Assertive or aggressive?

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 26, 2003

You handled yourself well. This woman is using bullying tactics - recognise them for what they are and be wary she will try to retrieve control over you in another way. I would guess that some of her attitude comes form the fact that you are "moving up the ladder". Be careful to document all interactions with this woman (as if you don't have enough to do in your life!) but it may be your saving grace one day - it was for me.

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 26, 2003

You handled yourself well. This woman is using bullying tactics - recognise them for what they are and be wary she will try to retrieve control over you in another way. I would guess that some of her attitude comes form the fact that you are "moving up the ladder". Be careful to document all interactions with this woman (as if you don't have enough to do in your life!) but it may be your saving grace one day - it was for me.

PediRN · Apr 26, 2003

Oh for crying out loud. If you were unable to resolve the dispute with the person involved and went to your supervisor, you were being PROFESSIONAL. Don't beat yourself over the head. You did the right thing!

PediRN · Apr 26, 2003

Oh for crying out loud. If you were unable to resolve the dispute with the person involved and went to your supervisor, you were being PROFESSIONAL. Don't beat yourself over the head. You did the right thing!

susanmary · Apr 26, 2003

You were assertive -- she was aggressive (that's the kindest thing I can say about her behavior.) In the future, just keep the conversation work related. Don't talk about her, continue to be professional -- let this go. You went up the chain of command & were appropriate doing so. Rise about this -- you will be an excellent nurse. Repeat after me ... mean rotten nursing students grow up to be mean rotten nurses ... nice, kind nursing students grow up to be nice, kind nurses. You are the latter. And continue to assert yourself, in a calm way, and advocate for your patients. You will be a great nurse.

susanmary · Apr 26, 2003

You were assertive -- she was aggressive (that's the kindest thing I can say about her behavior.) In the future, just keep the conversation work related. Don't talk about her, continue to be professional -- let this go. You went up the chain of command & were appropriate doing so. Rise about this -- you will be an excellent nurse. Repeat after me ... mean rotten nursing students grow up to be mean rotten nurses ... nice, kind nursing students grow up to be nice, kind nurses. You are the latter. And continue to assert yourself, in a calm way, and advocate for your patients. You will be a great nurse.

**SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN** · Apr 26, 2003

originally posted by gwenith
you handled yourself well. this woman is using bullying tactics - recognise them for what they are and be wary she will try to retrieve control over you in another way. i would guess that some of her attitude comes form the fact that you are "moving up the ladder". be careful to document all interactions with this woman (as if you don't have enough to do in your life!) but it may be your saving grace one day - it was for me.

here's how dictionary.com defines assertiveness and aggressiveness; here's how their thesaurus describes assertive and aggressive. now it would appear that to be assertive is being aggressive and vice versa...they're synonymous with each other. so should it matter whether one was used over the other? no! what should matter is the fact that this individual doesn't like the fact that you're *moving on up the ladder* as gwenith stated above. there are several reasons that this person acted-out the way that she did:

jealousy ~ you're going to receive an bachelors' in nursing right...what degree does this person have...if any?
personal dislike
bad night
demonstrate her power over you
put you in your place ~ specially in front of your classmates
etc

still, there's no excuse for her to treat you in the fashion that she had. you did the right thing by not taking the patient anywhere until you got a proper report from her first. second, as a student, you are not allowed to touch any patient prior to your instructor arriving onto the unit for the first time each day...despite the fact that you work there as an na....in fact...i wouldn't touch a patient before receiving a proper report working as an na either...to expect this from you is completely absurd! third, trying to settle any differences/misunderstandings between the two of you was the mature way to handle the situation. she didn't want to work out your differences, so the next step is to tell your instructor and supervisor because you still have to work with this individual while you're not in your clinical rotation.

gator, i think you'd handled the situation the best way and don't worry about this person's obvious dislike/disrespect for you! that's her problem ~ not yours.

cheers!

moe

**SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN** · Apr 26, 2003

originally posted by gwenith
you handled yourself well. this woman is using bullying tactics - recognise them for what they are and be wary she will try to retrieve control over you in another way. i would guess that some of her attitude comes form the fact that you are "moving up the ladder". be careful to document all interactions with this woman (as if you don't have enough to do in your life!) but it may be your saving grace one day - it was for me.

here's how dictionary.com defines assertiveness and aggressiveness; here's how their thesaurus describes assertive and aggressive. now it would appear that to be assertive is being aggressive and vice versa...they're synonymous with each other. so should it matter whether one was used over the other? no! what should matter is the fact that this individual doesn't like the fact that you're *moving on up the ladder* as gwenith stated above. there are several reasons that this person acted-out the way that she did:

jealousy ~ you're going to receive an bachelors' in nursing right...what degree does this person have...if any?
personal dislike
bad night
demonstrate her power over you
put you in your place ~ specially in front of your classmates
etc

still, there's no excuse for her to treat you in the fashion that she had. you did the right thing by not taking the patient anywhere until you got a proper report from her first. second, as a student, you are not allowed to touch any patient prior to your instructor arriving onto the unit for the first time each day...despite the fact that you work there as an na....in fact...i wouldn't touch a patient before receiving a proper report working as an na either...to expect this from you is completely absurd! third, trying to settle any differences/misunderstandings between the two of you was the mature way to handle the situation. she didn't want to work out your differences, so the next step is to tell your instructor and supervisor because you still have to work with this individual while you're not in your clinical rotation.

gator, i think you'd handled the situation the best way and don't worry about this person's obvious dislike/disrespect for you! that's her problem ~ not yours.

cheers!

moe

Rapheal · Apr 26, 2003

Gator,

Your response to that nurse did in no way seem aggressive to me. You handled this in a professional manner and I think that you have a really good handle on what your responsibilities should be regarding the care of your patients. Keep up the good work.

Rapheal · Apr 26, 2003

Gator,

Your response to that nurse did in no way seem aggressive to me. You handled this in a professional manner and I think that you have a really good handle on what your responsibilities should be regarding the care of your patients. Keep up the good work.

nurs4kids · Apr 27, 2003

It's all those years of Steve Spurrier brainwashing, gator

You're BOUND to be aggressive..

lol, j/k

nurs4kids · Apr 27, 2003

It's all those years of Steve Spurrier brainwashing, gator

You're BOUND to be aggressive..

lol, j/k