Rudeness

[melly]

Why are some nurses so rude to each other? Our ER nurses have a horrible reputation for incivility to the floor nurses. Example-last night I pick up the phone. Someone who didn't identify herself asks if room 215 is clean yet. I answer I don't know. I was going to add that I would go look, but before I can finish my sentence she barks," Go down the hall and check". I told her that I would help but that she would have to lose the attitude. She hangs up on me. This sort of thing happens all the time. Mention ER in our hospital and you get the same reaction, everyone comments on how nasty they are.

Now I know that they are overworked and shortstaffed, but who isn't? Why make a bad situation worse by being rude to each other? We are all nurses, we are all here to care for patients, why foster hostility by continuing with impolite behaviour?

[mcl4]

Originally posted by thisnurse

last night i made a mistake. i had a h and h draw at 7p that i didnt see until 920 pm. i drew it and sent it. pt has rectal bleeding and his last h and h was 9./27, drawn 6 hours earlier. i didnt realize that i had q6 labs and that was never reported off to me. still, i know thats up to me, im not blaming the previous nurse.

at 1030 while i was double checking my charting (3 to 11 shift)

i checked the h and h and it was 8/24.

i guess i should have called the doc that very second but i didnt. i let it go and reported it to the next shift.

the nurse i reported off to was WAY pizzed. i can understand being upset that he was now going to have to deal with this, but what i cant understand is his childlike behavior.

i made a MISTAKE...i dont normally do this. i dont pass off work, ill stay and complete what i have to do. in fact, i did stay and call the doc...checked the chart for transfusion orders (there werent any) and found the consent. i told the doc what i had done and she was way cool about it...said it wasnt a big deal and she would be up to see if she was going to transfuse.

it was nearly midnight. next h and h was to be drawn at 1 am.

well the nurse was having a fit. he went in and drew the h and h at midnight. i told him what the doc had said....she wasnt even sure if she was going to transfuse him anyway because at that point he was asymptomatic and she didnt know what the attending had planned for him. in other words, she was putting it off as long as she could.

You called the physician, there was no blood ordered so at the end of the day, no harm was done with this incident. It appears you would have done things earlier if this happen were to happen again, but why make a issue over this is beyond me.

One thing I've learnt in life and this is what goes around comes around.

[micro, RN]

micro believes in the rules, but also that some rules are stupid.......and made up by people and organizations believing that they are perfect.......hence keeps them in the job.........

like, duh.....it has been a killer of a shift.....any of you here know what I am talking about......and duh.....I forget to sign out a tylenol.....but I tell you in report I gave it.........

write me a variance, sing me a song......be anal retentive all the day long.......

warping out micro.........love this bb and threads.....but better get some sleep.....or the REAL MICRO COMES OUT TO PLAY!!!!!

[Sleepyeyes]

IMHO,a lot of rudeness stems from someone's judgment of your performance and the expectations based on that judgment.

A common theme throughout this thread is that someone "ought to" have done something and it was not done.

For instance, "She OUGHT TO take report the millisecond that I am ready to give it, since she OUGHT TO understand that we're getting backed up down here." Or "I know she wants to give me report right now, but she OUGHT TO understand that one of my patients is having severe intractable pain and I see his Doc trying to run off the floor before I get an order for a pain management consult, the sniveling little coward."

Instead of assuming that we're trying to avoid work, we need to assume that we're all doing as much as we can, as fast as we can.

Maybe we need to step back a little and look at the big picture--if it's happening to all of us, if it "comes with the territory," maybe we need to redefine the territory and stop voting with our feet.

Just a thought.

((((hugs to all)))))

:kiss

[WorkDazeShift]

Originally posted by mario_ragucci

I used to get all bent out of shape when people would disrespect me or bark in my face. Times like these call us to draw upon our own power and strength. Many folks will try to nip each other in the bud when they get out of line by biting back. This doesn't always accomplish anything worthwhile, and can even worsen the situation. You have to stop and think before you react to rudeness.

Try to help the rude person. They obviously have a problem with their manners, or, maybe you are the recipiant of rudeness they have experienced, and are attempting to transfer to you. You must be strong and sure of your own self not to let these antics get the best of you. As an "up and coming" professional healthcare provider, I see my potential coworkers as not beyond illness themselves. I'll be dealing with ill people, and other people who deal with ill people, so some of that illness will be in my face, in various forms.

Try to make your reactions to rudeness in check. Don't let your forcefield get so weak as to allow negativity to burst you too. :roll

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I like your reaction and outlook. Mature and professional. At times we are all stressed out. It helps to rise above and not allow yourself to "get hooked" by another's stress level.

"I'm sorry you are having a bad day..I've been there myself. I'll do what I can to help." Keep in mind..some people just have personality flaws and the worst comes out under stress.

Also know that E.R. nursing is becoming so much more stressful these days. It is becoming the norm for those who do not have medical insurance and do not have a doctor to just show up at the ER..usually when symptoms have gotten beyond tolerable.

Here's a quote from "Nursing News" elsewhere on this website:

Reda has been working in the emergency department at Newton-Wellesley for at least six years. She works both as a charge nurse and at the bedside and knows full well the demands of the job. She knows the rewards too.

On a Wednesday afternoon earlier this month, Reda was the charge nurse responsible for coordinating beds for all of the patients visiting by ambulance or foot. Within minutes she has to find a bed for a patient coming in by ambulance.

One rule applies to everyone regardless of age, race and financial status: the most critical patients are seen first and the rest wait - sometimes for an hour and sometimes for eight.

With more people using fewer emergency rooms the daily task of finding beds and space is daunting. In the last two years Newton-Wellesley has seen it's volume grow by 2,100 patients to 36,901 visiting the emergency department (ED) last year.

Reda searches for a bed in the full ED with 17 patients and three in the waiting room. It's an effort that sometimes requires Reda to put less critical people in the hall or try to get patients admitted upstairs to free up beds in the ED.

Many nurses are choosing to leave the field because the job has become increasingly difficult and stressful requiring nurses to work longer hours and care for more patients. But Reda said she enjoys the fast pace.

"I love my job," she said. "I love taking care of patients."

So...I have compassion for the ER nurses and the patients who have been waiting. I am stressed on the floor, too...but I try to call back for report within 10 minutes if I possibly can.

Our charge nurse who makes the bed assignments calls the head of housekeeping for a stat room clean if a bed isn't available. Works well unless housekeeping is short staffed, too.