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Discussion

Bad Apple HELP!!!

Hi,

I need some help from any of you out there. I would like some advise on how to handle this situation in the most professional and polite manner. Here Goes.

I have a co-worker who has been in our clinic for six months. She has worked as a NICU nurse for 15 years. I am in a specialty clinic dealing in pediatric pulmonary medicine. I understand that transitioning can be quite challenging. There are six RN's who are paired with a MD. We handle their patients and all paperwork relating to them. Since this new person has become part of our staff, things have become quite messy. She is sort of , a brown noser to the docs. She brings them cookies, candies, brownies etc. The first couple of months we were getting to know her as she us. Then, before we knew it we were getting called in to the lead doctor's office. We were being asked about things that were said to this new nurse that were not said at all. We have caught her in many lies trying to cover her hiney. We had a talk with here and thought that we could get over this pidley stuff. Well it is still happening. She has gotten a staff member fired by an incident that was not true at all. I was there when the incident happened. She has presented herself as a nurse practioner to home health companies.

To make a long story short, she is constantly lying to cover her butt!. The nurses have tried to cover for her mistakes. We give many flu and synagis vaccines. She usually has to stick the kids twice because she can not give shots properly. She as also scratched a child with a needle. She again lied.

We are all really trying to get along. Nurses need to be able to depend on each other. She has great potential if she would just stop trying to mislead people and simply say she needs help from us. We are a team. Our children (pts) come first!!

Managment would like for the nurses to handle this themselves, It is just so hard when you have her running to management fabricating stories. Please give me some advice so that I may get along with her better. I will pass it along with my other co-workers too.

With much thanks!!

Featured Replies

Always wary about these kinds of posts.

If she really is incompetent, then document it and handle it. If you can't document it it, then there is a problem.

This is a tough one. I have recently been in the same. At first we all kept quiet, going to the "bad apple" one on one. Then it went to a mediator because management could not do anything with out documentation. So I learned it was very important to keep a record of time, date and incident. Management has to do things by the book and all employees have the right to fair practices. But it still remains that things have to be able to be proved. So best for all of you to document every detail and keep a log of happenings. COVER your own butt!!!

First STOP covering for her. If she demonstrates incompetence and or caused injury (the need to restick comes in this catagory) document it. If she is unable or unwilling to take instruction. Document it. If she misrepresents herself document it.

Address these issues with her. Document her reaction. If you find it necessary have a witness.

If she has demonstrated an unwillingness to receive correction or direction document her reaction. Then take this to management. If you can verify lies for instance with a witness take it to management.

She is trying to butter up management and uses cookies treats etc to make up for her incomptence. She lies about others to cover her own tracts. She is dangerous. If she misrepresents herself as a NP and is not it needs to be reported to management. If management fails to report it to the BON you actually have an obligation to do it.

This is not about getting along and making nice this is about a dangerous nurse. Don't make excuses and don't allow management to do this under the guise of getting along

If management willnot listen to you then rethink staying there your self. As long as she is there and behaves this way you are all at risk.

Have you tried having a meeting with all of you, her and the lead doc in order to confront the situation head on? I agree with the above this is dangerous for all concerned. And document document document.

Just went through a year of this. It is amazing, utterly amazing the division and strife just one person can inflict.

I agree with the others--document, document, document. Keep going to management, even if they don't want to listen to you or "deal with it"--afterall, it is THEIR job, not yours, to deal with this one bad apple.

I worked in a clinic setting with a person like this! OMG she figured out how to wrap our administration and docs around her finger. We'd complain about things she did and it did no good. But if we said anything about what she did to her, she was running to our manager and we'd get in trouble. It was a nightmare! I got in trouble one time because I needed help with patients and she refused to help because our manager had asked her to do some paperwork and "that was her priority". What happened to "the patient is your priority"! I got in trouble because I said something that "hurt little miss perfect's feelings".

I started looking for another job that day! If our management or docs would be patient advocates, I didn't want to work in a place like that!

Since she lies, misrepresents herself and has gotten a staff member fired I think you need to act on this pronto. I would gather the 5 RN's together and work together to document and address to mgmt. every time she lies, especially when lying to cover her but when she cannot provide safe patient care. This should not be a "nurse" problem. It should be a "mgmt." problem.

Stick together and work together to make sure this toxic person does not continue to infect your workplace. Good luck, she sounds scarey.

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