Anti-intellectual & hyper-sensitive. WHY?

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I hold the perspective that, regardless of the quality of the orientation/training one receives, it is ultimately the individual nurse's responsibility to know how to perform his or her own job duties. It sounds like you are training her well, but, if she is not receptive to learning, she needs to be held accountable. I hope your manager holds that perspective too. I had managers that catered to whomever ran to them wining first. I hope that is not the case for you. If it is, I think it may serve you well to have a heart-to-heart with your manager & document frequently on any unprofessional behavior you see from the nurse. Most people eventually dig their own graves. Case managers should be so skilled in documentation! Her attitude is stunting her growth both professionally & personally; it's pitiful, really.

op. you may need to just let her do everything wrong then let the drs and management confront her and be blamed for never telling her. i cant not stand working with cry babies like this and it is a major reason why i HATE orienting peopke. it is to the point where very few nurses on my unit want to do it and we pretty much are forced to. if you tell anyone (even in a super nice way that she did something incorrectly or not a way a certain dr likes it , she will go crying to managment). whahwhahwha that nurse is a bullly! unless it will directly harm a pt, sometimes these people have enough rope to figuratively hang themselves . if someone is aplroachful i will say oh fyi that dr likes it this way ir you didnt chart this correctly, if they are defensive and confrontational about it, i ignore it .

Specializes in Transitional Care, Home Care.

Something about this post is off. If you communicated your criticism constructively why did she "run crying" to the supervisor? Are you sure you came off the way you though you came off? Did your disdain for her poor writing abilities come through to her like it's coming through to us?

I don't know I wasn't there, but this story seems a bit odd.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 20,908 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I think it started when they stopped keeping score at kids' soccer games and gave ALL the kids a trophy!

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ7Kjvi6k_b9yp6hjE92GMZ-uWzk4e31tQVwTV5LKO3LMLkn9Jpcw I couldn't agree more.

Specializes in ER, IICU, PCU, PACU, EMS.

Well, you gave her constructive criticism regarding her poor documentation in order for her to avoid being called out as an example in meetings and to avoid the "fussiness" of the readers of her notes.

As a trainer, I would document that the topic was reviewed with the trainee. If she decides to not heed your advice/ mentoring then let her suffer the unpleasant consequences. She will either improve her documentation or receive whatever the outcome is to poor communication. It's her decision and responsibility - you've done your part.

I guess some people need to experience it and learn on their own and some people learn from other's mistakes.

psu_213, BSN, RN

3,878 Posts

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

While I agree with the sentiments of "let this person do her thing and then she is confronted by docs, managers, etc.," the problem is then it reflects poorly on the person doing the training. Also, as I said before, when she is confronted she will probably blame the person orienting her ("I did this all along and she always said it looked good; never that it had to be revised!"). Take an example of her notes to the boss. If they don't have a problem with it, and allow her to go it on her own--their problem, not yours. If someone is bringing poorly written notes to a staff meeting, I am guessing they are going to do something to correct a CM who continues to write poor notes even after she has be instructed time after time in proper procedure.

Until then, give it your best, and don't take her "b***h nurse" comment seriously.

klone, MSN, RN

14,786 Posts

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Something about this post is off. If you communicated your criticism constructively why did she "run crying" to the supervisor? Are you sure you came off the way you though you came off? Did your disdain for her poor writing abilities come through to her like it's coming through to us?

I don't know I wasn't there, but this story seems a bit odd.

I'm guessing the OP was possibly a little more brusque and impatient than she portrayed in her post. Or perhaps she doesn't realize that she comes off as brusque or impatient.

Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
I will see ADNs returning fire when they have been attacked for being uneducated or lacking proper preperation for "professional" nursing.

And the insistence that we alllllll need a BSN when they have no earthly idea about regions of the US, or the educational makeup of our own individual facilities, etc. They got a BSN, great! I don't really need one right now to be a floor nurse, pass meds and wipe butts (don't they have people passing meds now that have a cute little certificate they got in 6 months or something? But I need a bachelor's degree?) but when I do need one I'll be sure to let all y'all know that you finally won. On the other hand I'll let you know when I'm a floor manager with an ASN, or an expert witness charging $300 per hour. But right now I'm just a low functioning moron with a "community college degree."

Apologize, slightly off topic.

psu_213, BSN, RN

3,878 Posts

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I'm guessing the OP was possibly a little more brusque and impatient than she portrayed in her post. Or perhaps she doesn't realize that she comes off as brusque or impatient.

I tend to believe the OP.

