Boss that treats everyone like they are 4!!

[studenttill12]

I work in a hospital and we just got a new manager for my floor. She came in saying that she wanted to improve what we are doing, but that does not seem to be the case. She is telling us to convince patients to do what they don't want to do, and then when we don't make the patients do that she yells at us and tells us we are not doing our job correctly. On more than one occasion she has screamed at one of us in front of all of the staff and patients. Our response to her is the patients have the right to refuse, or so we thought.

We don't know what to do we have gone to her boss and the are just turning a blind eye at the moment.

HELP!!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

If you feel that your supervisor is disrespecting you in the workplace, you need to talk to Human Resources. Under no circumstances should a supervisor use intimidation - but this is especially bad when patients can overhear. This behavior increases liability exposure for your hospital because it makes patients think that something is wrong with the nursing care they are receiving.

[MissSpectacular]

Ah...the micromanager.

Be respectful, but firm. I have a particular manager that feels the need to berate the staff nonstop in front of the families and other staff members. I told her in no uncertain terms while I respect the fact that she is, indeed, my superior, I am a human being, and I deserve to also be treated with respect. If there is a problem, I have no issues with taking constructive criticism, but shrieking like a banshee four feet from my head is not going to solve one single thing.

Nip the new manager problem in the bud and file a complaint. Abuse like this from management causes morale to slip, which results in poor patient care and high turnover.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

sounds like someone was promoted beyond her capability. Peter Principle at work again

[shiccy]

There's a little thing called filing a grievance with HR... Alternatively in many states you can file suit for a hostile work environment if you document it enough ... Just make sure you write it all down.

Alternatively you can write it in the form of an incident report. OUR incident reports cover things such as attitudes and professionalism. ... and they're anonymous

[krissy_mack]

you should really have a talk with her (after you have calmed down ). when you talk to her inform her that you are an employee of the same work place she is and that her actions are highly unprofessional. not only yelling at you but also in front of family and patients is crazy and that makes the enviornment of the whole hospial look terrible. tell her that you are just following the rule that the patient has the right refuse. also in a very professional manner let her know that if her unprofessional actions happen again you will be letting someone over know! after that please let me know how her actions have changed

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Studenttill12, Evidently, what your describing is called "Lateral Abuse", you & the rest of the staff should get acquaintance with this phenomenon. Violence between and among workers is not unusual today. In health care, violence is a growing problem among nurses, as well as other disciplines. In a independent study module the focus on lateral violence between and among nurses came into view. The purpose of the independent study module was to increase nurses’ awareness and understanding of the problem of violence between nurse co-workers in the health care setting. Although there are several theories regarding why lateral violence is a problem among nurses, the core issue continues to be that violent behavior towards another often times injures the other’s self-esteem. Such an adversarial dyad serves no one but establishes an atmosphere for increasing anger and possibly violent behavior. To stop lateral violence, the chief executive nursing officer must set a “zero tolerance” policy towards violent or abusive behavior among staff. This policy must be strictly and justly administered so that all employees accept that the policy is “for real” and applies to staff nurse and/or nurse administrators. No one ever deserves to be abused by anyone or by any type of behavior. In addition I have implemented the “Zero Tolerance” for this type of behavior in my facility, and for over 2 years we have not had any difficulties nor confrontations among any of the medical staff. In addition, I suggest you keep a journal of time,dates, name of agressor, and location of assult. Furthermore, go with signatures to the link of command until it reaches the VP Chief Officer of Nursing. Lastly, it's a shame that instead of coming together as nurses, we pull apart to show authority, in my book the agressor is not only demostrating the lack of professionalism but their insecurities as well. In conclusion, I wish you & the rest of the staff the best in your situation, keep us inform. :redbeathe

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Your OP is very vague about her expectations.