Yes. It's once again time for the ever-dreaded mandatory all-day dog & pony show inservice that I would prefer second only to marathon tag-team gum surgery.
Four hours involve a boring four hour presentation by a droll self-important hypocritical short man syndrome certified CPI administrator ask-kisser. He reads from the booklet we all have a copy of things like "only an LIP or RN can terminate a restraint", yet does not follow the guidelines.
For the whole story, you may want to read this thread:
Thank you. Just putting together this thread has helped me to feel better.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Okay. Here is the finalized email that I sent to Mia, the psych division director and cc: RoofElmo, the geriatric psych manager early Saturday morning.
Mia:
This email is regarding as to who has the authority to terminate a restraint.
During the CPI Refresher Class, on 1.15.20, page 15 of the Clinical Compliancy manual was reviewed which states, "the RN is responsible for patient care... and has the authority to initiate and stop the restraint", the instructor said,
"Anybody can initiate or stop a restraint".
I disagreed, stating that only an RN can terminate a restraint. There is an assessment and process which the RN needs to follow before making the final decision to terminate a restraint. In turn, I received an opposing argument based on a perspective, opinion, and hearsay. I assured the instructor that when I am the RN in charge on a unit, no patient will be released from restraints until I complete the assessment process and believe the situation is safe.
The instructor said that I could leave and report him to administration to which I thanked him, said I would stay, and added that I was aware of what courses of action which were available to me.
This is a matter with which needs to be dealt and the responsible parties informed.
Respectfully submitted,
Davey Do RN
I sent this email to Mia, cc: RoofElmo, and HR:
Mia:
This email is to inform you of the inappropriate behavior of the CPI instructor.
On January 15, 2020, it was necessary to request that the CPI instructor refrain from using flagrant profanity like "p*****, a**, b******', f***". Such obscenities were used well over a dozen times before I voiced my request.
The CPI instructor's presentation was sprinkled with profanities, and when it was requested that he refrain, his argument was that he was merely repeating what a patient had said. In documentation, we need to enter verbatim words used by the patient. However, in a professional situation it is much more appropriate to use euphemisms or the first letter of the profanity. We all know what "F this! F that! F! F!" means without having to deal with hearing the actual obscenity.
It is my hope that staff can and will be treated like valued team members as we are addressed, with due respect, and not have to deal with further inappropriate behavior on the part of those in positions of authority.
Respectfully submitted,
Davey Do RN
Of course I used the exact words that said Clark in the email.
I didn't identify Clark by name because I sense that Clark is an administrative pet and thought this approach would bring more attention to the behavior rather than the individual. Judgement is clouded for those who put personalities before principles. If the personality is taken from the mix, the principle becomes less clouded and more black and white.
Okay. Here is the finalized email that I sent to Mia, the psych division director and cc: RoofElmo, the geriatric psych manager early Saturday morning.
Mia:
This email is regarding as to who has the authority to terminate a restraint.
During the CPI Refresher Class, on 1.15.20, page 15 of the Clinical Compliancy manual was reviewed which states, "the RN is responsible for patient care... and has the authority to initiate and stop the restraint", the instructor said,
"Anybody can initiate or stop a restraint".
I disagreed, stating that only an RN can terminate a restraint. There is an assessment and process which the RN needs to follow before making the final decision to terminate a restraint. In turn, I received an opposing argument based on a perspective, opinion, and hearsay. I assured the instructor that when I am the RN in charge on a unit, no patient will be released from restraints until I complete the assessment process and believe the situation is safe.
The instructor said that I could leave and report him to administration to which I thanked him, said I would stay, and added that I was aware of what courses of action which were available to me.
This is a matter with which needs to be dealt and the responsible parties informed.
Respectfully submitted,
Davey Do RN
I sent this email to Mia, cc: RoofElmo, and HR:
Mia:
This email is to inform you of the inappropriate behavior of the CPI instructor.
On January 15, 2020, it was necessary to request that the CPI instructor refrain from using flagrant profanity like "p*****, a**, b******', f***". Such obscenities were used well over a dozen times before I voiced my request.
The CPI instructor's presentation was sprinkled with profanities, and when it was requested that he refrain, his argument was that he was merely repeating what a patient had said. In documentation, we need to enter verbatim words used by the patient. However, in a professional situation it is much more appropriate to use euphemisms or the first letter of the profanity. We all know what "F this! F that! F! F!" means without having to deal with hearing the actual obscenity.
It is my hope that staff can and will be treated like valued team members as we are addressed, with due respect, and not have to deal with further inappropriate behavior on the part of those in positions of authority.
Respectfully submitted,
Davey Do RN
Of course I used the exact words that said Clark in the email.
I didn't identify Clark by name because I sense that Clark is an administrative pet and thought this approach would bring more attention to the behavior rather than the individual. Judgement is clouded for those who put personalities before principles. If the personality is taken from the mix, the principle becomes less clouded and more black and white.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
On 1/22/2020 at 3:48 PM, Daisy4RN said:
So just curious, did anything transcend?
Thank you for you question, Daisy. Since I work Weekend Option, I've not been back to work and go in Friday night. No one has attempted to contact me at home. I do, however, have some updates.
Sunday night, while I was charting in the nurses station on geriatric psych, Clark used the copier and stapler to make packets for the training the next day. We said nothing to one another and after he left I found that I needed to replenish the copier and stapler.
This behavior can be interpreted as a young alpha dog marking his place in an old dog's territory.
Clark gave me unsolicited permission to "report (him) to administration". He did not specify which administration, so I interpreted his permission as card blanche to report him to any administrative official.
