Bossy Unit Clerks

[NancyRN]

Does anyone else here have a problem with bossy Unit Clerks?

The unit clerks at my telemetry unit seem to add to the already unbearable stress levels. I don't know how to deal with them because they do have a job to do but they don't seem to understand that I have priorities.

Yesterday when I came on duty I was told that a patient would be transferring to another hospital. I assessed her, talked to her about the surgery and her fears, then began assessing my other FIVE patients. It seemed I was running into some big problems because I had a lady with chest pain and one with dyspnea, and one with BS of over 500. Every time I passed the nurses station this unit clerk would crab at me about getting the first patient transferred. I was on the phone with a doctor and she SLAMMED the papers down in front of me and said "they're downstairs waiting!"

Figuring the ambulance was downstairs waiting, I went ahead and filled out the 15 pages of paperwork and handed it to her. She them said "Good, now I can call for an ambulance!" I said "What do you mean? I thought they were downstairs waiting?"

"I meant ER had another patient waiting for the room" was her reply.

I'm generally meek but I have gotten courage from this forum! I asked, "Is there ANY reason that patient in ER who is stable could not have waited until I assess all my patients this morning?" Another nurse then piped up, "Your patients are all FINE! I had them YESTERDAY!" So as you can see I had no support here and the unit clerks continue to harrass the nurses.

How do the rest of you handle this kind of thing?

[prmenrs, RN]

His boss has a boss!!! Drop a dime on this JERK--he's not useful AND he's doing something "illegal, unethical and childish"! Check around. There must be somebody you can report this to--Risk management? You could even do it "hypothetically": Call risk management saying, What if someone knew this was happening? And reporting it to immediate supervisor was not an option?"

Good Luck!! If you can find another position as a back-up, that might be good, just in case. Then you could call the boss's boss later and advize. OK, it's a LITTLE passive-aggressive, but....

[mattsmom81]

I would report him anonymously...just slip a note under someone's door....like the Director of Medical Records or the Ethics Chairman....they can check his computer log and trap him themselves.

I'm surprised to hear someone bragging about doing something like this...my corporate hospital settled a lawsuit with a celebrity a few years back when the celebrity found that thousands of corporate employees had viewed his personal computerized record....we take snooping very seriously at my facility.

[Mary, RN]

Yes, I think unit clerks are like that everywhere, we have one in particular that will not finish an entire admit if it interferes with her cig break or it is soon time for her to leave. Another one refused and yelled at me in the hallway that she would change the room number for a patient because it would take too much time, well we use computers. Needless to say I felt forced to write her up. Oh well!! we get along fine after 2 months of the cold shoulder, we get along fine. I am a new gal to ICU all around and she felt she could push me around and learned the hard way!!

[MazingMarcia]

I agree that we all can have hard days and hectic nights happen as well. I don't know why people on days always blame nights for not helping them out since we all know the pts. on nights just sleep-NOT! I try to have my unit in order for days to come in to a decent start but there are nights I come into the biggest messes I can imagine and am told you can fix it we didn't have time. Well nights have a lot of responsibilities they do that days can't imagine unless they have done it before! We not only have pts. who are awake and kickin on our unit we have the run of unexpected disasters and no extra backup on nights., plus we have to do chart checks fix errors made while days was hectic and clean-up duties for the shifts on days and eves. left in break rooms and pt. rooms that were ignored b/c they "days" were too busy! And nights will have plenty of time b/c the pts. are sleeping HAHAHA! My hosp. has a unit clerk that comes in and inspects for something that wasn't done by us- Cleanup halls, wheelchairs left all up and down halls from days leaving them before they left and any and every dish left on food charts that were left on top not inside from meals the day before. I had just spent 3-4hrs. trying to prevent a postpartum hem. from happening with a boggy uterus from hell!!!! no secretary that night b/c census was too low and a n.a. who was hired from the kitchen who never has been certified and doesn't speak ENGLISH worth a dam!!!!

I am tired of a non-nurse who has no idea what went on in my shift or what could have happened to my pt. if she knew any medical consequences if I was to be cleaning or doing her job and left my pt. to bleed to death. No she goes to my unit manager and reports 2 wheelchairs and a bowl sitting on top of food cart sitting in the hall to my nm without asking me how the night was and we needed to be informed of this in a unit meeting, OH BOY did I give my um an ear full!!!!... I let her know under no uncertain terms thunit clerks were not in charge and that she was not to be going behind my back throwing her weight around when I was a direct supervisor to the clerks not the other way around. I am tired of nm giving clerks the tx. like they are to be rn or lvn's bosses. I did not go thru all my training to be a servant to a clerk or an aide. And isn't it nurses aide and not the other way around.