This situation isn't exactly the same, but it is somewhat analogous: An "admission nurse" (someone who goes in to see pt's in the ER who are being admitted, complete their med rec, etc.) went is to do the admission work on a patient. The patient's ER nurse (we'll call her Marcy) was charting on another patient when the admission nurse came out and told Marcy that her pt needed to use the bed pan, but that she (the admission nurse) would do it for her. Marcy said, "oh no, I can handle it." As the admission nurse is walking back toward the room she say "no, don't worry about it...I've got it." She proceeds to put the pt on/take her off the bed pan...no incidents. I looks over and see Marcy quietly crying. I ask here "oh, no, what's wrong?" Marcy says to me "that nurse is so pushy, she's insinuating I can't do my job...she is just a total b***h." Now Marcy didn't run off the manager about it, but this true story illustrates how a simple thing can be taken way out of proportion. The admission nurse is one of the kindest people around. I saw the entire interaction. There is no way the admission nurse was trying to imply anything negative about Marcy and her nursing abilities, and yet it was blown way out of proportion by Marcy.

Long and short of it, it does not surprise me that this nurse (from the first post) was so offended by something innocent...as in the situation I just described. And, well, she has to learn how to write proper notes as a CM. Sometimes this means somebody have to be the one to disrupt someone's perfect image of themselves. I just think she (the new CM) couldn't handle it and she need to run crying to someone.

Laurie52

218 Posts

Specializes in SICU/CVICU.

And the insistence that we alllllll need a BSN when they have no earthly idea about regions of the US, or the educational makeup of our own individual facilities, etc. They got a BSN, great! I don't really need one right now to be a floor nurse, pass meds and wipe butts (don't they have people passing meds now that have a cute little certificate they got in 6 months or something? But I need a bachelor's degree?) but when I do need one I'll be sure to let all y'all know that you finally won. On the other hand I'll let you know when I'm a floor manager with an ASN, or an expert witness charging $300 per hour. But right now I'm just a low functioning moron with a "community college degree."

Apologize, slightly off topic.

My goodness, I do much more as a nurse. I assess my patient, intervene as needed and evaluate both the nursing and medical interventions. That would be in addition to"passing meds and wiping butts". I will omit my next sentence because it was too snarky:)

allnurses Guide

nursel56

7,078 Posts

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
*** I was with you until I read this. What suprises me is that I am a frequient AN reader and poster. Pretty much every day I am on AN now that I get it on my phone. I read dozens of posts here every day and I never see what you describe above. I will see ADNs returning fire when they have been attacked for being uneducated or lacking proper preperation for "professional" nursing. Funny how two different people will see things so differently. I was convinced that you were right in the OP and that you were dealing with an oversenstive nurse. Now I am not so sure that your side of the story is the accurate one.

I think being defensive about one's choices being attacked (or perceived to be attacked) is a human trait that spans all ranges of intellect and achievements in formal education and tiers of the job market. An example of that would be when an anesthesia resident disparages an SRNA. You'll likely see them get their back up just as the LPN/ADN does when it happens here.

I did want to say that mclennan's approach to the new nurse was just about perfect. Usually when these kinds of job conflicts happen it's easy to see how both can be at fault for things going south. Not this time, though. She might be a great nurse and a quick learner, but the chip on the shoulder and over-investment in ego-strokes might not make that matter in the long run.

Specializes in CCM, PHN.

Chee, thanks for all the hearty and passionate discussion and replies!

I really, really wish I could say I was too brusque and critical of this new CM, because then this would be easy. I'd just admit it, feel like a horse's butt, and apologize - and this would be solved.

The whole reason I posted is precisely because I *absolutely, positively and totally* made a CONCERTED effort to be kind and tactful with this nurse in coaching her documentation. I could sense she was going to bristle at any kind of feedback......so I was super lighthearted. I tried to crack jokes and make it about company policy and nitpicky managers & doctors and NOT about her awful writing.

Those of you in doubt, I am positive you'd be just as appalled as I was. Seriously, it looked like this: "pt s/p RTKA dc home 2/18 w/WV & ivabx niece dpoa polst signed rx recon completed w 0 chgs hh to do WC 2qwk fu w pcp 1wk." Our company has an entire post-discharge questionnaire that requires a narrative, SOAP, and a lot of specifics, and abbreviations are verboten. Sure, many of us can read that and know what it means, but Case Management charting is different. Hospice admission secretaries, social workers, families, "lay people" outside the immediate clinical realm read this stuff. She comes from a world where only clinical professionals read charts, and that's not the case with our company.

I don't take the name she called me personally. My disgust comes from the whole idea. Here is an experienced nurse in her early 40s who has no humility. She can't handle being in a position of knowing less than another person and having to learn. No humbleness, no receptiveness. Just blind insecurity masked with false confidence.

And I wouldn't have posted this, but honestly, I've seen this pervasive attitude of defensive arrogance grow like cancer in this profession, it gets worse with every round of applicants. Feeling praised, worthy, and stroked is more important to so many over learning, mentorship, and knowledge. The ones especially guilty of this empty defiance are usually the ones with a guilty conscience or self-loathing over their own shortcomings. It's such a shame. She's a great nurse, I can tell she's great with patients - they love her too! But great nurses are as great nurses do, and DOING includes getting along well with other nurses. And charting considerately!!

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