They are laughing at the patients

Nurses General Nursing

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Saturday I worked with the worst crew. The staff at the desk was yukking it up all day. You can hear them from all the way down the hall- laughing, joking, a few cuss words thrown in here and there. I can hear them making fun of one of the patients because they can smell her stool from the desk. The aide goes on break 2 hours into the shift and is sitting there eating donuts and ignoring call lights.

Their attitude seems to be contagious and next you know PT is over there yukking it up and not doing their job. Then you have an LPN mosey over there and sit while her RN is busy trying to help one of their patients who is vomiting and blowing PVC's. I ask the aide to help out a patient while I get vitals and settle in a new admit (she is supposed to do this- but cannot seem to understand that she is supposed to be working) as she goes to put said patient on a bedpan she makes a joke about gluing the bedpan to her behind. I ask LPN to assist her RN. She rolls her eyes to the others and slowly makes her way down the hall-for now.

So me and the other RN are running our butts off. We both explain to the aide her duties and responsibilities. She agrees to help out more- then can be found back at the desk yukking it up while call lights are lit up like a Christmas tree. There are now 5 staff members at the desk- while 2 RN's work their butt of on the floor. Supervisor called but cannot come down because she is tied up. Continues like this most of shift.

I am discouraged, I am disgusted. I am not a martyr but I believe that we are here to help our patients and to do our job. I have been accused of being to serious at work by these very people. I do not have time to sit with them- I do not want to sit with them- and I know they can feel this.

At the end of the day- their are 2 RN's in the supervisors' office with incidents report in hand. I hope supervision takes them seriously. I hope our patients are getting better care and the last laugh today.

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Sorry to hear you had such a bad shift. Where is the manager in all of this?!?

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Its a Saturday, where else is the manager? Home. I know that is not fair of all managers, but for the majority.

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Yes, she was home. Before I wrote this thread I was wondering if today-Monday, she was going to do something about this. We have lost a lot of staff since I started working. Our new staff members seem to think this type of behavior is acceptable, and why wouldn't they, it is tolerated. So the good ones keep leaving, and the new ones seem to think this is the standard of care for our patients. We are in serious trouble and our hospital has a bad reputation in the community. On Saturday it seemed to me and the other RN that we were outnumbered. Isn't that sad to feel that way? It is like junior high sometimes. You could hear the F word in their conversations from like 50 feet away. Very very sad.

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Yes, very sad and very unprofessional. It is an issue that should be addressed with the manager and if not handled at that level then at the next level (DON). There is no reason for that behavior and certainly no circumstances for cursing. I would not only do incident reports, but I would write up the people involved. Do not worry about being the "bad person", you are there for patient comfort, safety and that includes patient dignity.

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This is something that bothers me on two levels.

I was a patient on CBR (no BRP) for 6 weeks followed by a classical c/s, the prematurity, an infection, an extended recovery, blah, blah, blah. I finally one day ambulated all the way to the nurses station to show off my new independence, and got there just in time to hear the nurses talking about what a whiney patient I was. I was so sad and hurt at first and just hobbled back to my room. Then got angry and called the patient advocate to complain.

I don't have any problems calling fellow nurses on that kind of behaviour now.

I asked my NT to do something recently. She sat on the phone for another 10-15 minutes then chatted at the nurses station for 35 minutes more. I wrote a note to my boss about it.

The best things to do in these situations if you can't speak up yourself, is to put it on paper.

Talking about frustrating patients can be somewhat theraputic and a form of venting and bonding for nurses. We are just human afterall. But it absolutely must occur in the report room with the door closed IF it has to occur at all.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

I worked on a floor where the Charge RN (myself) worked like a dog, while other people relaxed.

On my new floor I vowed to be a better RN. To grow some big brassy balls and use them. I refuse to work on a floor and be an RN without the support of my support team. Just this week I had a full assignment and asked another nurse to take another patient. I had to take the patient myself because she had every reason not to so she said. (Taking admissions is always negotiable with me.) Not one hour later she was playing video games, and continued to play long after what might have been her 30 minute break. Believe you me, my big brass balls came out and I used them. She was very sorry she didn't take that patient because not only did she hear from me, the next day the manager heard about it from me. Thank goodness I have a supportive manager who gave her warning about lack of teamwork.

It's up to you as RNs in charge of the patient care to stop this kind of behavior. (Or you could do as I did and move on to a better place.)

Remember as the wise one sjoe says: We will get as much crap as we take.

Best wishes.

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Tweety you are right. I need to grow some "BBBs". I think I am starting to grow some but mine are still small. I have been a nurse for almost a year now and I am just now getting some confidence. At first I did not want to make trouble- I would usually just vent and whine on this BB. This is the first time I put it in writing and made sure I verbalized the problem and had the other RN do the same for impact. I just have to accept the fact that some people are not going to like me and that is hard because when I was growing up I was taught to "be a good girl" and to always be pleasant and sweet. So it is kind of a conflict for me. When you grow up like that you learn to be more passive-aggressive and this is a trait that I have outgrown both personally and professionallly. So I am learning to whine less and to be more direct and constructive. Thanks for the input. I have got to get off this BB and get something done today before my day is shot. I am just going to put it out of my mind and stop worrying about the fact that I made waves. I did what I had to do, I will do it again next time and I will not feel guilty. And thanks again for the response.

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Sounds disgusting. I run in to the same thing all the time. Only problem is I have no one to back me up.

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sounds like the last 11 months i spent in my last job. manager was deaf, dumb, and blind to all complaints. as long as the work was done in some way, and complaints were stopped before the got to don, she was happy. there have been over 20 nurses leave this floor in less than 2 years. no one bothers to find out why. i am still looking for a job, after the holidays i hope to have a position, i will be very watchful for this type of behavior. if they do this then i will report it, then if it continues, out the door i will go. travel nursing is looking better all of the time.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

THis kind of attitude can be seen in everyone-cna's,lpn's,rn's and on to some supervisors and administrators....You can report poor care and you can try to set a good example by giving your best care and your respect to all......If you are not the charge nurse try not to waste your good positive energy-just take care of your patients until you find another job in a place with a better atmosphere....I know what you are talking about-I gave report to the RN following me yesterday and told her about a problem resident...Her response was" He's a pain in the ass" A poor bedridden end stage Parkinson's guy with a funky decube and a g-tube....He is someone's loved one,right? I can't change her-I can't control her actions...all I can do is play some music for him,give him his pain meds in a timely fashion and throw in some extra mouth care and hand holding....I just recently became the charge nurse on this unit and the staff are remarking that I am "uplifting" the atmosphere.....That's my goal...I can only improve my little corner of the world and hope my attitude is infectious but some people are just azz holes.....

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I as well have been put in the same position many times. I am known as a "strict, bosy" nurse. It doesn't bother me, for I know what I need to say and do to get the aides to preform. Lately, I only have to give them a disapproving look to get them up and working. It doesn't bother me what they may say behind my back, for they know what job they have been hired in to do. They snarl, at times respond with inappropriate comments, but they do what I ask, for they know I will check to make sure it's done. If I come across an aide that just "doesn't get it", I counsel her first, then if that doesn't help, I write it up and let the DON handle it. Post the DON speaking with the employee she or he still doesn't "get it", and if she or he still continues with inadequate care or comments, I'll write them up for each incident. I am a busy nurse. I work the floor right along with my aides. If help is needed lifting, or any type of ADL care, they know they can always ask me for help. I worked as an aide for years prior to becoming a nurse, so I can do the "grunt" work with no problem and I don't mind doing it. I don't spend unwarranted time behind the desk, and I don't allow them to do it either.

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