Nurse Mobbing/bullying

Nurses Relations

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:balloons: I am new to the forum and would like to get feedback from others who have experienced mobbing/bullying/harassment in the healthcare field. Please share so others might learn more about this issue that needs further exploration.

I had a crazy woman coworker in a new job like Blackcat99. Maybe the same one...LOL...she threw a rollodex at me when I asked her a legit question (she was supposed to be orienting me).The rest of the staff scattered, not wanting to be a witness. I had to call my DON, tell her what happened, and quit on the spot. Should have called the cops but like I said...no witness.

The sad thing is somebody on this forum actually asked me what I did to cause that. This is what is wrong with too many nurses IMHO.

If only more nurses would speak up and stick together. Love the stories here where the nurses DID stick together against a bully, but I haven't seen it happen in my parts. :(

I liked this one, too...but I wanna know who picked the chart up?

:chuckle I guess she picked up the chart after she threw it at me. I know I didn't pick it up.

I had a crazy woman coworker in a new job like Blackcat99. Maybe the same one...LOL...she threw a rollodex at me when I asked her a legit question (she was supposed to be orienting me).The rest of the staff scattered, not wanting to be a witness. I had to call my DON, tell her what happened, and quit on the spot. Should have called the cops but like I said...no witness.

The sad thing is somebody on this forum actually asked me what I did to cause that. This is what is wrong with too many nurses IMHO.

If only more nurses would speak up and stick together. Love the stories here where the nurses DID stick together against a bully, but I haven't seen it happen in my parts. :(

Maybe it is the same nurse. It sure sounds like her. I'm sorry to hear that the staff scattered because they didn't want to be witnesses. Yes nurses need to stick together to get rid of these bullies.

:balloons: I am new to the forum and would like to get feedback from others who have experienced mobbing/bullying/harassment in the healthcare field. Please share so others might learn more about this issue that needs further exploration.

In a book that I read which is now out of print it explains

about people who get into health care because of

being raised in a disfunctional

home. I was amazed to find a lot of my own experiences

described in full in this book written by someone who I've nenver met .

It explains about some people who choose health care

because they have no control

in their own lives so they're

out trying to fix things in everyone elses. The head games they

grew up with at home are transferred into their work place.

There are many forms of abuse in health care. One of them is

when you report negligence or abuse on someone who is popular

with the staff and this puts you in an unpopular position as is

already described. On the other side of this it is also possible if they

suspect you of abuse that they treat you like a monster and are

ignorant of your feelings.

Some other common forms of harrassment are when they know that

a patient is violent and they bully you into working with them without help and claim that they are, "just scared."

This puts you at extreme risk and usually does not help the

patient except in isolated cases.

They will try to push you into

transferring patients alone that are officially two person transfers

and when they know you might hurt your back.

Another type of abuse is one that has been described on this site where

they sit they and watch you answer their lights and take care of their

patients and don't appreciate or acknowledge anything you do for them.

One time I went to wash a patients face who was dirty and hot and uncomfortable and was told by someone, "We don't have time to do that."

I have been told, "speed up your act," and, "hurry up," and, "We

don't have time," so many times I can't count. During these times

the patients are being treated like objects with no feelings.

I have also gone to shut the privacy curtain and had people open it

back up again with no explanation.

If you're not a good communicator they will superimpose attitudes and

opinions onto you that are not yours. The game of, "You're not gonna

help me," is one of the most common. When the truth is they are

refusing to let you help them or that you're going out of your way

to be helpful they will distort the real issues.

They might also force their opinions on you and go deaf when you try to reason with them.

You may want to check back into some old posts. This subject has been

discussed a lot over the months.

Bullying refers to all situations where one or more persons feels subjected to negative behaviour from others over a period of time in a situation where the victim for different reasons are unable to defend him/herself. Typically, a victim is constantly teased, badgered and insulted and perceives that he or she has little recourse to retaliate in kind.

