and my friends.

Lately, one of my friends received a pretty crappy eval because of this phenomenon. She's more over it than I am... but my strong sense of justice is not letting me let go.

Any thoughts?

[lmpotter]

Your daughter is the exception and you know that and your daughter probably doesn't have the typical girl type behaviors of gossip and hanging out in Cliques either, I commend you on raising a well rounded young lady, and I personally raised my daughter the same, because I didn't want her to grow up and participate in those types of behaviors that this thread has identified from my female peers.

I'm not sure. Barbie was banned in my house and sports was emphasized.

My daughter never played with Barbie. She is an athlete. She played soccer starting at 6. She now plays volleyball and basketball and softball. She is an expert on skiis and also on a snowboard.

But, when she entered junior high school - the clique stuff and gossip stuff and backstabbing stuff got serious . ...

I've worked with lots of guys who gossiped and tattletaled . .. .

I'm not sure what to think . ...

steph :)

[traumahawk99]

i think males view the behavior as "unmanly". i'd confront someone if there was a serious problem. going to management would be a last resort.

as a guy, your best bet is to do your job and interact in a professional way, without much disclosure about your personal life/values. in this female dominated profession, there are a lot of women on power trips. and it does seem unique to nursing, imo. i don't know why the profession attracts that sort, but it sure seems to.

best bet is to duck it. the hard core authoritarian types don't even get eye contact from me. fortunately, in a couple of years i'll have my mba and my patient interaction days will be over :)

[LydiaNN]

I agree with you MrRNman, women are the main participants in this type of "tattle tale" behavior. But I believe that it is not because it is a mostly female field but rather it is because men are and always will be more of the "Team" type players and approach work the same way. Women (girls) traditionally learn to play games and participate in play that is focused on individual...ie Barbie, house, dress up, so they don't learn to play well with others. Men (boys) rarely participate in play that is focused on individual, but rather they spend their entire lives participating in "TEAM' sports, and learn early the successs of working well as a team, even if they don't particularlly like the other boys they play with, the focus is always the team. I believe that this carries over to their adult life and that is why women in any field struggle to "play well with others", and really, it is not just limited to nursing. Women participate in this type of behavior even in male dominate professions, it is just not as easily received or rewarded as in nursing, because there is not many other participants in the behavior. Oh, and I think I know this first hand.....I am a Woman!

I'm a woman, too, and I certainly don't believe this is true at all. I enjoyed playing with Barbies, but I was also active in sports. There is room for both types of activities in the childhood of a young girl. In fact, enjoying different types of activiities is part of being well rounded. I think men have as many, if not more, problems in "playing nicely with others" when it comes to work related behavior.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I would love to see this NOT be a male versus female thing. I was in the military in a 90% male shop, and believe me, the same sort of backstabbing, gossipy stuff happened there among the men I worked with........

Boys will be boys----girls will be girls. Me??? Well, I want to work with ADULTS; gender matters not to me.

[mysticalwaters1]

I understand what you are saying, but you missed my specific point. If the medication route had been clear early in this patients admission, this whole situation would have been avoided. This nurse would have no glossed over details over which to write an incident report.

Take this as a learning experience, about being detail orientated and about the character of this nurse. If you have ever worked in a teaching facility, then you know it is up to the nurses to educate the interns on writing for pain, sleep, and laxative meds. Saves a lot of stress and calling afterhours. I sort of look at this situation as like that. Everyone had a chance to learn from this incident.

You say this nurse talks to MD, well step up to the plate and talk to him too. I would want to make this MD, HN, and CN aware of my actions.

No I got it 100% your point. And that's why I'll never do it again or rather if there is a disagreement just clarify it to prevent all this garbage. My original complaint was this nurse specifically sabatoges other people to pep herself up which is very shallow but as you pointed out I let it get like that by openining up a problem. I still feel it was iv which is why I did it like that but just even 1 person disagreeing with my interpretation, I'll clarify it no matter what. And I do clarify orders at various times but you know for once I stood my ground and look what happened. But you know the secretary and the pharmacist disagreed so that was not even just 1 person but 2. The flags went off in my brain but I was so adament that it was iv I got very frustrated. Well learned big lesson. That's why there are several people involved with reading the orders to make sure it is correct. As far as talking to doctors I do and say what I feel is needed for whatever the situation is. I just do not want to bring them in with our own ridiculous disputes unless it's necesary. I have not heard anything from my manager about this doctor or the writeup which I would have heard by now. The iv order still stands even today.

Even more frustrating is that is my trademark on my floor...detailed. Well I know learn and get over. Ok i'll stop it. I tend to dwell on things too much. I'm having nightmares about this now mixed with aliens from the famous alien movies with sigourney weaver chasing me really it's got to stop or rather I need to chill.

[mattsmom81]

This isn't male female stuff..IMO is it environmental. Do women succumb more easily...maybe. Are men immune to it? NO.

[BETSRN]

yea i know! And I will. I don't want people thinking i'm making up my own thing. I really don't. I saw IV and I'm getting really upset b/c what I am finding out NOW is supposedly the md did write/want iV and this nurse SPECIFICALLy asked the dr for po to write it up as an error. What I'm getting at is I really hope she didn't do it that way but the charge nurse talked to me and she said the doctor meant IV to begin with. I'm getting 2 different stories. The 2nd one is from a very good detailed nurse. And that's what's upseting me. To think it was iv and then this nurse who talks with mds to get different orders and act like a big shot specifically got it po when what I'm getting now supposedly he did mean iv.

People can look at it this post and think i'm trying to avoid responsibility. No I know. Really but recently with this nurse i really do not know what she is up too.

This obviously bothers you a lot. Why not go to the physician and ask him directly? Then you'll know. Then frop it and get on with life. if it makes you eel better to approach this particular nurse, do it.

However, regardless of the outcome of all of this, that med order should have been clarified on admission. So you wake the doc. Too bad. That's what he gets paid for!