Hello Everyone, I'm new here to the site but I have been reading through discussions for quite a while. Well, now the time has come to where I need some advice, so I figure I will reach out on here and see if I get any feedback (positive or negative).
I have not been a nurse for very long, but I have been in the medical field for at least 5 year or so. I recently moved to a new hospital about 6 months ago and I have came across a co-worker that continues to rub me "the wrong way". It DID start off as "petty" I guess you would say, things that I could and was ignoring, for example, this particular nurse has not been with the hospital any longer than I have or in the medical field any longer than I have, in fact she is about 4 years older than I and we both graduated around the same time from getting our Associates in Nursing and we both came to this hospital after completing our internships at other hospitals, BUT this girl has the "I know it all and I am the best at everything" attitude with the "I hate the hours and don't want to work ANY Holiday's" laziness. She always came across to me as the type of girl that just enjoyed having the initials behind her name or the ability to say "I'm a nurse", but doesn't have the heart or the devotion to actually BE anything other than, well I'm not sure what. She just seem's that she wants to have the title and I've even heard her speak of going back to school to become either a NP or a PA. Either way, that kind of stuff, I have been trying to ignore and so far it has worked out ok. The other day though, I overheard her talking to someone in a "joking" manner while on her phone in the break room and something she said and the tone of voice she said it in just made me cringe. She was actually saying she was going to get some kind of hidden camera to wear, like a pen/pin (not sure which one), so that she could record the ridiculous patients we have to deal with on a daily basis!! Now, like I said, it could have been a total joke, but she went as far as to talk about different "spy gear" websites she had visited and how long they record and so on and so on. So as a fellow nurse on break, in the same room that she was in, overhearing her conversation, I thought to myself that it was WRONG to not only joke about if that is indeed what she was doing, but to discuss while AT WORK!
I'm not the type of person that goes around and "gossips" or runs and tells, in fact the only other person that has heard me complain about this one particular girl is my fiance' simply because I try to keep to myself and my opinions to myself especially in the work place. I don't like drama and I sure don't like being in the middle or causing the drama. This just really bothers me!! I have heard this girl joke about "accidentally" taking home medications and not noticing until she took off her scrubs, I have heard her talk horribly to patients, and I have heard her talk horribly about patients. She just seems very nonprofessional to me and not at all dedicated, but she sure does like to hold her head high like her sh*t doesn't stink (in the words of my southern grandmother). It all just makes me want to climb the wall.
What I am asking about though is, what should I do about the conversation I overheard? I mean it could have been just a joke, it was her private conversation and she was not talking to me. I have no idea what any kind of spy gear would look like so I wouldn't know if she had it or not, but I do know that it is an EXTREME VIOLATION to have anything like that. We aren't even allowed to have our phones really b/c of all the regulations these days and the technology that comes along with a phone.
So, should I just keep my mouth shut or should I say something?
Wow, this thread just goes to show you how different we all think. From one extreme to the other! I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.
Personally, I wouldn't take it seriously. She was gabbing in the break room on a personal phone call, I doubt that she has mega Dr Evil plans to exploit the patient population with spy gear.
Stay clear of her. You already know that she gets on your nerves.
Well, I need to be reported to the state for planning homicide, because just the other day, I muttered to a coworker at the desk "If 403 calls one more time, I'm going to give him a big dose of pillow love." Obviously I am disgusting and appalling, and I need to be taken down. I am not a real nurse, as a real nurse walks and talks like an angel and never has a morbid, horrible sense of humor.
the girl has some major issues if shes even KIDDING like that about the camera. i really think it's inappropriate.
mind her own business in the breakroom?? really?? the breakroom is definately NOT a place of privacy and everything u say will be leaked. the fact that this chick said it out loud, without any regard for WHO is in the room speaks for itself. shes stuck up and rather weird. granted it may have been just a horrible joke, but thats pretty lame of her. i said it before, i will say it again, go the your charge nurse or manager b/c stuff like this can lead to other things. even tho shes was only "joking" ... i dont think a REAL NURSE would joke in that manner.
Have you ever worked in a hospital where staff members wagered informally on who will die next, on what day and at what time? Have you ever said or heard someone say that they should write a book about their experiences with patients, or that they should sell tickets to the place because nobody would believe what goes on in hospitals if they didn't see it? None of it is serious. It's a way of blowing off steam. It's not even a "horrible joke." "The girl" has no "major issues" that I can see. We all kid and make jokes (good ones and bad) about patients, residents and each other--if you don't, you really need to lighten up or this work will eat you alive. Are you guys this deathly serious about everything? Try a sense of humor.
Incidentally, telephone conversations, even when held in public places, are private inasmuch as only one side of it can be heard. What is heard becomes hearsay, is out of context AND (although said in an occupied break room) nobody elses business.
I definitely agree with a lot of what has already been said, but as a new nurse myself, I'd just like to say that I feel like at this point in your (and my) career, it REALLY is best to just keep our heads down and "nose to the grindstone" (as my mom would say). You are new, and even if you are lucky enough to have a supportive work environment, your coworkers are watching you closely and letting everything that *you* do show them your true colors. In my opinion, unless something truly serious, obvious, and black-and-white happens, it is best to just go about your own work.
Besides, who knows when you might need help/advice/etc of this coworker? I work with a couple of people whose methods and personalities aren't my favorites, but believe you me that the other day when I was suddenly drowning in work and needed their help that I was glad I'd always been kind and professional with them and hadn't frozen them out.
And one last thing-please give people some space to vent in the breakroom!!! I have been known to go into the breakroom, shut the door and tell one of my coworkers that "I just have to vent and say ______ about Mr. X or I'll seriously go up in smoke." Knowing that someone was lurking the background ready to report all of these statements (let alone another nurse) would be annoying to say the least.
None of this is to say that this other nurse is blameless AT ALL-it is just to say that she is not worth your time or reporting to the manager!
General E. Speaking, RN, RN
1 Article; 1,337 Posts
Wow, this thread just goes to show you how different we all think. From one extreme to the other! I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.
Personally, I wouldn't take it seriously. She was gabbing in the break room on a personal phone call, I doubt that she has mega Dr Evil plans to exploit the patient population with spy gear.
Stay clear of her. You already know that she gets on your nerves.