Advice!!

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2014

I used to have the proverbial 'resting b*tch face' .

I think RBF should be an approved NANDA dx. :up: It can replace 'disturbed energy field.'

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 19, 2014

I am just finishing my 2nd year at my current job-I have been a nurse for almost 3 years. I have found it is more a personality difference than NETY. The people that intimidated me or I felt uncomfortable around, I still haven't bonded with. It doesn't mean that I can't be professional, I am just not going to let someone else's ego put negativity in my life. I am an older nurse and I think there are some unrealistic expectations with new nurses. Either they figure it out or they don't.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2014

Hello everyone I appreciate your different opinions. Really I do smile with patients and coworkers but the way I was told I think it went over the top that I needed to smile all the time. Actually I never had a problem before in other jobs. What really bothers me is that is not a patient safety issue but silly things not quality of care but smiling.

As others have said, you have to fake it. I work in the ED. When a patient comes in that they have a really bad cold, can't breathe, 10/10 pain…I have to fake interest and pretend that the are actually ill (when I am in their presence). It is sad, but healthcare is a business. Solid patient care is no long the #1 metric by which we are 'judged.' It's customer service. :down: It's sad that this is the case, but the patient can always walk down the street to the next hospital (at least in the city in which I live). The way in which you were told about it may not have be nice, but sometimes the reality of the situation stinks. And, as a closing thought, it is reality, not nurses eating their young.

RunBabyRN · Dec 19, 2014

Hi sorry but what does nety mean?

NETY= nurses eat their young.

I would disagree that it's a quality of care issue, because these days, it's all about patient satisfaction, and while patients may not say something, if nurses notice it, the patients probably do, too. It couldn't hurt to smile more and put on a friendlier-appearing front, especially when it's a lot of other nurses taking notice.

That said, I do know there are some unsupportive work environments, and I don't think it's so much about nurses eating their young as it is just poor management and lack of a team environment.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Dec 19, 2014

Ok, OP deep breath. First off, you are making judgements/thinking the worst based on gossip. You don't know who said what to who, who did it and ran, what people are saying....so stop stressing yourself out on co-workers jibber-jabber.

Whatever. That is on them.

What your supervisor spoke to you about is your customer service skills. Yup. You heard it right. Your skills to make a patient feel DELIGHTED that they are your main focus of the day. (and times that by 8 others, and we have a ball game, folks).

Your co-workers don't know you well--so they assume that because you are quiet and reserved, it MUST reflect on the patients!! THAT is why the surveys are coming back that the "I was cared for as a person" theme was so low!! It was not them....when a bunch of nurses are put in a corner and drilled about skills that have little to do with the patient's medical condition, everyone is fair game. ("Well nurse Mary is whacked, and speaks so sharply, no WONDER this score is so low!!" "I am so LOVELY to the patients!!" I follow the script to a "T"!!)

Listen, at the end of the day, you need to know that the goal of most facilities is good survey scores. Period. Oh, that and don't kill someone. So yes, you need to put your best improv cap on and make patient's DELIGHTED in your care of them, check all the little boxes, fluff and buff and move on. Make eye contact, clucking noises, nod your head and smile. Make useless chit chat whilst assessing.

If a patient remembers how you treated them and responds accordingly, all the better.

I would get specifics from your manager. A goal oriented time-lined improvement plan. I would let your union (if you are union) in on what is happening, just do they are in the loop.

Otherwise, unless it comes directly from your managers mouth, let the gossipers muck around in their own mud. You have other fish to fry.

Best wishes.

RNperdiem, RN · Dec 19, 2014

Being liked at work is a workplace survival skill-not just in nursing either. A lot of us here are introverted, quiet and keep to ourselves as our default setting. It doesn't take much to add a little warmth to human interaction, just some awareness and a little skill.

canigraduate · Dec 20, 2014

My two cents...

If people at work are complaining about you, you should probably not get mad unless it's stuff you don't do.

From your post, it sounds like you are acknowledging that what they are saying is true and you are defensive about it.

In my experience, this means one of two things: 1) You do not fit the culture. 2) You are in denial that you have a problem and need to fix it.

There are no easy fixes for either of these situations. If it is the first, you can either conform or find another workplace with a more suitable culture. If it is the second, some serious self-reflection is in order.

In today's workplaces, emphasis is on Disney-style customer service. Nearly everyone is capable of doing this, but you have to make the effort to learn how to do it. The benefits are endless. If you adopt this attitude, you will be way more likely to succeed and to advance in your career.

Also, if I were you, I would work on being less sensitive to negative criticism. Unfortunately, most of the time that is the only feedback that we get.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Dec 20, 2014

I think RBF should be an approved NANDA dx. It can replace 'disturbed energy field.'

:rolfmao:

It can complement "disturbed energy field" though in a AEB statement. :cheeky:

MARYRN2009 · Dec 20, 2014

Thanks everyone for you opinions!!!