Boss thinks I don't do my job when I kill myself every shift trying to be perfect.

mimibrown, ADN, BSN · Apr 6, 2022

You’re coworker sounds extremely toxic. I would have a sit down with your boss to discuss the situation. You don’t answer to your coworker and they should not be going behind you to get you in trouble. Nursing is stressful enough.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Apr 6, 2022

12 hours ago, anonymous_5591 said:

So, said coworker decided to write a 2 page email to the boss telling him all the things I "didn't" do.

This is the kind of petty bull that makes people hate nursing. This nurse clearly has too much time on her hands if she thinks that writing to your boss about these issues was worth her time. One of the problems with night shift is that your boss won't likely ever see you at work herself, and if she's close with this employee you might just have to brush it off unless it's worth your time and effort to go toe to toe with her. Do you have another coworker that might be willing or able to refute this report?

What can this letter from your coworker actually do to your career? I don't mean this rudely, but I know that at least in the hospital I work in, what my manager thinks of me would really not have much impact on my job. I work in a union hospital, our wages are not affected by annual reviews or anything, and I'm not likely to be fired unless a very thorough report of negligence can be proven and approved through the union. You have a few options.

First, you know that these complaints are inaccurate and you are doing what's best for your patients. You can keep going to work, keep your head up and ignore this petty coworker.

You can confront the coworker directly about why she decided to write this about you and what her problem is. If this letter is indicative of her personality that might get messy, but there's a chance that if you confront her directly she might back down when she realizes you're not going to take her crap.

You can ask to have a meeting with your boss and discuss this letter so you have the opportunity to defend yourself directly. You said they're close so this could also potentially work against you, but you might just feel better. The problem is all of these are a she-said/she-said with no real evidence of you doing or not doing things, with the exception of the things that you admit you didn't do- with good reason.

No matter what you decide, you HAVE to be able to stop letting this ruin your time outside of work. Don't let this coworker get to you, that's what she wants for whatever twisted reason she has. It's not about you, it's about her. The only way miserable people feel "happy" is when they're putting down others. These people exist everywhere in all walks of life, but somehow the ICU seems to attract more than their fair share (from an ICU nurse). If you like your job and you're good at it, get back at her by showing her that she hasn't gotten to you.

Good luck.

anonymous_5591 · Apr 7, 2022

Unfortunately all of this is within the 'normal' character traits of this coworker. This is not her first time doing this to someone. She usually does *** like this with her preceptees. So confronting her will only make things worse, and who knows what this person is capable of. She could literally lie about anything and the boss would believe her 110%.

Having my boss think I don't do my job will impact my yearly raises, and this is also my first ICU position so it will now impact my references for future employers too.

My next moves will be to stop picking up OT on my unit and instead pick up OT on another ICU unit. This will give me a chance to scope out the other units and see how bad or good their work culture is. If it's better I'll put in for a transfer. I only have to last one more year at this hospital and then I am going to pay them back (they paid 3k for my BSN) this way I can leave prematurely to do travel nursing.

Travel nursing has always been my dream. And thanks to this *** fest of a unit I'm now being pushed towards it at a faster rate (which is good), I'll take this BS as a form of motivation to get the hell out and move on towards my dreams.

RNperdiem, RN · Apr 7, 2022

Plotting your escape is a good start. Float to those other units. See if they triple patients.

Is tripling a common thing now? I have only seen it done when stepdown or floor patients are still in the ICU for lack of beds. In our unit, the manager will staff before we would ever triple ICU patients.

I hope the future brightens up for you.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Apr 7, 2022

I would not approach the co-worker. She has been the boss's snitch and they both enjoy it. I would answer the manager with the fact that you had three patients. The fine details like fresh canisters and tubing stickers will not be possible. A chest tube can get kinked at any time.

Good idea to check out the other units with your overtime. Be prepared though, travel nursing will be similar. You will be under a microscope in a difficult position. I was reported to the boss because I also looked so" tired" at the end of my shift. I was in my 50's and worked 12 hours. Yeah.. I'm gonna look tired. Check out the travel nurse forum. Good luck with this mess.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Apr 7, 2022

40 minutes ago, Been there,done that said:

I was reported to the boss because I also looked so" tired" at the end of my shift. I was in my 50's and worked 12 hours. Yeah.. I'm gonna look tired. Check out the travel nurse forum. Good luck with this mess.