[MazingMarcia]

I also think that the clerks I have on nights when I get them are great but I have run into several who have the I run it attitude !!!! I apprec. the help and I help everyone I work with but the problem I have is that counselling offensive non-prof. behavior is never done at my hosp. and the staff that do a hard job is never recognized for their hard work only when a little slip is done your faults are always the first to be announced almost like a loud speaker or bullitin board set out front of the staff lounge or br wall!!! I just ask for respect and dignity of each person as a teamplayer. also rec. for positive work ethics. I feel like we are all deserving of respect and it takes a village to make a country. and we all deserve to have an approp. chain of command. also the breech is very bad!!!!! This person needs to be fired!!!!!

[doodle...RN]

Originally posted by Teshiee

I respect you and you respect me. Simple.

Well, that's a good start with this situation. I'm having similar difficulties in that we have no ward clerk at all and only one nurse's aid for the weekends(I work all weekends). census is usually in the 20's-30's. charge nurse says it's always been that way. Since I'm new to the facility the aid does not help me, but assists the other nurses. I asked for her assistance only one time and she got very rude with me telling me to do it myself...

I called the house supervisor and she sided with the nurse's aid!

I can't work like this every weekend.

[deespoohbear]

I would be honked off if I found out an employee who had no business to was looking at my personal files. I once had a nurse who worked for our home health dept ask me why I had been in the hospital. I was dumbfounded, because I had not been a pt. I had some blood work done and that was it. I told the home health nurse this, and her response to me was "$800" worth? My jaw dropped to the ground. The blood work had been done as part of an infertility work-up, which I didn't want publicized. The only thing I could figure out is that my name had appeared on the hospital census list that the home health dept gets everyday, and "Jane" looked up the information in the computer. I reported it to the Assistant Executive Director of the hospital, but I don't think anything was ever done. I hope your unit clerk gets the book thrown at him. I would think with all the new HIPPA regs and stuff, this would be a direct violation of the new laws. Report it up the chain of command, making sure you document times and dates you speak with people. Does anyone else see this ward clerk do this? If so, see if you can't get them to go with you to report the violations. Good luck and keep us posted.

[mattsmom81]

Deespoohbear, you have a lawsuit in the making...breach of confidentiality big time!!

If you don't want to see an attorney, I would consider at LEAST notifying the BON...this was VERY unprofessional behavior on this nurses' part. Unbelievable what some people think they have the right to do and say!!!

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Howdy yall

from deep in the heart of texas

You tell her mattsmom, you are absolutely right on

[belovedjan]

I know this is an old,old, post, but I am a unit clerk and some of us become bossy because we lose our innocence rather quickly. i respect nurses and other staff, but have been so abused by lazy rns who eat at the desk and order me around while looking at youtube. my job is to help nurses put in orders and do other misc. things for them, but i had a b**** agency nurse demand for me to type up a paper for her her other job. i was stupid enough to do it of course. doctors yell at us too as well as patient families who think i might be a nurse! i am constantly interrupted and orders are shouted out at me. I remember even being a brand new unit clerk and was belittled by this new nurse because i asked her for clarification on a med before putting it on a med sheet. she scoffed at me and asked my why i didn't know it when i should have learned it in "unit clerk schooling". where i work unit clerks do not need "schooling" just office background and tolerance. I am still a kind clerk but now i will stand up to a b**** nurse for EVER, talking down to me. we all have important jobs! when i was younger, i used to call out often ( just enough not to get fired for occurrences) out of fear because some horrible acting rn's made my job so miserable. let them answer the phone and get call lights from their angry patients because no one is going to the room fast enough! I have had good rn's too, but sometimes the nasty, miserables stick in your head. not that anyone is going to read this post, but try thinking twice before using the unit clerk as your personal secretary!

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

I know this is an old,old, post, but I am a unit clerk and some of us become bossy because we lose our innocence rather quickly. i respect nurses and other staff, but have been so abused by lazy rns who eat at the desk and order me around while looking at youtube. my job is to help nurses put in orders and do other misc. things for them, but i had a b**** agency nurse demand for me to type up a paper for her her other job. i was stupid enough to do it of course. doctors yell at us too as well as patient families who think i might be a nurse! i am constantly interrupted and orders are shouted out at me. I remember even being a brand new unit clerk and was belittled by this new nurse because i asked her for clarification on a med before putting it on a med sheet. she scoffed at me and asked my why i didn't know it when i should have learned it in "unit clerk schooling". where i work unit clerks do not need "schooling" just office background and tolerance. I am still a kind clerk but now i will stand up to a b**** nurse for EVER, talking down to me. we all have important jobs! when i was younger, i used to call out often ( just enough not to get fired for occurrences) out of fear because some horrible acting rn's made my job so miserable. let them answer the phone and get call lights from their angry patients because no one is going to the room fast enough! I have had good rn's too, but sometimes the nasty, miserables stick in your head. not that anyone is going to read this post, but try thinking twice before using the unit clerk as your personal secretary!

Gee, thanks for making your first post at ALLNURSES so positive.