Aye "Dummie". Excuse Me!

Nurses General Nursing

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Well yesterday at work this LPN which by the way isnt my regular charge nurse (I got a good charge nurse she has been an RN for 30years and very respectful) any who, decided that she wanted to give me a "nickname"! All that day she was calling me something but

I couldnt catch on to what she was calling me, so after supper time after I have gotten everyone in bed she says "Aye Dummie you can go on supper break".....? Excuse ME!:confused:

I go what you just call me, she says "Dummie" and I told her in calm and respectfully way "That’s not my name, my name is D*******", and she response well I give everyone a nickname, beside who else you know going to call you "Dummie". And I say "I dont have no nickname and I dont like that nickname, so dont call me that". I told her to call me by my name or D for short. She was llike "Okay".

When I came back from supper , she went to another hall to help another nurse. Thank God cause this woman really had me heated! But anyways she comes back to the hall around 10 30pm to give the next nurse report, so before she leave to go home she says "Dummie did you get everything done":mad:. Allnurses.com I cant explain, how flippin mad that made me. I have never been disrespected like that; I was so upset I called the ADON!

When she talked to the ADON she told her that she didnt call me “dummie", she was calling me "domo". In my point of view this woman suppose to be a nurse and I feel like that was very unprofessional, she isnt my buddy I barely know her, and she only been my charge nurse twice.

By the way Im a CNA and I guess she feel that CNAs are dumb. But if thats how she feel she need to keep that to her d**n self, cause I’m not dumb Im in college( I suppose to graduate Fall 2010 but Im trying to get into a local nursing program) plus I know a lot of smart CNAs.

Specializes in N/A.

Okay, well, if someone calls me a Dummy, I'm not going to sue them in a court of law.

Talk about wasting people's time.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Okay, well, if someone calls me a Dummy, I'm not going to sue them in a court of law.

Talk about wasting people's time.

I hear what you're saying, and I'm not saying that I would recommend filing a suit for one isolated incident. I'm speaking in more general terms here, not necessarily about the OP. But if a company has a pattern of condoning or ignoring inappropriate, harassing behavior from their managers to their subordinates, and other channels have been pursued with no satisfaction, you're darn right I would consider filing a harassment lawsuit.

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Lots of great advise here... You have better things to worry about than some offensive individual. You did the right thing by going to the DON. Just know that it may happen again and that you must be consistent. Remind her of your name and let her know you are not be called by any nickname. Let the DON know you have reminded her of this and If it continues report it again. Secondly, don't give anyone a reason to call you a dummy.

I know this is an informal forum and you were probably upset when you typed out your post, but you really need to tighten up your grammar especially when defending yourself from a bully calling you a dummy and when your defense is that you are smart and go to college. (please don't take it the wrong way. I'm just saying... Make a case for yourself) I hope this issue is in your past and you and that dummy that likes to lie about her actions have learned from this experience.

p.

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That was very unacceptable and unprofessional behavior on that nurse's part. She obviously has issues and your response to her actions should be commended. You did the absolute right thing. However, you're not helping yourself if you speak the way you type. Maybe you were just really upset when you wrote this. But, unfortunately, most people do tend to judge a book by it's cover and when you speak in double-negatives, omit an "S" on the end of some words, and miss whole words entirely people may make judgments on your intelligence. It's not right, especially in a professional situation, but that's just how the real world works.

Good luck with your school and your career path. When you do become a nurse, your experience as a CNA will be invaluable.

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Specializes in AA&I, research,peds, radiation oncology.
Lots of great advise here... You have better things to worry about than some offensive individual. You did the right thing by going to the DON. Just know that it may happen again and that you must be consistent. Remind her of your name and let her know you are not be called by any nickname. Let the DON know you have reminded her of this and If it continues report it again. Secondly, don't give anyone a reason to call you a dummy.

I know this is an informal forum and you were probably upset when you typed out your post, but you really need to tighten up your grammar especially when defending yourself from a bully calling you a dummy and when your defense is that you are smart and go to college. (please don't take it the wrong way. I'm just saying... Make a case for yourself) I hope this issue is in your past and you and that dummy that likes to lie about her actions have learned from this experience.

p.

AMEN!! Thank you for posting this reply. I feel the same way. :twocents:

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Is there any chance that she really was calling you "Domo?" For example, does she have a dialect that makes it difficult sometimes to understand her speech? I've never heard of the nickname Domo; does it mean anything to you, or is it similar to your name at all? For example, if your name was Dominique, maybe someone could decide that Dom-o was a clever nickname?

There's just something weird here. I guess it's not impossible, but I find it hard to believe that a charge nurse would be so openly insulting to a staff member.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

The only "Domo" I know is a strange toy character from Japan. I guess he's supposed to be an animal because he has brown fur and funny-looking pointed teeth. I don't get it, either.

AZTECA and SangriaSteve-- way to kick somebody when they're down. This person does not need to "defend" herself or prove to any of us that she isn't dumb. She was subject to abuse and humiliated in front of her co-workers. You just can't help yourselves? Maybe a PM would have been a better choice.

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That was very unacceptable and unprofessional behavior on that nurse's part. She obviously has issues and your response to her actions should be commended. You did the absolute right thing. However, you're not helping yourself if you speak the way you type. Maybe you were just really upset when you wrote this. But, unfortunately, most people do tend to judge a book by it's cover and when you speak in double-negatives, omit an "S" on the end of some words, and miss whole words entirely people may make judgments on your intelligence. It's not right, especially in a professional situation, but that's just how the real world works.

Good luck with your school and your career path. When you do become a nurse, your experience as a CNA will be invaluable.

It is irksome when a poster relays an emotional experience just to have spelling/grammatical errors pointed out as a possible cause as to why they are being referred to as "Dummy".

I don't doubt that you are a very intelligent person. It would be a shame if someone read "...judge a book by it's cover" and inferred that your intelligence is in any way lacking. Let the OP receive the emotional support she needs without playing the role of proof reader. :uhoh3:

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Dear OP,

I was thinking about your situation today and something occurred to me. Is it in any way possible that this person is (in their own strange way) attempting to befriend you? I know this sounds weird...but hear me out.

I have a weird sense of humor. When I'm new to a group and I'm trying to fit in, or if I feel like I'm getting a bit comfortable, I tend to get more casual than some people care for.

I've been known to kid around and say to someone "Hey retard, it's over here" or something similar. I always do it with a laugh and a smile, but undoubtedly someone has been taken aback by this. I don't have the world's greatest social skills, but I'm trying to improve. ;)

I think the moment you spoke up and let this person know that you did not like being called "Dummy", this person should have clued in really quick and stopped calling you that name. I'll admit that sometimes I'm clueless as to when people are being serious with me. I'm sure your assessment of the situation is correct, I'm just wondering if this person might be trying to fit in, albeit in a very odd way.

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Today the nurse apologize, she said she wasn't trying to offend me. She said it probably did sound like she was saying dummie (btw I know the correct spelling, but this is just a discussion board, not my English Comp class) but she really wasn't. She explain that she has recently been diagnose with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) which has cause her to have slurred speech and other related speech problems.

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It was just a mistake and wasn’t intended to be an insult; the nurse has MS which has caused her to have speech problems. I did notice that when she was talking that she slurred her words a lot; I just thought it was due to having a country accent.

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Oh wow, that's sad that she has M.S. I guess it's good this came up when it did; I can see how this could have caused a lot of negative feelings due to a medical issue. I'm glad you have a sense of closure about it. It's never fun being around people that you feel/fear are being meanies! :crying2:

Thanks for the update! :redbeathe

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