I have posted before about problems with my workplace. I thought they'd been worked out but no such luck. I am really sure that I am not doing something right in order for this to keep happening to me.
I am still a new grad, been working in L&D since August as my first job. I nearly got fired because the educator did not think I could do the job even though the worst thing that happened was early in my orientation one of my patients had a baby in the bed with only me being present. I really learned my lesson from that one and any patient I think is getting close, I watch with an eagle eye, it has made me very vigilant.
I brought the union into the equation when I nearly got fired and instead of getting fired, I started working on my own on the night shift. Of course, then anyone who is friends with the educator started trying to catch me doing something wrong. Nightshift has a different culture than dayshift, I thought I was finally starting to get a decent reputation as a nurse until this latest nightmare started.
I had one patient and was given another, the charge told me it was just until everyone got done with their breaks. Someone I had never met brought the new patient over, told me the pt was gbs positive and to get report I needed to call Laurie in PSCU. Since the patient had just come from home I couldn't figure out why Laurie in PSCU would be giving report-PSCU is our high-risk antenatal unit. I also did not know a Laurie, I questioned the person again about "Laurie from PSCU?" and she said yes. I spent the next hour putting out fires with my two patients, I started to do the intake info on the computer when I noticed my other patient was starting to have deep variables. I checked my first patient and she was complete and needed to start pushing. I contacted the charge and she told me to give my other patient to a new grad who was still with a preceptor. That's when I figured out I really hadn't gotten report and didn't have much to tell the other nurse except the pt was gbs positive and rh positive. Ack! But I had to go push with my first patient and I told the new grad I was sorry and couldn't tell her more but that I was told to call Laurie in PSCU for report. I knew I had screwed up but did not have time to fix it. So my other patient delivers-it was a great birth by the way, in fact, I had another great birth earlier in the day and was starting to feel like I would have my first great day ever in L&D. I should not have been thinking that.
Fast forward to 4 hours later and the end of the shift, the new grad who had taken over the patient from me came to me and said is there any way you could at least find out the blood type of the patient? At that moment I had an epiphany and realized that Laurie was working in triage not PSCU. So I went to Laurie and asked her about the patient and she had no idea what the pt's blood type was and wasn't it on the prenatals? There were no prenatals! So even if I'd gotten report at the right time I would not have gotten any info except to know I needed to get the info. So I walked up to the new grad who was giving report to the oncoming nurse with her preceptor listening. I told her what had happened and that at least we knew the pt was rh positive. Out of the blue the preceptor starts yelling at both of us, how could this have happened? We were incompetent and she was ashamed to give report to the next nurse, what were we thinking? She was yelling this out in the hallway, the pt could hear, the other nurses could hear, the only people who didn't hear was management. While she was yelling the oncoming nurse just disappeared and then the preceptor walked away. The new grad apologized and I just kind of blew some air out of my mouth in disbelief. I was definitely wrong but what a way to handle this problem. This stuff always hits me from left field and I can never think fast enough to say anything coherent back. If the new grad had asked for help after my other patient delivered I would have happily tried to find out more but stupidly I assumed she was going to work on it. Another mistake. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to tell the preceptor that it might be more professional to talk privately. Of course, I go home and can't sleep and wonder if the preceptor will write me up. Then I realize it reflected badly on her because she should have checked the patient info too.
A couple of days later I come back to work, foolishly thinking the preceptor might apologize for yelling in public. But she's not there. I am supposed to be baby nurse for the first time. I am a little nervous because I have never done it but hopeful it will go well. No babies were being born so the charge had me give lunch breaks. I took two pts, one who had already delivered and one who was 9 centimeters dilated. Can you see where this is going again?! All I knew about the delivered pt is that she needed her fundus checked and that the family reeked of marijauna and were very demanding. I overheard her nurse say they were going to test the mom's and baby's urine for drugs. Of course, the doctor shows up for 9 centimeters woman and tells me she is complete and needs to start pushing, meanwhile, her epidural pump is beeping on empty and her pitocin needs to be restarted. I call out the door I need someone to watch the delivered pt. Who shows up but the yelling preceptor. I start pushing with the patient and then her primary nurse returns. I go into the computer room to document and the yelling preceptor is there whispering about me and saying shut up here she comes. Bleah. I went back and documented in the pushing patient's room and stayed there until she delivered a purple baby that I suctioned and stabilized.
I come out of the room and hear I am supposed to give report to an LVN on the delivered patient, whose fundus I had checked once and I was certainly not her primary nurse. I told yelling preceptor that she knew more about the patient than I did. She replied with a smirk that didn't I remember I had never given her report so she couldn't give report-this was said in a voice you would tell a two-year old something. I asked where her primary nurse was and found out she'd gotten another patient. The LVN and I walk away and she tells me not to worry it will be alright-I almost started crying, I am so tired of this. Sympathy from the LVN almost did me in. Then I find out I was supposed to have ordered and sent to the lab the urine tox tests for the mom and baby!?! What? Why does this come out of the blue all the time? I think I am very stupid.