I got online and found that I could report complaints to the agency which certifies him as an instructor. I sent this email:
Dear Sir/Madam:
This email is to inform you of inappropriate instructor behavior during a refresher CPI course at Wrongway Regional Medical Center on January 15, 2020 by an employee known as "Clark".
During the review of the key point refresher workbook, pages 6-17, the instructor used profanities, such as "p******, "a**", '"f***", and "b****" well over a dozen times before I finally requested that he cease his "flagrant profanity". He attempted to argue his rationale for the obscenities and told me that I could leave the class and report him to administration.
Although there were ample opportunities, I was not approached with an apology for this atrocious behavior.
I have been a medical professional for over 40 years, worked in Behavioral Health off and on since 1984, have taken the CPI course probably a couple of dozen times, but have never had to deal with this caliber of blatant disrespect from a CPI instructor.
My immediate supervisor, the department director, and HR at Wrongway Regional Medical Center have been informed of this and other inappropriate behavior by the instructor during the CPI training.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or require more information.
Sincerely,
Davey Do RN
Finally, I needed to take a break from left brain work and allow my right brain to have a say. I submitted this cartoon to the webcomic that I frequent. I am allowed (unlike allnurses, prudently so) to use profanity in my comics. However, I am required to post a warning of "Mature Content" before the comic can be opened and viewed. This is the edited comic:
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
On 1/17/2020 at 2:54 AM, Davey Do said:
the whole CPI training, like many other inservices, are mere formalities. They are not actual educational processes by which we are given information and tested to assure our knowledge of that information. We are given the answers to the tests at the time they are taken. Actual listening and assimilation of the information is not a necessity when the accepted process is a worn and well known method.
The first cartoon in this image represents my actual position throughout the majority of the classroom training. I was not only keeping count of Clark's profanities during the inservice, I was making some drawings and such in the training manual!
From the more information you have given, I can glad to see you were proactive in regards to the training. Too often we become complacent. I once had to truly give my honest evaluation of something. The presentor was really unengaged, read from the slides and said, "you all know this". all the time. There were many other comments that had a very negative tone towards a population. It was just unacceptable. When we do not stand up and at least raise an awareness that participants should also be treated with respect, we allow others to just speak as they please.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Thank you, for the kind words and well-wishes, RNNPICU. I must say, you do have a way with words.
19 minutes ago, RNNPICU said:
I once had to truly give my honest evaluation of something.
Yeah, usually I'll just circle all the threes on a one to five rating scale, putting as much effort into the evaluation as the presenter did with the topic.
I gave this training's evaluation a realistic rating: The highest mark was a three. Under comments, I wrote, "The instructor needs to learn the facts about who is responsible for the termination of a restraint". And I wrote down every obscenity Clark used during the presentation.
Interestingly enough, when Clark was ending the presentation, he said to the group, "You can fill out and turn in the evaluation in the back of the manual, if you want. And, don't worry, I'll know who you are!"
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
On 1/23/2020 at 6:02 PM, Davey Do said:
Dear Sir/Madam:
This email is to inform you of inappropriate instructor behavior during a refresher CPI course at Wrongway Regional Medical Center on January 15, 2020 by an employee known as "Clark".
During the review of the key point refresher workbook, pages 6-17, the instructor used profanities, such as "p******, "a**", '"f***", and "b****" well over a dozen times before I finally requested that he cease his "flagrant profanity". He attempted to argue his rationale for the obscenities and told me that I could leave the class and report him to administration.
Although there were ample opportunities, I was not approached with an apology for this atrocious behavior.
I have been a medical professional for over 40 years, worked in Behavioral Health off and on since 1984, have taken the CPI course probably a couple of dozen times, but have never had to deal with this caliber of blatant disrespect from a CPI instructor.
My immediate supervisor, the department director, and HR at Wrongway Regional Medical Center have been informed of this and other inappropriate behavior by the instructor during the CPI training.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or require more information.
Sincerely,
Davey Do RN
I will keep you updated.
Both my supervisor and HR responded with an email basically stating, "I will look into this matter".
This is a slightly edited email I received from CPI:
Hello Davey Do,
Thank you for reaching out to CPI. We recently received the following comments from you regarding the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention training you received at your organization:
(copy of the above email)
I am truly sorry you were disappointed with the training you attended at Wrongway Regional Medical Center. We do appreciate you sharing your feedback and will discuss it with your Certified Instructor. However, if you were offended and felt disrespected by the instructor, I recommend you discuss your experience further with a representative from your Human Resources department as the matter is essentially a personnel issue.
Please feel free to contact me directly with any other questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Nickle Morpowatoya
And I responded with:
Ms. Morpowatoya:
Thank you for responding to my email in a timely manner, your empathy, and your plan to discuss this area of concern with the certified CPI instructor.
The goal to "Use techniques to control (our) anxieties during interventions" as stated on page 3 of the Key Point Refresher Workbook, taught by an instructor certified in CPI who behaves inappropriately and cannot control his use of profanity, requires addressment. As I stated in my original email, management and HR have been informed of the training circumstances.
I would appreciate being informed of the outcome of the discussion with the CPI instructor and thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Davey Do RN
Sooooooo... Sunday night, during shift report, Clark was hanging out in the nurses station on geriatric psych. He struck up a conversation with one of the female staff members while the offgoing nurse was giving her report. I held up a finger to the offgoing nurse, turned to him and said, "Clark- please don't interrupt shift report".
Clark said nothing and left the nurses station, only to chat it up with staff members working the floor.
The Alpha Dog who attempted once again to mark his place in the Old Dog's territory was given a low growl.
emergenceRN17, ASN, BSN, RN
832 Posts
I especially enjoy this thread as I work in a dental office and know all too well about gum surgery! ?