Found this definition at worktrauma.org.

I went through "mobbing" at a past facility. After the administrator hired a friend, she then promoted that friend 5 times in 6 months. They took lunches together, giggled constantly in the office. Other Supervisors waited for hours to talk to the administrator while they chatted.

They developed a following, people who "kissed up". Until she hired her friend, the administrator was very professional. A highly educated person working toward her Doctorate.

It was the oddest thing to watch, and be involved in.

The friend was very blatantly harrassing me and others. The administrator would actually hide behind doors to "avoid" talking to me and others. This was witnessed several times.

Job descriptions and job qualifications were changed to allow their followers promotions.

Unbelievable. For quite a few months, many of us thought that there was just miscommunication.

After finally figuring it out, and a massive jump in the turnover rate, we started documenting.

Found out that the key to documenting was to get the witness to write a statment ASAP, date and sign it. Many witnesses later said that they didn't want to get involved, and some were threatened.

But, those who actually documented couldn't wiggle out of it. This documentation saved us later from retaliatory accusations.

It was wild, and showed me how evil, greedy, coniving, manipulating, and mean people can be.

AND...l birds of a feather flock together.

I have to tell you...this stuff scares the sh** out of me. After spending years at home being a mom and not being in the work force, it amazes me just how much I don't know. Is this problem unique to nursing, or other professions as well? It feels somewhat like being thrown into the lions den. How would a person protect themselves from things like this? It seems so monumentally unfair...for educated people who worked so hard to get where they are in the first place...forgive me for going on like this, it is just hard to fathom people like this who are supposed to be professionals can behave this way.

Staff need to get together and do a "code call" like they say they do on another thread about doctors abusing staff.

Code bully would be too obvious, but they will catch on anyway, so why not?

Call Code Bully and everyone on the floor go stand around and watch, that way there are witnesses. We all need to stand up aganst these bullies, and if we have enough witnesses maybe we couuld do something about it.

Like in an example that was just given... a post or two back...the other staff scattered. See, she has everyone on that floor blullied. They are all scared of her. Instead of scattering, everyone should run up there, watch and get those ink pens to moving. Write as it happens.

There's another thread in the breakroom on this same subject.

A nurse friend of mine has had alot of bullying imposed on her by our DON.

When her mother died, my friend had to take off work for several days, and it left her below the required amount of sick time left on her time. They want us to keep 5 days, and she was below that. {But I don't see the reasoning for that, either, what's the use in having it if you can't use it?}

Anyway, she came back in to work, after being off for the funeral and all, and our DON told her, "I could write you up for this." {not having enough sick days left} My friend said, "Can you do that?" DON said, "I can do anything I want to with you." Several other people standing around, some were nurses, and they giggled. "My friend said, "Under the circumstances I don't think you should do that." and she left the room, she was just crushed.

When she got part way down the hall, here comes the DON , saying, "Can't you take a joke?" My friend said, "This is not a joking time. I just buried my mother."

She makes statements like this all the time. Only, I don't think she's quite as bad as she used to be.

I think maybe she's calming down some.

But how humiliating is that? It was just awful for my friend.

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Mandatory 5 days left? What in samhill for? So you can have an emergency covered? What do they think death is?

My hospital has a program where if you run out of sick leave, others can donate sick time to you, you get paid at your own rate (usually cheaper for the hosp., as the ones with enough leave to donate are the long termers). When my DH had cancer, people gave me enough time to stay home with him for over 4 months, at full base pay. You better believe I donate hours now.

Mandatory 5 days left? What in samhill for? So you can have an emergency covered? What do they think death is?

My hospital has a program where if you run out of sick leave, others can donate sick time to you, you get paid at your own rate (usually cheaper for the hosp., as the ones with enough leave to donate are the long termers). When my DH had cancer, people gave me enough time to stay home with him for over 4 months, at full base pay. You better believe I donate hours now.