Just some background on me. I am a new grad who is old-just turned 50! Obviously, a second career. My first career was in TV which I thought at the time was cutthroat but it was male-dominated and I figured out how to manage it. Now I am just constantly thrown for a loop on the meanness of these nurses. I am not handling it well and feel like a rotten nurse, which I may be but I have to figure out how to handle these people. Any advice?
teensmom- Iam a new grad (in may) & just got an L&D position... I am nervous about facing things that you have explained but I KNOW that L&D is where I want to be and it sounds like you are trying to prioritize and hang in there. Just kill them with kindness, try to learn, hold your head high and have confidence in your abilities. I agree with the previous posts about questioning yelling preceptor about what would she do, etc. If you feel like you have exhausted all of your options through talking with your co-workers, management, etc then look for another L&D job..not every hospital is the right fit for everyone. Don't give up..you have gotten this far and you DO make a difference to the moms and babies!!
Having recently done extensive research and a presentation for our L & D unit on "Horizontal Hostility" between nurses, I don't think you should ask yelling preceptor what she would have done. To stem the abuse, you need to tell her what she did/said (specifically) and how it made you feel. Then you can talk to her about how you would like to be treated and what consequences might occur if things don't change (ie, have to work on a different uint/different hospital). I can't find the resources, but one researcher stated that something like 96% of the abusers quite their horizontal hostility when confronted by the victim telling them how their behavior has impacted them. If that doesn't work, then you need to pull administration into this.
Specializes in tele/ortho/renal/camp nurse/flu clinic.
Teensmom,
Keep fighting, as long as you still have your job you are still in good shape. Document everything, on paper, and then...if you do get pulled into the manager's office, at least you will have something to say. I do agree that these things always take you off guard (ie; the preceptor yelling at you) and it is difficult to reply when you are so surprised at what is actually happening. I had a bad experience and if I ever get another chance this is what I would do differently. I hope it helps you.
Just thinking of how much fun it is to precept a brand new nurse, that already knows everything and is having such a great time chatting at the nurses station that she declines my invitation to join me in caring for my sick mag pt..because "i've already done that". hahahahahahah..still laughin, and yes, i'll bail her lazy, unmotivated, knowitall butt out when she cant handle things down the road...not for her sake, for the safety of her pts......still laughin
This sure doesn't help anything at all. As a not quite new nurse but still one with much to learn (and excited about learning it), I know it didn't take long to start sorting out who was and wasn't excited about teaching in my unit. And who was and wasn't truly knowledgable. I've watched new nurses have wonderful orientations and not-nearly-so-wonderful orientations. Yes, there are lazy new graduates, and there are mean, lazy seasoned RNs. But using either of these descriptions to characterize whole groups in a discussion like this just perpetuates the problem. I personally don't appreciate being lumped in with the small sector of lazy new nurses, and I don't think many of you more seasoned nurses appreciate being lumped in with the ones who are mean. I'm not laughing at all here.
This sure doesn't help anything at all. As a not quite new nurse but still one with much to learn (and excited about learning it), I know it didn't take long to start sorting out who was and wasn't excited about teaching in my unit. And who was and wasn't truly knowledgable. I've watched new nurses have wonderful orientations and not-nearly-so-wonderful orientations. Yes, there are lazy new graduates, and there are mean, lazy seasoned RNs. But using either of these descriptions to characterize whole groups in a discussion like this just perpetuates the problem. I personally don't appreciate being lumped in with the small sector of lazy new nurses, and I don't think many of you more seasoned nurses appreciate being lumped in with the ones who are mean. I'm not laughing at all here.
The incident I was talking about actually happened, I have been working l and d about 20 years, I have a great deal of experience and offered to share that with this brand new nurse...she declined because she had already taken care of 1 mag pt, she was chatting with some other fairly new nurses, having a good time and as many of us older nurses have noted..her confidence doesn't match her experience...it is what it is...you newer nurses can get as offended as you like, but if you're behaving like the nurse i was referring to than you need to take a good hard look at yourself...if that doesn't describe you..no worries, right? I doubt any nurse that it describes would recognize herself though...an ego that would think caring for 1 mag pt makes her an expert would be incapable of that kind of introspection...
stustressed
29 Posts
teensmom- Iam a new grad (in may) & just got an L&D position... I am nervous about facing things that you have explained but I KNOW that L&D is where I want to be and it sounds like you are trying to prioritize and hang in there. Just kill them with kindness, try to learn, hold your head high and have confidence in your abilities. I agree with the previous posts about questioning yelling preceptor about what would she do, etc. If you feel like you have exhausted all of your options through talking with your co-workers, management, etc then look for another L&D job..not every hospital is the right fit for everyone. Don't give up..you have gotten this far and you DO make a difference to the moms and babies!!