Out of Control DON

Specialties Geriatric

Published

Our LTC recently aquired a new DON, everyone was excited when she came to work in our facility, as we had been without a DON for a couple of months. As it turns our our new found joy has turned into a nightmare, this woman is disrespectful, rude, condesending and belittles me every chance she gets. I am the day/evening RN supervisor and new to LTC environment, I am feeling bullied, harassed and had to call my Administrator to discuss her accusation that I failed to put in my dismissal note for the resident that was sent out to the hospital and that I need to notifty her at home when this happened, wow, even though my ADON, Administrator were present at the facility, along with the Dr who was there doin rounds, then she proceeded to tell me that most nurses in my position have had alot more floor experience in a facility than what I have had (this call was made to me on my day off, on a Saturday and YES, I did put my nursing note into the system)....REALLY!!!...was so ticked, this is only one incident of many since her arrival, others in the facility are having the same issues with this DON...proud to say I have the ADON in my corner and the Administrator has been pleased with my performance....Scheduled Monday for pow-wow, with all admin to discuss issues at hand...advise would be appreciated.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Peds, Ortho, LTC and MORE.

Start by preparing yourself to confront the real issue.

Keep the discussion as rational and factual as possible. Be able to state the issue in one (or two), non-emotional, factual based sentences.

Tell him/her what you need from him/her in terms of direction, feedback and support. Be polite and focus on your needs.

Ask the DON how you can help him/her reach his/her goals. Make sure you listen well and provide the needed assistance.

Say what you want to say (the confrontation), then just allow the other person to respond.

Your boss is unlikely to change; he/she can choose to change, but the person who shows up to work every day has taken years and years of effort on his/her part to create. And, who your boss is has worked for his/her in the past and reinforced his/her actions and beliefs. Instead of trying to change your boss, focus instead, on trying to understand your boss's work style.

Identify what he/she values in an employee. Does he/she like frequent communication, autonomous employees, requests in writing in advance of meeting, or informal conversation as you pass in the hallway. Your boss's preferences are important and the better you understand them, the better you will work with him/her.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

HOw did it go?

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Life is good :-)

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Not well...Administrator failed to address any of my concerns or anyone elses for that matter, and DON's behavior continued. This week, the shift coordinator, ADON and myself all resigned!!!...After next friday she will be the only RN in the building...karma baby!!!...geesh, hopefully someone will apply for all those job openings...lol

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Hopefully, she will learn something!

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