How many write-ups for looking tired constitute a termination? I'm thinking I should have been let go a few months ago...

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Apr 10, 2022

If its that one coworker writing you up and everyone else is satisfied with your work, its not you that's the problem. Point that out as a toxic work environment. I wouldnt worry about your abilities, I'd be more worried about that coworker driving away new staff. On the bright side, once more new people get hired you'll be less fun to pick on. Hang in there.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 10, 2022

I wouldn't confront the petty coworker either. But because I always like to have the final say I would write a rebuttal to the manager wether is does any good or not.

It's a shame some people can't be more understanding. I had to tell a coworker once that was constantly complaining "you really don't want to go there, because we can go back and forth about what your shift leaves for us as well. We need to sometimes clean up after each other when shifts are hard and we're doing our best." Fortunately I do work with a non-toxic crew. When we are 6:1 stuff happens and we pick up after each other and move on.

Good luck. I'm sorry you're going through this.

2BS Nurse, BSN · Apr 11, 2022

I couldn't work in a culture like yours. Life is way too short. It sounds like you have a good scheme to scope out other units and plan your escape! Hang in there!

subee, MSN, CRNA · Apr 11, 2022

On 4/7/2022 at 1:06 AM, anonymous_5591 said:

Unfortunately all of this is within the 'normal' character traits of this coworker. This is not her first time doing this to someone. She usually does *** like this with her preceptees. So confronting her will only make things worse, and who knows what this person is capable of. She could literally lie about anything and the boss would believe her 110%.

Having my boss think I don't do my job will impact my yearly raises, and this is also my first ICU position so it will now impact my references for future employers too.

My next moves will be to stop picking up OT on my unit and instead pick up OT on another ICU unit. This will give me a chance to scope out the other units and see how bad or good their work culture is. If it's better I'll put in for a transfer. I only have to last one more year at this hospital and then I am going to pay them back (they paid 3k for my BSN) this way I can leave prematurely to do travel nursing.

Travel nursing has always been my dream. And thanks to this *** fest of a unit I'm now being pushed towards it at a faster rate (which is good), I'll take this BS as a form of motivation to get the hell out and move on towards my dreams.

Be careful for what you wish for:) orificees are everywhere - you can't escape them so you might as well learn how to manage them and your reactions to them. Stop trying to be perfect (that's an impossible goal) and just concentrate on being good.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · Apr 12, 2022

On 4/6/2022 at 6:37 AM, anonymous_5591 said:

ICU RN: Honestly this is more of a 6am drunken rant than anything else. I pretty much spent the whole night crying about this.

A day shift co-worker has a target on my back. To provide background info: this coworker has the boss wrapped around their finger, and ANYTHING this coworker says the boss will believe.

So, said coworker decided to write a 2 page email to the boss telling him all the things I "didn't" do. Now the boss thinks I don't do *** meanwhile I've been breaking my back and killing myself to ensure everything is as close to perfect as possible during my work shifts.

List of things the coworker said I didn't do: I didn't change tubing labels (the time was never listed and I was tripled), I didn't empty my canisters (I receive partially full canisters all the time from day shift so I thought 200cc wasn't a big deal), I don't empty foleys (which I always do-so don't know what she's lying about there-but now the boss thinks I don't do this either), I didn't hang the calcium rider (this was ordered at 6:30 and since I was tripled I didn't have the time or energy to walk down to pharmacy. Otherwise I always hang my riders, which now my boss thinks I never hang), she also said my patient's chest tube was kinked (this could have been a lie from the coworker or it could have happened, the patient moves in bed so I'm not sure how I could have prevented this from happening. I also tip/tilt tubing, change my dsgs, check for air leaks, ensure proper suctioning/or water seal, and ensure petroleum gauze is taped on the wall at bedside...chest tubes freak me out cause I'm afraid they're gonna get ripped out so I always ensure patency.)

I just feel really discouraged. I love my job dearly, but now the work environment is toxic and depressing AF. Like, no matter how hard I work and try to be perfect I feel like there's always going to be something I didn't do right. It makes me wonder what's the point of even trying....I'm only as good as my last mistake. My hard work will never be valued, and instead I'll keep having to go to these "sit downs" to be told how I'm not working hard enough.

...I'm not sure I can endure being undervalued for much longer....I'm going to look for an internal transfer.

So sorry you’re going through this. I just want to thank you for all of your hard work.