Anyone else take things personally?

z's playa · Jan 7, 2005

No it is not time for you to go. Do you seem to be sensitive? Yes. But it's not a bad thing. Try to lok at everything from a distance and don't take it all to heart. It may seen mean but...not everything is about you. You have not necessarily done anything wrong at all. Until you get draged in by the scruff of you' re neck..then worry..this way you'll end up with no hair!

I know...I used to do the same thing you do and still do sometimes.

Z

It's exhausting.

GingerSue · Jan 7, 2005

Too personally? Not necessarily.

Did residents and families explain the reasons that they are not satisfied?

There probably are things that you could do for yourself in order to be prepared for possible crises/emergencies - maybe do some self-monitoring (and monitoring of others too), about how to respond to various situations. Rehearsal.

You've been there for four years - you're not a failure.

Maybe the other NAs are expecting more specific guidance from you - so prepare something for them to look at - some visual aids, step-by-step instructions.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jan 7, 2005

At today's staff meeting we were informed that customer satisfaction is WAY down from where it was previously. A lot of residents and families are NOT happy with our facility.

How was this measured? Who measured it? What was the time period? What exactly needs to be improved, and what is the plan to improve it?

In short, I'm not too impressed with a management that drags everyone into a meeting, slaps their hands for they're-not-really-sure-what, and that's what yours has appeared to do.

Our customer surveys take weeks to come back to us. We can look at verbatim, anonymous responses from "customers" (i.e., patients) and see exactly what we need to improve.

We then develop a plan, and all the employees have a voice in creating it and implementing it. Now you can see why ours is a Top 100 Hospital--for a few years in a row.

As for the panicking thing, there aren't many of us who can simply take charge and do exactly the correct thing without proper training and without lots of practice. You'll do better next time. You might "be taking it too personally" to some people, but as long as you're obsessing over it anyway, use that situation to find out how you can improve your performance the next time.

For instance, my first Code, I stood there like a box of rocks. Same for the second. The third, I started getting the hang of it, and did a couple of things. And so on. Could I run a Code now? Hell no. But maybe next year. They say I "take it personally" too. But if I didn't, I wouldn't care about getting better, would I?

Best wishes and feel free to ask questions.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2005

Maybe the other NAs are expecting more specific guidance from you - so prepare something for them to look at - some visual aids, step-by-step instructions.

This might be a good point.

I'm speaking from experience at working my jobs - not in Nursing. So I don't know how far this might apply, but I'll drop them in anyway :)

When working for the University's CIT (Computing and Information Technology) department, I was recently assigned to have a few Consultants under me. While nominally, my position was the same as theirs - sinec I was senior, I was expected to play the role of Supervisor (although I was still being paid Consultants wages :rolleyes: ).

The end of the Semester meeting was horrenderous - Site managers and OP Staff were chewing me out for sloppy performace results. Apparently, it turned out that while I was nominally in charge, the consultants under me hadn't relied on their training or initiative - waiting for me to notice if anyting was off/wrong or just not doing something because I hadn't told them to!

Next semester, I took no chances. I drew up and exahaustive list of responsibilities and delgations - took a four hour break and sat and explained it ALL to them and verbalised understanding (THANK YOU NUR 373! ). This semester's performance was a lot better - simply because a lot of those blokes knew that something other than just post manning and print sorting was expected from them!

I also tend to have this problem of "choking" once a while. But honest evaluation - especially with a peer has always helped me sort things out.

Perhaps you have a trusted peer/collegue who can help out evaluating you?

boulergirl, CNA · Jan 8, 2005

How was this measured? Who measured it? What was the time period? What exactly needs to be improved, and what is the plan to improve it?
In short, I'm not too impressed with a management that drags everyone into a meeting, slaps their hands for they're-not-really-sure-what, and that's what yours has appeared to do.

I think they use surveys to check this. At the meeting they were telling us what the percentages were, and the numbers were dismal--less than 50%. The Alzheimer unit was much worse.

A lot of it, I believe, has to do with lack of proper training, for new employees, that is specifically geared to handling residents with dementia. (Wish I'd brought this up at the meeting!)

There are also family members who get information from NAs about other residents on the unit, then call up the exec. director in the middle of the night.

Some NA's have confronted each other loudly in front of residents and family members. Some families are also complaining (mainly on the Alzheimer unit) that their loved ones are not being groomed/bathed/toileted like they should be. I'll admit that the quality of care in that unit has really gone downhill in the years that I've been there. (Now it's almost a glorified nursing home.)

Basically, I think it boils down to a lack of professionalism in a lot of employees, and perhaps a lack of needed training.

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Jan 8, 2005

OH man I just had one of those meetings and thank goodness I got to go home afterwards!

I, after 2 years of working there, finally submitted two suggestions in outline format for consideration for the nursing review. One dealt with a formal change of shift report time for nurses (ours is a mess!), and the other was really defining what a nurse is responsible for when having to stay over shift since admin was really getting angry about nurses staying over shift to finish items...thought a definition or some sort of clarification would be nice! In addition I submitted a skin care protocol I was asked to do.

The skin care protocol was well recieved. But my DON said that my other proposals were obviously written against certain people and needed to be reviewed by the administration as a grievance againt certain nurses and staff! I was dumbfounded! I re-read the proposals and saw abosolutely no mention of anything that would point a finger to anyone at all!!!! IN fact, the ideas I expressed would benifit all staff..nursing to even housekeeping and I really focused on the benifits vs the probelm itself because frankly I know how most management works (always focus on a positive after mentioning a negative and use your 'key terms' like 'teamwork', 'continuity', patient quality assurance').

SO I told her, hey it was just some suggestions, why don't you go ahead and give it back to me and I can certainly try to find the areas where you felt I spoke of someone and I will be more than happy to correct this. But she said no, it was already in the hands of the administration (I gave it to her 5 minutes previously!!!). OH great!!!

So I spoke to the admin...they said that I certainly was pointing a finger at certain people, but when asked to explain exactly WHERE I did that..they wouldn't answer! Yeah right!!!!!!! Lets just say I was livid inside, but cool on the outside and again explained...they are only suggestions, the proposal isn't even signed, or dated in anyway and consider this a official 'announomous suggestion'. Then she told me I obviously had 'issues' and needed to have a meeting with the upper admins of the organization. OH friggen goodie..because I thought an official marked nursing change of shift report time is a good idea! OH PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

So I guess I am up for a 'talking to' by the head yahoos!!!!! SUPER! But now I know why others never make suggestions!!!!!

Did I take it personally...heck yes I did considering they obviously did by putting their own interpretation 'personally' into what I wrote! And yes I took it personally that they would NOT return it when asked!!!!! And yes I came home and complained for about an hour!!!!! LOL!!! Oh my poor hubby! LOL!

But I allowed myself that...today I could give a rip! I got it out of my system and if they wish to treat my suggestions as a personal grievance...I will be amending what I wrote into a REAL grievance for review incase it is needed (and hopefully they are just being administration alpha apes banging their powerful chest so to speak, like establishing a pecking order with me on the low end, so I won't have to give it to them)...I have pleanty of those in my mind and as a professional I guess I should aire those with managment if I am so asked .

They don't know what they did honesly...they don't know that I tried to help and now that my help has been turned against me, they will find out what is laying under the surface of my 'true probelms' with that facility!!!!!!