Well, that's what I think too...what in samhill do you need it on the books for if you can't use it?? Stupid policy if you ask me.

I REALLY don't think they could enforce it. They didn't on my friend obviously. That's been quite awhile ago when she told my friend that, so they may have changed their policy by now. I don't keep up with much of that myself, I'm a long term employee, and have lots of sick time.

Actually we work for the state, and it's one of those places that make up alot of rules as they go along, if you know what I mean, so what they say today could be different tomorrow, or different for someone else.

They are NOT fair.

These last few weeks have been rough for me at work also. Have been in OB for about 4 months, worked med/surg before. Someone who I thought was my friend emailed our manager and must have told her that I asked her for help with a foley and that I can not start an IV on everyone that walks onto the floor. and something about fetal heart monitoring. Well I got an email from the manager to say that she would be in early Monday morning to watch me prep a woman for a C/S ie foley,paperwork and IV.(Not that I haven't done many of these in the past) Boy was I mad...

OK, so in walks the woman 15 minutes late, 300lbs and a latex allergy, so that means she cant use our regular foley's, those put together latex free ones. Well I prep her for the foley, manager assisting, she tells me to aim here(definitely not the urethera) then I go into the lady parts, well you know what then get a new one, then manager takes over, uses not one more but about 5 more until about 15 minutes later with the woman very sore by that point do we get one in. Off to the IV, very small veins deep inside. I try once, then manager procedes to try 2 more times, with woman screaming because it hurt. NM then tells me to get the other RN to start the IV, mean while it is 7am now daylight shift on, wanting to count narcs etc. I am in the med room when a coworker asks whats up and I just let it rip, telling her what has been going on, how much of an a** the NM made of herself, sick of people being so backstabbing etc..by that point I am so upset that I am crying, when the NM walks in to show me what happens to the iv cath when you try to advance it instead of the needle how it bends etc. She asked what was wrong, I told her just venting, she said vent to me....She (NM) then had to be sup for the day and I had passed are the way to the time clock and she asked me if I wanted to talk.......NO!!!!!!!!!!!. It made me sort of happy that the woman walked in because it just goes to show she made a total you know what out of herself and proved to me that just because one nurse cant get an IV or foley doesn't mean you are incompitant, just means you want to do what is best for you pt and get someone who might be able to do it on the first attempt and with less pain and anxiety involved.

This is worst of all things related to this job, which is enough, because you never know who is going to tattle on you next. Before this incident I emailed the NM and told her if she want me to start acting like them, I can and I began by telling her how one shift I assess and did all the vitals and assessment paperwork, on our pts while a certain RN sat at the desk, how they sit for hours watching TV etc......Hope NM gets a brain and realizes this type of behavior needs to be stopped, and a professional environment developed.

Divide and conquer. You just responded the way they, management, wanted you to. You are now part of the quagmire that reports anything and everything to management so you can all walk on pins and needles!

I'm glad you shared your experience. The more we expose situations that are going on - the more we will recognize unprofessional behavior and learn how to deal with it and hopefully find resolution.

I have to laugh. Stand up to a bully and watch them go whine to management. I respond to these cowards with, "Nothing to do today?" This statement really sets them off, and often sends them squealing to some supervisor. I've been called rude, mean, etc... The poor darlings can make work a living hell for their co-workers, but they can't stand it when anyone challenges them.

Divide and conquer. You just responded the way they, management, wanted you to. You are now part of the quagmire that reports anything and everything to management so you can all walk on pins and needles!
I have to laugh. Stand up to a bully and watch them go whine to management. I respond to these cowards with, "Nothing to do today?" This statement really sets them off, and often sends them squealing to some supervisor. I've been called rude, mean, etc... The poor darlings can make work a living hell for their co-workers, but they can't stand it when anyone challenges them.

I have gotten sick and tired of these stupid games.

I am trying very hard to get into anesthesia school.

I am working as little as possible and at varying facilities.

It's harder to hit a moving target.

Sincerely B

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