Am I stepping on senior nurses toes?

[b eyes]

Hi. Have a question for you. I work in an ER which is staffed with one nurse and one doc for each shift. Small hospital. Anyway, I have noticed that when I am with a critical patient and cannot leave them, I have had to have nurses fromt he floor come back to help with getting transport papers ready for transfers, either by ambulance or helicopter, call other facilities for the doc, and/or find admission orders for the doc. well, because they were having problems finding all the correct papers, I took it upon myself to make transfer packets for ambulance and helicopter, and admission packets for med surg and ICU. I also tok it upon myself to clean out the file cabinet as there were forms in there which were 12 years old and never used. Well, the problem came when one of the nurses came on and I asked her what she thought of what I had done and she completely tore me apart. :angryfire

She said that She is tired of conforming to people that walk in here. She said that if people do not know where things are, they are not oriented, and that she does not like it. she said there is no reason to make packets. all the forms are in the drawers. And she is right, but they were not put together. Now they are all safety clipped together in seperate packets. Then she replied with don't ask me my opinion I obviously don't have any say back here. Ask the other nurses who have been here longer than me. Mind you, she has been there 15 years and the others have been there longer. I have been in the ER 1 year. I am trying to help our ER run smoother for everybody. Do you think that I am stepping on toes by doing this without asking them what they thought first? :deadhorse

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[GardenDove]

She sounds just like our oldtimers in ER. They are the crustiest, most hardened nurses around. We call them silverbacks, because they are like mean old gorillas. She probably wants to keep the whole paperwork thing a mystery so keep some of her own power, just like a cranky old silverback doesn't want any newcomers eating from his favorite tree.

[jjjoy, LPN]

The way I look at it is that with nontoxic colleagues, yes, tell others what you see as problematic and don't just single-handedly rearrange everything. A nontoxic colleague might be annoyed to find the "new kid on the block" trying to fix things that aren't broken and would rightly be aggravated if someone created a major shift without consulting with anyone first. Still, a nontoxic colleague would appreciate that you were trying to help.

In some work environments, though, you will get no credit for doing anything extra and may in fact face active harrassment from colleagues. Your initiative makes them look bad. So in that case, you've got to decide what's important enough to do regardless of negative repercussions and what's worth putting up with to keep the peace.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

People hate change, especially nurses. Just like with anything, even improvements that make our lives easier are still going to be met with resistance by old timers.

I think you had a great idea and hopefully your supervisor will notice, if anything. An unused filing cabinet filled with dusty old papers is just taking up space. And yes, if all the forms are in the drawers, fine, but it's so much easier to have packets made up. Not only is it much faster to just grab one during busy shifts, but it also helps prevent errors that could happen when someone forgets one form or another. We have all our admission, discharge, and transport papers organized into packets that are then placed in large labeled envelopes. It's a great idea.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I think the fact that you just did it without asking for any opinions is what rubbed her the wrong way.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

The way I look at it is that with nontoxic colleagues, yes, tell others what you see as problematic and don't just single-handedly rearrange everything. A nontoxic colleague might be annoyed to find the "new kid on the block" trying to fix things that aren't broken and would rightly be aggravated if someone created a major shift without consulting with anyone first. Still, a nontoxic colleague would appreciate that you were trying to help.

In some work environments, though, you will get no credit for doing anything extra and may in fact face active harrassment from colleagues. Your initiative makes them look bad. So in that case, you've got to decide what's important enough to do regardless of negative repercussions and what's worth putting up with to keep the peace.

All excellent points. It's sad, though, isn't it?

[Bluehair]

Gardendove - love the Silverback analogy! Hmmm - that would have been a good log-on ID and avatar! lol!

Back to the topic at hand. It's not just ol' ER nurses, it's ICU nurses too, and probably elsewhere as well. Personally, I'm an organizer and would have done the same thing. If they dont' like it, they can pull the papers themselves and not use the packets. Those who like the packets will use them. It's not like you were force feeding her what she had to do. Your attitude when you make changes for the positive will often help others figure out you are just trying to help and make things better for everyone. If you don't come across as a know-it-all, you will be fine and they will figure it out. Keep offering to help whenever you get a chance and eventually they will get it. Or you will figure out it's too toxic a place to work after all and decide to do something more positive instead. Either way, you win!

Good luck!

:icon_hug:

[caliotter3]

Personally, I would have thanked you for taking the initiative to make things easier for everybody. Had you asked somebody about it prior to taking action, chances are that you would have met with resistance and negativity. Don't let the lack of initiative of others deter you; as you stated, you are in there by yourself with one doctor. Anything you do to help the process, is helping yourself, the patients, and the other nursing personnel involved. Surprised that in all these years nobody else thought of your idea.

[GardenDove]

Gardendove - love the Silverback analogy! Hmmm - that would have been a good log-on ID and avatar! lol!

LOL, that would be a good username. I like yours alot, I get a kick out of it along with your avatar.

[htrn]

Sounds to me like you did a good thing and the old crusty nurse is just not happy with change. The fact that you thought of it after only being there one year and she hadn't thought of it in 15 years probably put her on the defense. Change is hard, but she'll get over it. AND, your colleagues that come to help you out during a crazy shift will appreciate it.

Keep up the good work.

[S.T.A.C.E.Y, LPN]

I think the idea of making packets is great.....especially since you said you frequently have staff from other areas come to help out in your ER. If they like your packages, they keep them, if they don't then they eventually go back to the old system. My favourite phrase: its easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. I wouldn't feel sorry, but maybe an apology for not asking first might with an explanation of your good intentions might remedy the situation.

[b eyes]

I thought that an apology for not asking would help also, but it didn't. I am now a big part of the gossip chain for awhile, until the next person does something. I just wonder...What is there to really gossip about!?! They are packets!! I am very surprised by how much anger this nurse has! Oh, well, I have decided I will ask before I do things, get some opinions and see where it goes. Not so sure this is a very positive move for me. Thanks everyone for sharing your advice/opinions. Makes me feel better to hear other points of view.

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